17.09.2026
Universities should maintain continuous cooperation with energy companies, public institutions, graduates and other partners in order to understand the labour market’s actual needs and update their educational programmes promptly.
Ihor Chudyk, Rector of Ivano-Frankivsk National Technical University of Oil and Gas, made these remarks during the online meeting “Business and Universities: How to Prepare Professionals for Ukraine’s Energy Sector Together”, held by Energy Club on 14 September as part of the Energy Freedom talk show.
At the beginning of his address, Chudyk thanked Energy Club for its systematic work and for regularly involving educators and researchers in discussions about current energy issues. According to him, this dialogue helps connect the needs of a sector operating under wartime conditions and integrating with Europe with the capabilities of Ukrainian universities.
“Energy Club systematically involves educators and researchers in discussing the country’s energy needs. This is extremely important for us, as universities are responsible for training the professionals required by the sector,” the Rector emphasised.
Chudyk said that over the past three years, the university’s new management team has been consistently changing its approach to professional education. These changes are based on regular cooperation with stakeholders, including companies, public authorities, professional associations and graduates who now hold senior positions across the energy sector.
Among the university’s partners, he mentioned the National Energy and Utilities Regulatory Commission, Naftogaz Group, DTEK, MHP, ATB, Epicentr and other companies whose activities involve energy generation, supply or consumption.
“The first and highly important condition for success is systematic cooperation with stakeholders, partners and university graduates. They help us understand what businesses need, and we respond to those needs,” Chudyk said.
Feedback from the university’s partners was taken into account when revising its strategy with support from McKinsey. One of its central priorities is the institution’s continued transformation into a specialised energy university focused on the needs of the country and the modern economy.
In line with this vision, the university is updating existing educational programmes and developing new ones. It is establishing a complete education cycle in renewable energy, continuing to provide training in its traditional oil and gas disciplines, and strengthening its management and economics programmes.
These areas include energy economics, management, administration and energy engineering management. In addition to full degree programmes, the university is developing short certificate courses that make it possible to respond more quickly to companies’ requirements.
Chudyk expressed support for Energy Club’s initiative to establish a practical course in energy trading. According to him, the need for such training has already become evident, and the university is interested in continuing its dialogue with the Club and jointly developing relevant educational modules.
“Training professionals in energy trading is a highly relevant issue. We are already working in this area and would like to continue our dialogue with Energy Club after this meeting,” the Rector said.
The university plans to expand its range of short programmes from the next academic year. At the same time, it is working on joint educational initiatives with Naftogaz Group and other partners.
One serious challenge for energy education is the insufficient number of school students choosing physics as part of Ukraine’s National Multi-Subject Test. This has a direct impact on the number of future applicants to technical and energy-related university programmes.
“We urgently need young people who will enter university and become skilled energy professionals in the future. To follow this path, however, they need to choose physics while they are still at school,” Chudyk stressed.
At the same time, the university has achieved positive admissions results. According to the Rector, it enrolled an unprecedented number of students this year. This result followed several years of extensive career guidance and outreach work.
Attracting students, however, is not enough. Their education must reflect the conditions in which they will work after graduation.
“The needs and conditions of the sector determine what we should change in our educational components, practical cases and the main priorities of each educational pathway,” Chudyk said.
He devoted particular attention to certificate programmes. In his view, it is not always appropriate to create an entirely new degree programme to meet an urgent business need, as doing so requires a lengthy development and accreditation process.
Universities already award bachelor’s and master’s degrees in energy, technical and management disciplines. Graduates can be offered additional modules that strengthen the energy, economic, managerial or legal components of their core education.
“We should not spend time developing a large degree programme when certificate courses can meet the need more quickly. A well-prepared bachelor’s graduate can select additional modules and strengthen the specific competencies required for their work,” Chudyk explained.
These modules can lead to a separate certificate linked to the participant’s primary degree. Employees would not have to leave their workplace for an extended period or interrupt their professional activities.
Chudyk identified dual education as another promising area. This model combines academic education at a university with practical work at a company. Its full implementation, however, requires more than the willingness of the educational institution.
Companies must also create suitable workplace conditions in which an employee or student can study, acquire practical skills and complete the required educational components. According to Chudyk, businesses are not yet participating actively enough in this process.
“For dual education to work, there must be an educational environment at the university and appropriate learning conditions at the workplace. Companies must also learn, to some extent, how to become participants in the educational process,” he emphasised.
Developing this model will require joint efforts by universities, employers, professional associations and the expert community. It would allow students to spend more time at energy companies, work with real processes and simultaneously receive the necessary academic education from their university.
Chudyk confirmed that the university is ready to participate in Energy Club’s educational initiative and continue substantive discussions on future joint programmes.
“As an educational institution, we want to perform this function for the country. To achieve this, we need the support of stakeholders, companies, the professional community and our colleagues from other universities,” the Rector concluded.
