On March 17, 2026, a lecture by Sofiia Nikolaienko, a designer, a postgraduate student of the Faculty of Design, KNUTD, was held at Birmingham City University (Great Britain) on the topic: "The Designer’s Path After Graduation: Employment and Professional Development". Sofiia shared her own experience of employment and career growth in the fashion industry in the UK with students of Birmingham City University as a designer and a graduate of this institution.

The lecture was joined online by students of the educational programs of the Faculty of Design: "Fashion Design", "Environmental Design", "Multimedia Design", "Graphic Design" at the bachelor's level, "Fashion Design", "Environmental Design", "Design (by type)" at the master's level, as well as postgraduate students of the ESP “Design”.

Sofiia Nikolaienko began her creative journey as a designer while still studying at KNUTD. As a student at KNUTD in 2022-2023, Sofiia participated in the academic mobility program at Birmingham City University, where she later received a master's degree. The talented designer continues to develop - she presented her own clothing models at Paris Fashion Weeks in 2024 and 2026.

Sofiia's story about her experience of job interviews at European companies was relevant for students from Ukraine and the UK - what questions employers are most interested in during an interview, what you should pay attention to and ask yourself.

During the lecture, Sofiia Nikolaienko spoke about the skills that help her in her professional career as a designer, in particular, experience working with different fabrics and creating products in the material during training. The lecturer also noted that in the fashion industry, skills in graphic editors, such as Adobe Illustrator, and in 3D product visualization programs, such as Clo3D and the like, are important.

The designer revealed the differences in the work of large and small companies and emphasized that, regardless of the size of the team, not only creativity and professionalism are important, but also communication skills and the ability to work in a team.

Students of the Faculty of Design of KNUTD thank the long-time partner of the Faculty of Design, Nataliya Rozhin, a lecturer at Birmingham City University, and Kalyna Pashkevych, the Dean of the Faculty of Design of KNUTD, for organizing and conducting the online lecture.

23.03.2026