The Preparatory Faculty for foreign citizens was created in 1980 and has more than 35 year experience of training and educating foreign students. In the 80s of the XXth century the Preparatory faculty of Poltava State Agrarian Academy was one of the 14 base preparatory faculties of Ukraine and it was the only one, which trained foreign students for further studying at higher agricultural educational establishments of Ukraine and the CIS countries.
At different time the Faculty was headed by the Deans: Volodymyr Kovalenko, Ivan Mizin, Yurii Skydanenko, Liudmyla Mokliak, Vasyl Zinchyk, Anatolii Kocherha, Oleg Gorb. Since June 2015, the duties of the Dean have been performed by Nataliia Tokuieva.
The main aim of the activities of the Preparatory Faculty for foreign citizens of Poltava State Agrarian Academy is the preparation of students from Asian, African, and Latin American countries for entering higher educational establishments of medical, biological, agricultural, economic, and engineer-technical profiles.
The main tasks of the Faculty’s work are creating such conditions of studying and educating, under which foreign students would feel equal among student youth, strive for cooperation with the teachers, for the latest, original approaches in studies, demonstrate interest to mastering the language, culture, traditions of the country, where they study, and the interest to studying the courses of general-educational profile.
The achieving of the set goal and performing the tasks are planned to be done by:
- choosing the contingent of students and creating the possibility for the implementation of individual, creative requirements in the limits of specialization, orientation of the students to receive higher education;
- developing study plans and work programs, which are directed at satisfying educational demands of the students;
- attracting highly qualified scientific-pedagogical personnel to the study process;
- intensifying the training process, including computerization, using audio- and video equipment, etc.
During the existence of the Faculty, more than 3000 foreign citizens from 60 countries of the world have been trained. The students from Algeria, Benin, Bolivia, Egypt, India, Jordan, Iran, China, Columbia, Congo, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Nicaragua, Palestine, Sudan, Tunisia, Jamaica, and other countries studied here. After receiving higher education, many foreign citizens returned to work in their native countries, others continue studying at key faculties of Ukrainian higher educational establishments or take post-graduate course.
Training is conducted on the commercial basis. The licensed number of enrolled at the Faculty is 150 persons.
The Faculty trains foreign citizens for further studying to receive any specialty both at higher educational establishments of Poltava, other cities or towns of Ukraine and at our Agrarian Academy in the Ukrainian or Russian languages. For businessmen, who want to cooperate with enterprises, firms, short-term courses of studying the Ukrainian and Russian languages function.
The Faculty consists of 3 departments. Senior teachers having the experience from 20 to 30 years, work at the Department of the Ukrainian and Russian languages, headed by the Assistant Professor Yurii Skydanenko.
The Department of general-educational courses is headed by the Assistant Professor Maryna Pishchalenko. The experienced teachers train foreign students in Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, IT, Area studies.
The Department of foreign languages and Ukraine studies is administratively subordinate to the Preparatory Faculty for foreign citizens. The Department is headed by Doctor of sciences (History), Professor Tamara Sharavara.
Since 2007-2008 academic year, training in the state language has been introduced for foreign citizens.
The teachers of the Faculty fruitfully work at creating the basis of methodical ensuring the study process by developing manuals, methodical instructions and recommendations, and also didactic material.
On November 20-21 2015 the All-Ukrainian Scientific-Practical Internet-Conference with international participation “Training foreign students in Ukraine: traditions, realities, prospects”, dedicated to 35 years of the Faculty was held. More than 100 scholars from different Ukrainian and foreign higher educational establishments took part in the conference.
At the Department of the Ukrainian and Russian languages, headed by the Assistant Professor Yurii Skydanenko, the research is being conducted “Dictionaries of ideographic type in the practice of teaching the Ukrainian (Russian) languages and general-educational courses at the Preparatory Faculty”. In 2015, the senior teacher of the Department N.V. Tokuieva completed the post-graduate course at Poltava V.G. Korolenka National Pedagogical University (extra-mural form of studying), and now is finishing work at dissertation research.
Doctor of sciences (History) T.O. Sharavara, Head of the Department of foreign languages and Ukraine studies, supervises the preparation of candidate (PhD) dissertation. The subject of the research is history and theory of the state and law of Ukraine, modern civil and family law of Ukraine, and also the course of military, court, financial, educational and peasant reforms, and the reforms of the local and town self-governance in the second half of the XIX – the beginning of the XX centuries in the Russian Empire.
The topic of the research conducted at the Department of general-educational courses, headed by the Assistant Professor M.A. Pishchalenko is “Analogue-statistical method of forecasting mass propagation of the main wheat pests in Poltava region”
The material-technical base of the Faculty corresponds to the requirements of the study process. There are special study rooms for Physics, Biology, Mathematics lessons, and also the computer classroom. The library also functions at the Faculty, in which study literature and fiction are collected, including the literature in many languages of the world.
The students live in the comfortable dormitory, equipped with everything necessary: fridges, furniture, washing-machines, and shower-rooms.
The important direction of the activity of the Preparatory Faculty for foreign citizens is educational work, familiarizing foreigners with the history, culture, and traditions of Ukraine. The students participate in cultural events of the Faculty, Academy, our town, and region. Clubs, interest groups function at the Faculty, thematic parties, concerts, recreation parties, sports events are held here. The students can attend the Academy’s gym, play football outside or basketball and volleyball in the sports hall.
e-mail: cie@pdaa.edu.ua
The graduates of the Preparatory Faculty for foreign citizens of Poltava State Agrarian Academy work in different parts of the world.
