Undergraduate and postgraduate students of all faculties of the Kyiv National University of Technology and Design had an extraordinary opportunity to conduct a very productive training practice in February 2024. Despite the extraordinary difficult times that Ukraine is going through today, students and teachers continue to work, develop and train the next generation of highly educated, intelligent, competitive patriotic professionals, whose main mission will be to successfully rebuild the country's economy after the war and integrate it into the global economic space. That is why, in order to strengthen the practical training of undergraduate and postgraduate students, provide them with the most up-to-date knowledge and competencies in business organisation and management, entrepreneurship skills, practical basics of marketing, management, financial management, consulting services, the Faculty of Management and Business Design organised a traditional certification training cycle from leading stakeholders, business partners and entrepreneurs entitled "Business in War: Status, Needs and Strategic Development Vectors". It should be emphasised that, in addition to the students of the USIF, undergraduate and postgraduate students from other faculties of the University joined the training cycle. Based on the results of the training, the participants received a certificate of completion of the training cycle in the amount of 1 ECTS credit, subject to successful work with the mentors of the certification training cycle.

On 15 February 2024, the training cycle began with a master class on "Financial Literacy", delivered by Alisa STEPANIAN, FUIB branch manager. The masterclass was attended by students, postgraduates and university lecturers. The work took place in a mixed format: in a conference room and online using ZOOM technical means.

On 19 February 2024, a training on "Evaluating the effectiveness of brand communication tools in management" was held by Natalia Shabatyn, a stakeholder of the Department of Management and Smart Innovations, brand manager of Fillin, a leading Ukrainian outsourcing and staff leasing company. The key issues discussed were visualisation tools, communication effectiveness, and digital skills. The students had the opportunity to ask questions about practical skills and the use of digital tools to improve work in the company, an overview of different task managers for teamwork. The speaker offered useful resources that help to visualise, set goals and see future results, and also reviewed cases of using ERP and CRM systems for business management.

On 20 February 2024, a business training on "Responsible Production and Consumption in the Light Industry" was held, with Lesia BARTETSKA, a graduate of the British Chartered Institute of Marketing and stylist at UA: Pershyi TV channel, fashion forecaster. The topic of the seminar is very relevant, as responsible production and consumption is one of the most important issues of our time, as it concerns the use of the Earth's natural resources, which involves meeting only the essential needs of people.

Light industry is one of the most influential industries that play a crucial role in the sustainable development of society. The impact of the light industry on the environment is quite significant and has global significance. The fashion industry is responsible for 20% of global industrial wastewater and 10% of carbon dioxide emissions, which is more than all international flights and shipping combined. At the end of the seminar, the audience had the opportunity to ask questions to the speaker.

On 20 February 2024, undergraduate and postgraduate students joined an open lecture-workshop on the topic: "The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Economy and Business", which was delivered by Dmytro IRNAZAROV, Project Manager of ING Bank Ukraine, who is a stakeholder of the Department of Smart Economics. 

Dmytro IRNAZAROV's report on artificial intelligence systems, namely: ANI (artificial narrow intelligence), AGI (artificial general intelligence), ASI (artificial superintelligence) and their impact on the country's economy and business in particular.

In addition, Dmytro IRNAZAROV constantly engaged students in active participation, using modern methodological techniques and incentives. The students were active and asked questions.

On 21 February 2024, a business training on the topic: "The global grain market and Ukraine's role in it" was held, with Oleg SHVETS, Deputy Director of the First Independent Survey Company LLC, as a speaker. Undergraduate and postgraduate students were involved in a wide-ranging discussion on macroeconomic forecasts for the post-war recovery of Ukraine, including: stability and prospects for the recovery of the agricultural sector; quality of domestic agricultural products; competitiveness of domestic agricultural enterprises in the international market; development of the necessary competencies of specialists in demand in the post-war labour market; areas of entrepreneurship that will be relevant and in demand; development of the digital economy, the future of the banking system, cryptocurrencies, etc.

On 22 February 2024, a practical training was held by Iryna SENCHURINA, Head of the Rusanivske Branch of Raiffeisen Bank, on the topic "Functioning of banks with foreign capital in Ukraine under martial law".

The students learnt about the basic principles, problems and prospects of the Ukrainian banking system under martial law.

On 23 February 2024, a workshop on "Risks in Entrepreneurship" was held, with Talyat Belyalov, Director of UKRUGIMPEX LLC, as a speaker.  

According to Talyat Belyalov, entrepreneurial activity is always a risk for an enterprise, especially in today's difficult times for the Ukrainian economy. To survive in a competitive market environment, businesses need to make unconventional and bold decisions to accelerate post-war recovery and further development. However, it is necessary to take a prudent approach to identifying and correctly assessing possible threats in advance to limit their negative impact and minimise financial losses.

On 28 February 2024, a workshop on "Brand Reputation Management and Data Security on the Internet" was held by Yuriy Gorodetsky, Marketing Director of Heisens Ukraine.

The students learnt about modern systems and principles of brand reputation management in online and offline channels. The lecturer gave examples and methods of SERM (ORM) manipulations.

The students paid special attention to practical advice on personal data security on the Internet, ways to protect it and possible consequences of breaking the rules. The students actively participated in the discussion and engaged in debate.

On 29 February 2024, a workshop was held by Volodymyr Martsynovskyi, Marketing Director of Total Printer LLC and a stakeholder of the Department of Smart Economics, on the topic "Using Artificial Intelligence Tools in Marketing".

The meeting was made interesting by the discussion of the use of generative tools available to a wide range of users (ChatGPT-3, ChatGPT-4, Copilot, Gemini, etc.) in performing various types of independent work and preparing students for tests and exams.

The students were very active and shared their experience of working with the editorial, linguistic and search capabilities of artificial intelligence tools, focusing in particular on discussing their experience of creating texts and images.

On 4 March 2024, a discussion workshop was held on "Brand Management and Development in the International Market". The speaker was Igor Mosiychuk, brand manager of the international HR provider Smart Solution.

The speaker shared interesting cases of well-known companies and demonstrated different approaches to brand development using these cases as examples.

Students had the opportunity to ask questions about practical skills and the use of business communications for brand management in the international market.

On 5 March 2024, a training on "Promotion and Development of Brands in Social Media" was held, with Vitalii Kostenko, Marketing Director of Mars Union, as the speaker. The training covered the basic aspects of brand promotion in social media and trends in content strategies for the future. Based on real-life examples of advertising activity of well-known brands, the difference in promotion and emotional impact of different categories of goods and services, such as sports, cars, fashion, technology and various services, was discussed in detail. During the course of the lesson, students actively discussed and provided their own options for possible content strategies.

We express our sincere gratitude to the Rector of KNUTD, Academician Ivan Hryshchenko, Vice-Rector for Research and Innovation Lyudmyla Hanushchak-Yefimenko, Dean of the Faculty of Management and Business Design Oleksandra Olshanska for their comprehensive support and assistance in implementing the idea of free dissemination of knowledge among higher education students and creating an exciting educational process for undergraduate and postgraduate students of the Kyiv National University of Technology and Design!

We are working on the educational front for the Victory of Ukraine!

19.03.2024