For many years “Ventilation Systems” has been actively supporting youth educational initiatives in close cooperation with many higher educational establishments of Ukraine. Joint projects with the Department of Heat, Gas Supply and Ventilation of Kyiv National University of Construction and Architecture whose numerous graduates have made a successful career with VENTS is a model example of such fruitful cooperation. This is why we decided to interview the Head of the Department, professor and candidate of technical sciences Volodymyr Dovhalyuk and get some first-hand insights.

– Volodymyr Borisovych, what is your opinion of today’s youth’s interest in studying for a degree in the major discipline of “Heat, Gas Supply and Ventilation”?

– Generally speaking, our major discipline covers two areas: delivery of energy resources (such as heat, gas and hot water) to buildings and spaces and microclimatic systems (such as heating, ventilation and air conditioning). The interest to this major discipline is directly related to the state of our economy. I can clearly recall having five groups of students and a large number of those studying on a contract. Today these numbers have somewhat diminished, and that is quite understandable. The Ukrainian construction industry has long been in the doldrums while the youngsters want clear career perspectives. In addition to that in the last two years the number of secondary school graduates fell as well which also affected the number of enrolments. On the one hand, the contemporary secondary school syllabus places far too little emphasis on sciences – especially physics and maths which are required for studying at our university.

On the other hand, new programs for energy efficiency and energy saving being implemented in Ukraine have been gradually reviving interest in our discipline. Students well understand the prospects of a successful career in the field of improving the energy efficiency of community facilities which has a positive effect on their motivation. At the moment we are preparing new courses and curricula with a particular focus of state-of-the-art energy-efficient equipment and solutions – first and foremost, those used in ventilation, air conditioning, heat and gas supply systems.

– Can you name the hottest modern trends in ventilation?

Striving for compliance with the EU regulations we are advocating for a step-by-step abandonment of natural ventilation, even in residential buildings, in favour of forced ventilation with extract air heat recovery. Such an approach enables heat and cold savings as well as ensuring an optimum microclimate in the serviced spaces. Every single ventilation system is designed in consideration of these requirements. Therefore, we are making thorough changes to the teaching and learning process.

Still, there is a considerable gap between what the students learn in the classroom and the real-life challenges.  Since state education is financed on the leftover principle, we haven’t been able to procure modern equipment with our own funds and let our students use it. This gap is being successfully bridged by “Ventilation Systems” company which has been instrumental in addressing these deficiencies. Beginning with the third year of study our students get to know the most current models of equipment manufactured by VENTS both at the factory and at our lab.

– Would you mind telling a bit more about the cooperation with “Ventilation Systems”?

We have a long cooperation history with VENTS which has been going on for many years. Back in the day our university entered into an agreement with the company enabling us to proceed with a number of projects. In particular, those included the best course paper project in the “Ventilation” discipline using the equipment by VENTS.  In addition to that we hold the annual All-Ukrainian Academic Olympics in “Heat and Gas Supply and Ventilation” major discipline which attracts students from a dozen universities and colleges of Ukraine. A number of our students have enrolled to the on-the-job training programs available at the company’s factory.

However, our cooperation with “Ventilation Systems” has been recently reaching a whole new level. This year we have partnered with the company in organising two large-scale international conferences on the implementation of energy-efficient technology in construction. The presentations delivered by Lavr Kotelkov and Serhiy Starchenko on the latest energy-efficient offerings by VENTS were received with a keen interest by the numerous professionals attending the events.

We are also working on launching a full-fledged scientific and research cooperation with the company. Our university and VENTS may also join efforts in establishing a cutting-edge laboratory to conduct research focused on air terminal device applications and efficient air exchange in spaces. That being said, I am extremely confident that our cooperation with VENTS has a tremendous potential and will open many more exciting opportunities.