GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT
The Department of Information Systems named after V.O. Kravets was established in 1993; its founder was Valerii Kravets, then Vice-Chancellor of the university. The department trains specialists in the following fields:
- G5 Electronics, Electronic Communications, Instrument Engineering and Radio Engineering;
- F3 Computer Science.
With a view to improving the quality of specialist training, the following have been established within the Department:
- in 1994 році – the ‘Machine Translation’ laboratory;
- in 1998 році – the ‘Telecommunications Systems and Information Security’ laboratory;
- since 2007 a CISCO Network Academy has been operating within the Department of Information Systems at NTU ‘KhPI’;
- in 2021 the Cybersecurity Academy was opened.
The instructors at the academies were Natalia Dzhenyuk and Maksym Tolkachov, who were then senior lecturers in the Department of Information Systems.
In 2009, Pavlo Pustovoytov, then an associate professor at the department and a Candidate of Technical Sciences, was awarded a scholarship from the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine for young scientists. Since that same year, the department has been home to Igor Yakovenko, Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences and Professor, a laureate of the V.E. Lashkaryov Prize of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.
The Department of Information Systems is a co-founder of the Educational, Scientific and Industrial Complex (ESIC), which brings together more than 25 institutions operating in the field of telecommunications, including the State Enterprise for Special Communications, the State Enterprise ‘Ukrainian Scientific Research Institute of Communications’, the Prykarpattia Production Unit ‘Digital Automatic Telephone Exchange Plant’, the O.S. Popov Odessa National Academy of Communications, and others.
The department’s research work is carried out in collaboration with the Centre for New Information Technologies (CNIT) and the ‘Molniya’ Research, Design and Development Institute within the framework of contract-based and state-funded research projects in the field of information and communication technologies.
The ‘Molniya’ Research Institute serves as the base facility for the Department of Information Systems, where students acquire practical skills whilst undertaking laboratory and practical sessions, as well as whilst preparing coursework and dissertations for undergraduates, and theses for postgraduate and doctoral students.
The department’s staff, together with colleagues from the Centre for Scientific and Technical Information (now the Information and Computing Centre), participated in the creation of the university’s corporate computer network at NTU ‘KhPI’, which connects 22 teaching blocks and 12 halls of residence. In collaboration with the CNIT, a significant amount of work was carried out to interconnect the corporate networks of Kharkiv’s higher education institutions via fibre-optic links. The modern URAN system (Scientific and Educational Computer Network) in Kharkiv connects more than 20 leading educational and scientific institutions in the city via fibre-optic links.
In collaboration with the Information and Computing Centre, the Head of Department, Pavlo Pustovoytov, is developing the ‘NP’ automated educational process management system. Thus, in 2019, the electronic student record book for NTU ‘KhPI’ was introduced, and in 2020, the electronic lecturer’s office for NTU ‘KhPI’ was launched.
The traditions of the department’s academic school are being carried on with distinction by its graduates. The American company founded by our talented graduate Vladislav Kitaik has been ranked 50th among the most dynamic businesses in the US, whilst his second successful company, Whales Ventures, partners with the department in organising case study competitions during wartime, which is of great significance as an ‘intellectual investment’ in Ukraine’s future. A significant portion of the companies’ earnings is channelled towards supporting the Armed Forces of Ukraine, for which they have been recognised with an award for voluntary work. The department collaborates fruitfully with companies both in organising case competitions and IEEE hackathons (Senior Lecturer Maksym Okhrymenko) and in providing international expertise on IT projects, including cutting-edge OpenAI Start-ups (Prof. Olexandr Yushchenko).
The participation of the department’s lecturers in international projects under the Erasmus+ programme is a significant step towards integration into the European educational area:
- One such project is GameHub (2015–2018), which aimed to improve the employability of graduates, unemployed engineers and ATO veterans by developing digital skills in the gaming industry.
- Another important project is dComFra (2018–2021): A Framework for Digital Competences for Ukrainian Teachers and Other Citizens, aimed at harmonising European initiatives on digital competences with Ukrainian realities.
- The current project, DigiUni (2023–2027): Digital University – An Open Ukrainian Initiative, focuses on creating a highly effective digital educational ecosystem in Ukraine.
The department trains highly qualified specialists: Halyna Sokol and Vitalii Voronets are working on their doctoral theses, whilst 10 PhD students from the department are preparing to defend their PhD theses.