Board of Employers gives a helping hand to the University
On June 12, the University held its first constituent assembly of the University board of employers.
This extraordinary event was followed by the creation of similar councils in all departments and educational and research institutes. A logical conclusion of this process was the formation of the Board of employers of NULES of Ukraine. It includes 34 members from among the institute and department councils, state authorities, heads of companies and agricultural enterprises, research institutions and higher schools.
The guests were congratulated by Rector – Stanislav Nikolaenko on behalf of 27 thousand count staff. Addressing the public, Stanislav Mykolayovych said that the University strategy involves the construction of threefold helix, consisting of research and innovation, educationional and industrial components. It is on these three reference points that a qualitatively trained professional and citizen places his roots.
Creation of such a board in our University is a requirement of life, and higher school should keep abreast with it. In Ukraine, production often goes ahead of education. Aligning the university training, gaining its quality, and making a specialist demanded on the labor market is the calling of the board of employers.
So that guests have an idea of the NULES scale, rector briefed on what the University is like today. He stood alone on its structure and noted that it is optimized through reducing its administrative layer. This contributed to improving its efficiency and solving the current problems. Today, the team is working on the implementation of the development strategy of the University "Holosiivska Initiative – 2020", which covers the University perspective, starting from the educational, scientific and international activity – and up to educational work and the development of student self-government.
Then Stanislav Nikolaenko spoke on the challenges of higher education and urgent problems. Thus, the new law on higher education generates new approaches to the educational process and educational content. He also said about inability to fully implement good intentions of relieving instructors from extra-load hours. The new law has set academic workload of 600 hours. At the same time it forbids to hire additional staff. So, instead of relieving, they forced to cut the number of hours on studying the subjects. This is a huge problem, said the rector. In addition, technical schools and colleges are now under threat. Today they are outside the legal field of higher education.
The University funding remains the problem, – Stanislav Nikolaenko continued. Budget covers salaries, scholarships and some utilities, but the rest of costs, especially capital spending, are out of question. So we have to repair dormitories, buildings on our own, or seek help of graduates and sponsors.
But these are far from all the problems that befell on educators and higher education. It is worth mentioning the attempts to abolish scientific pensions, to limit the wages. Only with support of administration and the rector personally, these attempts have not been a success. The stumbling block is a land tax and value added tax. But they still remain within the range of vision, as the head of the University assured.
Stanislav Nikolayenko was restrained on sensitive issue, that is often silenced – bullying in higher school. Due to the efforts of the university administration, this gangrene decreased significantly lately. And let’s do everything in our power so that this problem disappears at all, - said the head of the University. Together with employers the University is intending to modernize educational process, strengthen its material and technical base, improve practical training.
Vice-Rector for Academic and educational work Serhiy Kvasha informed the board members on the development of the University. Today NULES occupies good positions in various rankings of higher education institutions. But they could be much better, this is what we are striving for. This can be also achieved by updating the academic work. According to Vice-Rector, it is impossible without knowing foreign languages, information technologies, professional knowledge and skills. But this triangle, according to the TSC director of the Institute of mechanization and electrification of agriculture of NAAS Valeriy Adamchuk, should be supplemented. For example, management skills could be gained on training course at the military chair. Serhiy Mykolayovych noted that in theoretical and practical training of students, the latter is much weaker. And there are lots of factors that contribute to this. The Board of employers are undertaking to solve the mentioned above.
Vice-rector tried to answer the question: What are the benefits of this strategic partnership of employers, students and the University? There lots of advantages. We will name only a few. First of all, meeting the needs of the labor market, employment, internships, and professional development advanced training of instructors and their probation, curriculum coordination. The list can be continued. The possibility to deliver lectures and practical seminars aroused instant interest in some employers, particularly Valeriy Adamchuk. These classes would take into account the opinion of the latter.
So what kind of knowledge is to be given to a student, as all of them can not be given a priori? Solution is to provide the basics, but at the same time to arouse interest in learning throughout life among young people. And to show how to do it. I would love to acquire the base of companies that would be glad to take students for practice, – said Valeriy Adamchuk. But the University also has to arouse interest of employers in such cooperation. Chairman of agribusiness "HORS-KLM" Leonid Kelvich added that, for his part, higher school should tighten control over students’ practical training in the workplace.
There was a proposal to form 1-2 groups of the best sophomores from different Universities of Ukraine, who would study at NULES in order to work in the NAAS later on. This idea was supported by Stanislav Nikolaenko, but with one clarification: those students are to be chosen starting from the first year of study. Especially because we have cooperation agreement with NAAS.
What direction the agricultural sector is moving in? What kind of experts are we supposed to train? And how many are needed? All these questions were addressed by Vasilkivskiy district deputy of the 6th convocation council Serhiy Kyrchenko to the Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food Volodymyr Lapa, present at the meeting. The response was the following: My personal viewpoint is to create 2-3 family farms in every village. Moreover, the Ministry is paying attention to small economic forms. Then continued: The problem of education is that we are training more specialists than necessary for agribusiness. It is nonsense, but in the countryside their number is insufficient! So, the board of employers of NULES should contribute in removing this imbalance.
The constituent meeting ended with the election of Chairman of the Board, his deputies, coordinator and distribution of members by sections.
The board will be headed by the director of TSC "Institute of Mechanization and Electrification of Agriculture" of NAASU Valeriy Adamchuk.
He also took the lead in the section of machinery, energy and automation, information technologies. It includes:
• Victor Boiko, Advisor to the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine;
• Vasyl Ivanchuk, CEO of PJSC "Kyivsilelektro";
• Serhiy Kalapa, Director General of "Chervona Zirka";
• Ihor Kutovyi, «John Deere Ukraine" CEO;
• Nataliia Kussul, Head of the Department of Information Technologies and Systems of the Space Research Institute of NAS and SCA of Ukraine;
• Oleksandr Morozhenko, Deputy Director of Ukrenergo SA "Tsentralna elektroenerhetychna systema";
• Viktor Nikolaenko, Director General of the Association of Farmers and Private Landowners of Ukraine;
• Viktor Sych, Director General of "KUN-Ukraine" Ltd.
Section of crop production, plant protection, biotechnologies and ecology, forestry and landscape management is headed by Deputy Chairman of the Board, "Ahroosvita" CEO Viktor Nedobytkin. It includes:
• Vitaliy Atamanchuk, Adviser to the Minister of Agrarian Policy of Ukraine;
• Serhiy Kyrychenko, Deputy of the 6th convocation Vasylkiv district council, Head of the department of parliamentary activities, head of commission on planning, territorial development, architecture and urban planning;
• Leonid Tsentylo, Director of "Ahrofirma Kolos" Ltd;
• Volodymyr Chervonyi, President of Ukrainian Corporation "Ukrzelenbud."
Section of livestock and aquatic bioresources, veterinary medicine, food technologies and quality control of agricultural products is headed by Deputy Chairman of the Board – Chairman of agribusiness "HORS-KLM" (Kyiv region) Leonid Kelvich. It includes:
• Mykola Vasylchenko, Director of "MAYAK" agricultural company;
• Ivan Hrod, Director General of "Matimeks-Ukraina" Ltd;
• Andriy Zhuk, head of the Department of veterinary medicine in Kyiv region;
• Serhiy Nychyk, Director of the Institute of Veterinary Medicine of NAAS of Ukraine;
• Vasyl Plichko, deputy head of the department of aquaculture, water bioresources exploitation and International cooperation of the State Agency for Fisheries of Ukraine.
Section of economics, farm management, land management, legal and humanitarian and pedagogical support is headed by Deputy Chairman of the Board – Deputy Minister – Volodymyr Lapa. It includes:
• Oleh Balahura, Director of SA EE "Shevchenkivske";
• Lyudmyla Bytsyura, head of the department of providing the professional appointment of judges of the Administration for organizing the judges’ training of the Secretariat of the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine;
• Taras Vysotskyi, Director General of the Ukrainian club of agrarian business;
• Yaroslav Dobrianskyi, First Deputy Head of the Kyiv Regional Council;
• Yuriy Karasyk, Director of "Agro-Holding MC", Ltd;
• Vitaliy Klochko, Director of "Dyv", Ltd;
• Viktor Kovalskyi, president of "Yurincom Inter";
• Aleks Lisitsa, IMK CEO;
• Nelia Marusych, head of the department of exhibition and fair activities of the National Complex "Expocenter of Ukraine";
• Andriy Tarnapolskyi, Director General deputy of State Enterprise "Center of State Land Cadastre";
• Ivan Us, director of PE "Ahrospetsproekt";
• Olha Shcherbak, Director of the Kyiv Anton Makarenko Professional Pedagogical College;
• Ihor Yatsuk, Director General of SI «Soils Protection Institute of Ukraine" of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine.
Duties of deputy – board coordinator are assigned to vice-rector Serhiy Kvasha.
In a week, the Board of Employers will define the circle of common interests and challenges that must be addressed.
Olha Nakonechna,
Valentyn Obrambalskyi
