Our first universities

The Ukrainian science and education originate with Х–ХІІ century, times of Kievan Rus' when the first schools started to appear. The history of formation of a network of schools, creations of the powerful prosveshchenchesky centers displays difficult history of formation of the most Ukrainian state. In the XVI-XVIII centuries the Ukrainian culture and education developed in the conditions of opposition of empires: Russian, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, later – Austro-Hungarian, rivalries of Catholic and orthodox churches. But such opposition positively affected a development of education: new schools and коллегиумы opened. Unique achievement of that time is a large number of competent people, and also availability of school education to various social groups. The first prosveshchenchesky center which has loudly declared, was in 1576 the Ostrozhsky school with the rights of academy which had own printing house and was constructed by a principle of higher educational institutions of Europe of that time.

The Kiyevo-Mogilyansky academy – the first higher educational institution in Eastern Europe became the influential center of a science of the XVII. Those years even the well-known Russian scientist Mikhail Lomonosov at the initiative of whom the Moscow university in 1755 was based, arrived to get education in Kiyevo-Mogilyansky academy. The majority of known Ukrainian scientists, philosophers, architects, musicians, politicians got education in local higher education institutions and got an international recognition. Among them - philosopher Grigory Skovoroda, architect Ivan Grigorovich - Lordly, the theologian, the writer and statesman Feofan Prokopovich, the military man and the politician, hetman Ivan Skoropadsky and many other.

In 1661 the king of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Jan ІІ Kazimir signed the diploma to which provided Lvov Jesuit коллегиуму «advantage of academy and a university title». In XIX the Russian government on request of the public allowed to open universities in Kharkov (1804), Kiev (1834) and Odessa (1865). In 1875 the decree of the emperor of Austro-Hungary Franz Josef based Chernovitsky university. These higher educational institutions quickly found glory powerful scientific просвещенческих the centers which keep and until now. Many names are connected with them, world renowned. At the Kiev university economist Ivan Vernadsky and writer Mikhail Bulgakov studied, in Odessa — physician Alexander Bogomolets and the chemist Is left Pisarzhevsky, in Kharkov — the Nobel winner in the field of biology Ilya Mechnikov, and also the Nobel winner, physicist Lev Landau worked. The whole galaxy of scientists also Kiev polytechnical institute grew. Among them — the aircraft designer known around the world, the scientist and inventor Igor Sikorsky who in 1923 in the USA based aviation firm "Sikorsky Aero Engineering Corporation", having become her president. In KPI also Sergey Korolev — the designer of the first artificial satellites of Earth and spaceships also studied.

Today Ukraine is aimed at integration into the international educational and scientific community. Accession to Bologna Process made training in the Ukrainian higher educational institutions more attractive to foreign students. Also Ukraine joined the Hague and Lisbon conventions, actively cooperates with the organizations by recognition of educational documents in the different countries. It considerably simplifies the academic exchange of students and is pledge of process of the international integration.

Ukraine also takes part in the international programs and projects of the European Union, such as Jean Monet and Erasmus Mundus, cooperates with the European Union within the TEMPUS (TACIS) program and many other. There is also a practice of the international programs in HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS within which cooperation with universities of France, Germany, Norway, South Korea, Brazil and other countries is carried out. Practice of double diplomas when students after the first year of training in a magistracy of native HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTION have possibility to be trained in educational institution of other country is applied and to receive diplomas of both universities.