Liliya Hrynevych: The future of the Ukrainian economy depends on the development of mathematics and natural science

Innovative manufacturing and high-tech business, the main drivers of modern economies, will not develop in Ukraine without proper levels of education in mathematics and natural science. A meeting of the Association of Rectors of Higher Institutes of Technology of Ukraine was held 7 July at the National Mining University in the city of Dnipro (formerly Dnipropetrovsk) to discuss this  and related topics.

Liliya Hrynevych, Minister of Education and Science, travelled to this meeting, which was also attended by Rectors and their representatives from more than 25 universities of Ukraine, Directors from major industrial enterprises and companies of Ukraine.

"We all understand that our country will only have a future if we develop an innovative high-tech economy. So if we do not progress to new levels in engineering and natural science education, we cannot move on. Analyzing generalised processes in education can stifle interest in the study of mathematics and natural sciences in secondary education which then negatively affects engineering and natural science education in universities. This is very dangerous because we rely on universities as the source for replenishing staff at high-tech businesses. Together we must find points of growth, recipes for success, and business models in order to come out of this crisis", said Liliya Hrynevych, Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine.

The management of the top Ukrainian universities of technology expressed their vision for Ukraine.

"We have already formulated objectives for the nation - to double GDP to 450 billion US dollars over a year, while maintaining the stability of social and cultural systems. To achieve such results, the nation must take the high-tech path of development. This can be done only if you activate the main clusters of the economy which are the most competitive. Today, these clusters for Ukraine, according to the World Data Centre for Geoinformatics and Sustainable Development are: the agricultural sector, the military-industrial complex, R&D in new substances and materials, IT, new sources of energy, high-tech engineering, human sciences, transit infrastructure and tourism. Obviously, without recognising the strategic importance of technology, natural science and mathematics education to develop these clusters will be just nothing", said Mykhaylo Zukhurovskiy, Chairman of the Association of Rectors of Universities of Technology of Ukraine and Rector of the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute National University of Technology, in his speech.

The meeting attendees noted that the problem of overcoming the crisis in education in technology and natural sciences highlighted the need to strengthen close liaison with businesses focused on innovation. Also at the meeting, topics discussed included the problems of meeting the needs of high-level experts and specialists in natural sciences by the government, the principles of budgeting for public spending, the status of preparations for European accreditation of engineering syllabuses in Ukraine, the principles of improving External Independent Testing, and how to strengthen the ties between business, science and education.

Note:

The Association of Rectors of higher educational establishments in technology of Ukraine was created at a founding conference in June 1999 as a nationwide public organization uniting, on a voluntary basis, Rectors, Heads of Trade Unions and other relevant organisations designed to promote the development of technology education in traditional engineering areas and protect priorities in education. More information can be found in Ukrainian on the official website of the Association - http://www.ar-tech-uni.org.ua/