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 Education, Science and Technology in Ukraine
Ukraine has a well-educated and skilled labor force, with a 98 percent literacy rate, rate compared to 52% for India. Ukrainian educational institutions produce well-qualified graduates, especially in the areas of fundamental technology sciences.
Certification in specific technologies is also taking place. For example, several local firms are qualified to administer testing for Microsoft Certified Engineers (MCE). According to Microsoft statistics more than 1000 have passed the MCE exams thus far in Ukraine. In Ukraine technical documentation was available only in English; this has resulted in technologists having a high level of English comprehension skills.
There are many cases when software development companies work close with Universities to improve and adapt educational process to the demand on the market. Motorola has worked with Kyiv Polytechnic Institute (now known as National Polytechnic University of Ukraine) to establish a lab to train specialists in Digital Signal Processing (DSP), microprocessor and micro-controller equipment. Multi-national companies such as Hewlett Packard and Dell are also providing equipment enabling the institutes to establish training labs.
Ukrainian scientists have achieved world-class results in such fields as mathematics, physics, computer sciences, biology, electric welding, new materials and space sciences. The basis of the country's scientific and technological development is in the following branches of Ukrainian economy: aircraft industry, shipbuilding, missile and tank engineering (Ukraine is among the five countries in the world with a closed cycle of tank manufacturing), bio-technologies, radio-electronics, low temperatures physics, nuclear physics, communication and telecommunication. The Ukrainian aerospace and defense industry, which includes more than 500 military enterprises and research institutes, is known for its state-of-the-art technology and production of reliable equipment. The traditions of mathematical schools are also very strong in Ukraine. Kyiv had always been the leading center of computing technologies the second computer in the world was created in Kyiv as well as on of the largest schools of cybernetics – the Glushkov Research Institute. Among other economic priorities are the development of processing and food industries, heavy machinery and industrial equipment production, machine tools, large electrical transformers, ships, locomotives, rail cars, passenger (ANTONOV-140) and cargo aircraft (ANTONOV-70, ANTONOV-225), agricultural machinery as well as textiles.
One of the departments of the National Taras Shevchenko University located in Kyiv, Ukraine is the department of Complex Systems Modeling. The main focus of the department is on defining and developing new theories and algorithms for the analytical presentation of dynamic objects. This means defining control points and input signals to manage the behavior of a dynamic object in an optimal manner. Currently the research of the Complex Systems Modeling department is focused around creating new algorithms for data compression. Another area of research focus is that of image recognition. Both professors and students alike are currently developing solutions in the following areas:
- Computer Image Creation, which involves taking a picture of a person and then animating it.
- The development of algorithms for storing large, complex, and multiple images economically.
- Video image recognition of people and any other determined objects by classifications.
- Synthesizing the Ukrainian Language (Software which enables the voice synthesizing of the Ukrainian language). Currently programs exist to synthesize email written in English or text messages (Short message service – SMS) sent in English, or even Russian, however, no program yet exists to synthesize the Ukrainian language.
The department has benefited from cooperation with high-tech companies in Ukraine.
Kyiv Polytechnic Institute (KPI) (now known as National Polytechnic University of Ukraine) has the Experimental Automation department, the aim of which is to prepare specialists in programming, electronic and computer techniques for use in scientific research systems. This includes techniques, which are used in the automation of experiments in aerodynamics, durability, and simulation areas. Students take a wide variety of classes from computer simulation and modeling, computer graphics, and digital signal processing to computer aided design. Cooperation with several multi-national companies has benefited the department by enabling it to establish study labs. Already Motorola has established four labs with other labs being established by Analog Devices. Siemens Nixdorf and Rhodes Schwarz (Germany) have also provided new equipment to supply laboratories for the students. This type of cooperation has aided in not only providing learning environments for the students, but also in providing internships and later on full-time employment.
Upon graduation, students from the experimental automation department have taken research positions with the Ukrainian Academy of Science, with a number of Industrial Associations, and Antonov Aviation Scientific Technical Complex. Many of the students also go to work with private entities, both multi-national and Ukrainian, this includes: Motorola, Siemens, IBM, Compaq, Ulys Systems, ProminvestBank, and Kvazar Micro.
One area where intensive research is done is in the measurement of voltage. Voltage has more than 100 basic standards of measurement and every country has different standards. Currently, the department is working with Ukraine and Germany on developing new standards. In Ukraine, new measuring standards must be certified by DerzhStandardt Ministry; in Germany it is the Felicash BundesStandarts, which certifies standards.
Other areas of research undertaken include; aircraft and space techniques, the operation and controlling of technological processes, ecological monitoring, information protection, synthesis and analysis of sounds and picture tests of radio electronic equipment.
The perpetual growth in demand to study within this department says a lot about the future of the department and Ukraine. With its very active leadership, company involvement and internship programs, the experimental automation department can expect to have high demand for its graduates for many years to come.
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