At the Forbes University by Forbes Ukraine event held in Kyiv, Tetiana Petruk, Chief Sustainability Officer at Metinvest Group, talked about how the Metinvest Polytechnic technical university will help to address Metinvest’s staff shortage and compete with state universities. She took part in a public interview with Volodymyr Fedorin, founding editor of Forbes Ukraine, on the topic “Founder Mode: What Goals Does Metinvest Set for Its Own University?”
The purpose of establishing the university
Tetiana PETRUK said the main goal is to solve the staffing issues that had emerged in the industry even before the war and that have been exacerbated since its outbreak, as well as the revival of Ukraine’s engineering elite.
She stated: “Metinvest Polytechnic is not just an educational institution but a strategic asset of the Group, preparing personnel capable of guiding industrial enterprises through the challenges of decarbonisation, environmental sustainability and digitalisation – both within Metinvest and across the entire country.”
Practical focus and competitiveness
The university’s integration with business provides students with unique opportunities to participate in real projects carried out at the Group’s enterprises, as well as to undertake practical training and internships, including ones carried out abroad. This makes the university competitive among state universities.
Last year, Metinvest launched an internship programme at its enterprises in Bulgaria, with plans for internships in the United Kingdom. An agreement has already been signed with the Italian company Danieli, a global leader in the manufacture of steelmaking equipment. The university also has an extensive network of partnerships with Ukrainian and international universities.
Synergies between business and the university
The creation of Metinvest Polytechnic has become an example of partnership between business and education. Metinvest’s senior managers are members of the university’s supervisory board. Academic councils, involving business, scholars and students define educational programmes and fields of study, and the Group’s specialists regularly deliver lectures and conduct webinars. The university’s scholars also assist businesses with practical research work on technologies, product quality and more. Operational management is carried out by the university’s management team, while strategic decisions about development and new directions for the institution are made by the supervisory board together with the leadership.
During the war, Metinvest has continued to invest in the university, but the Polytechnic is gradually becoming independent. Its sources of income include contract-based tuition, advanced training courses, international programmes and grants.
Response to staff shortages
Currently, Metinvest’s enterprises have approximately 4,000 vacancies, and the plan is to fill these with graduates from both Metinvest Polytechnic and other universities.
Petruk highlighted: “This is the key to the future reconstruction of the country, and over the next five years, we are ready to hire anyone willing to work at our enterprises.”
Partnership as a development strategy for education
The partnership between the state, universities, students and business is critically important for the development of industry and education.
Petruk concluded: “Universities must create programmes in line with business needs, while companies must invest in infrastructure and define specific requirements. Everyone benefits: students receive a quality education, businesses gain qualified specialists and the state gets a platform for the development of technical education and industry in Ukraine.”
