Dear colleagues, dear students of the Zaporizhzhia National Technical University!

Let me express my sincere gratitude to all of you for the unquestionable support you gave me during the voting on June 11 this year!

Returning to the very beginning, I recall October 1997, when exactly 83 percent of voters preferred the youngest rector of technical universities of Ukraine, but the voters voted. Today, when under the new law all scientific and pedagogical, pedagogical and scientific employees had the right to vote – this was new!

I am sure that each of the teachers valued their time in our beloved «Mashinka» – from veterans to the youngest graduates who have just received master’s degrees and joined the teaching staff.

In these more than 17 years, which have not flown by, but have passed very quickly (I was lucky, because since September 1, 1970 – approaching my 45th birthday – I have never left the «machine») – this is a part of our history – we remember those founders of scientific schools of ZNTU – Yurii Augustovich Schulte, Boris Solomonovych Natapov, Boris Yakovych Borisov, Victor Valerianovich Abramov, Asatur Shamirovych Asaturyan, Simon Zakharovych Yudovych, who inspired young people to new achievements.

For me, my role models have always been outstanding predecessors – director of the institute in the post-war years Manuel Yosypovich Bodzich, my favorite rector Pavlo Andriyovych Mykhaylov, the person who led the university during the period of sustainable development – Veniamin Stepanovich Popov and the legendary dean of the Faculty of Automotive Engineering Boris Petrovich Borisov. Each of them left a part of their life in the creation of the «machine».

All these years we worked as a single team and today we can remember with sadness those who left – Anatolii Danylovych Koval, Oleksandr Mykolayovych Rassalsky, Vyacheslav Oleksandrovich Tolok, Mila Hryhorivna Solovyova, Oleksiy Fedorovych Bychevy, other colleagues.

Today we are the National Technical University, which has long outgrown the scope of the technical one. Our team is made up of the most experienced technicians – veteran professors Valentin Vasylyovych Lunyov, Ivan Petrovych Volchok, Volodymyr Petrovych Metelskyi, Petro Dmytrovych Andriyenko, Eduard Ivanovich Tsivirko, Volodymyr Ivanovich Gontarenko, Gennadiy Fyodorovych Babushkin, Dmytro Makarovich Piza, Leonid Yosypovich Ivshchenko, Yuri Mykolayovych Vnukov, Valerii Ivanovich Dubrovin, Volodymyr Mykolayovych Kryshchuk, Georgy Ivanovich Slynko, Vadym Yukhimovych Olshanetskyi, Volodymyr Ivanovich Pozhev and their young students – professors Oleksandr Mityaev, Valerii Naumyk, Serhii Subotin, Oleksandr Ovchinnikov, Stepan Loskutov, Hryhoriy Kornich, Vasyl Donenko, Yevhen Antipenko, Mykhailo Brykov, Serhiy Popov.

Together with them – a powerful squad of humanitarians and economists – a combination of the experience of professors Pyotr Vasylyovych Gudzya, Valentina Mykolaivna Zaytseva, Zhanna Kyrylyvna Nesterenko, Volodymyr Hennadiyovych Prushkivskyi, Serhiy Mykolayovych Alfiorov, Margarita Alfritivna Derkach and the energy of young scientists-professors – Oleh Agarkov, Olena Bondarenko, Vladyslava Lyfar, Iryna Ryzhova, Nataliia Levchenko, Viktoriia Pogrebnyak.

In our team there are dedicated and «machine» specialists – Yuliya Oleksandrivna Sobol, Svitlana Ivanivna Atamanyuk, Volodymyr Hryhorovych Shevchenko, Vasyl Ivanovich Glushko, Volodymyr Khomych Kozyrev, Iryna Viktorivna Pushchina, Taisia Oleksiivna Hayvoronska, Yuri Volodymyrovych Filey, Olena Oleksiivna Vasilieva, Yuri Viktorovych Mastynovskyi, Viktor Mykolayovych Kyrychenko, Vladyslav Semenovych Kabak, Oleksandr Volodymyrovych Klymov, Vladyslav Vasyliovych Korolkov, Mykola Vasylyovych Dyedkov, Ravil Kamilovich Kudermetov, Vladyslav Semenovych Kabak.

With us are the teams of our VSP – Berdyansk machine-building, Zaporizhzhia electrotechnical, Zaporizhzhia humanitarian colleges, Zaporizhzhia college of radio electronics, Tokmak machine-building technical school, led by their leaders – Eduard Eduardovich Shipulskyi, Yevhen Mykolaivych Ryabenko, Yevgenia Teodorivna Prykhodko, Olha Kostyantynivna Barshai, Volodymyr Mykolayovych Hanus – this is also our team!

Special thanks to the voters who were elected by the student community. I am sure that they cast their votes for the achievement of our student self-government. The work of the campus, the Center for Employment Assistance, the development of international cooperation, law enforcement, amateur, sports activities – all this is our studentship. Our youth leaders – Andrii Ivanchenko, Vadym Dubina, Vadym Keda, Valerii Ignashov, Anastasiia Ignashova, Vasyl Devochkin, Harry Moroz – demonstrate examples of organizing work with youth in all directions.

The pride of the university is our graduates, like those trained by our predecessors – director of the motor-building plant, Hero of Socialist Labor Vasyl Ivanovich Omelchenko, president of JSC «Motor Sich», Hero of Ukraine, People’s Deputy of Ukraine Vyacheslav Oleksandrovich Boguslaev, general director of KP «Iskra» Ihor Stepanovich Presnyak, 1st deputy head of ZMKB «Ivchenko-Progress» Georgy Ivanovich Peychev, vice-president of the UkrAvto corporation Oleh Khairulovich Papashev, member of the Supervisory Board of ZNTU Bohdan Pavlovich Maslovets, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Yevhen Hryhorovych Kartashov, People’s Deputies of Ukraine Viktor Ivanovich Ponedilko and Oleksandr Volodymyrovych Romanovskyi, chairman of the regional council Slastyon Viktor Maksymovich and graduates of the years of independence, general director of ZTR CJSC Ihor Vsevolodovych Kleiner, chairman of the board of ZAZ ZAO Mykola Mykhailovych Yevdokymenko, vice-presidents of the Zaporizhzhia Chamber of Commerce and Industry Andriy Kuts and Dmytro Antonyuk, first deputy mayor Dmytro Svirkin, head of SC «Motor Sich» Hennadiy Kasai, head of the workshop of JSC «Motor Sich» Pavlo Kasai, chief technologist of ZMKB «Ivchenko Progress», laureate of the State Prize of Ukraine Eduard Kondratyuk.

The following years are hard work to preserve the high status of the «National» university, to reach the level of a regional research university, to implement the new Law of Ukraine «On Higher Education», to ensure the quality of higher education in accordance with the requirements of modern high-tech industries. I am sure that the team of teachers and students of ZNTU is capable of meeting the most demanding requirements of the modern stage of the development of education and science.

Sincerely

Rector of Zaporizhzhia National Technical University

Serhii Belikov