The ordeals of an AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY in Ukraine
My name is Serhii Kiurchev. I am a doctor of technical sciences, professor, and rector of the Dmytro Motornyi Tavria State Agrotechnological University (TSATU). I was appointed to the post of rector by the order of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine in December 2021. 2022 began, as always, with many new ideas, tasks, plans for the future, and we were thinking about how we would celebrate the 90th anniversary of our glorious university that September. But almost two months later, the war broke out. Despite my one year of experience as a rector, under my leadership, the university has gone through an extraordinary path of recovery: from the occupation in the first days of the war, to the relocation to Zaporizhzhia and the creation of the Tavria educational hub. It is still hard to believe that this can happen in today’s world. I want to tell you about the terrible events in my hometown, about the extraordinary deeds of ordinary people, and about the steps taken by the university — which allowed us not only to survive — but to work in the conditions of war. Today we are no longer confused, we know where we are going, but we still need the support of our friends and partners.
Dmytro Motornyi Tavria State Agrotechnological University (TSATU)
Before revealing our current problems, the ways to solve them and the opportunities for assistance from our partners, I would like to talk about the significant role of TSATU. According to the university’s development strategy until 2029, TSATU aims to become a leading innovative university center, which is integrated into the international scientific space and is a reliable partner in the implementation of regional sustainable development and advisory programs.
Regional Center
The university is the leader of education in the south-eastern region of Ukraine. At the international level, we work with partners (universities, NGOs, international foundations) in more than 20 countries of the world. We have a unique material base for conducting scientific activities and forming financial assets for the development of the university: 1,800 hectares of agricultural land, an irrigation system, a laboratory for assessing the quality of land, agricultural products, production resources and water, an educational and training laboratory “Educational Cafe”. But now everything is in in the hands of the invaders of the aggressor country, the Russian Federation, as well as our entire city of Melitopol.
Colleges and Faculties
The university is represented by five faculties and six colleges, which are geographically located in almost all agricultural cities of the Azov region. In total, more than 7,000 students study at the university center. They were forced to leave their homes and are now scattered around the world and have to study online. The occupiers have seized all academic buildings, laboratories and agricultural lands of the university and colleges. Our university is constantly involved in activities to disseminate real information about the aggression against our Ukrainian people through the eyes of educators and students. The entire world community should know how it really is and understand what hell every Ukrainian is going through right now, and at what cost we are fighting for our freedom.
TSATU in Data
The university employs 355 members of the academic staff, 190 of whom have academic degrees (Candidate of sciences, Doctor of sciences). Under various educational and scientific programs, 50 Doctors of Sciences and two Corresponding Members of the Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine are involved in the educational and scientific process. There are 3,800 students that are enrolled in the bachelor’s and master’s degree programs at the university. The university supports the policy of student-centered education. Students represent their rights in five structural entities: the Student Parliament, the Trade Union, club leaders, the “Intellect” Science Club, and the Dormitory law enforcement unit. Also, our students are an integral part of our friendly university team: they are members of academic councils on all levels of the university, actively participate in solving issues of the educational process.
Buildings and Lands
Over the past 15 years, TSATU has been actively replenishing its material and technical base. The university has 230 classrooms, including 28 computer labs and 75 classrooms with multimedia equipment. The sports building was renovated with seven halls and an outdoor football field. Students from rural areas and other cities lived in three dormitories with 1,170 places. Students and teaching staff had the opportunity to relax in the summer at their own recreation center with 150 beds. But today we must ask somebody to accommodate our teachers and students elsewhere in different parts of the country.
21 Major Programs
The university offers 21 educational programs in the fields of engineering, agriculture, computer technology, economics, sustainable development and production, food industry and civil safety. At the same time, even under martial law in 2022, we continue to accredit the university’s educational programs. Our graduates are managers in leading agricultural enterprises of Ukraine. The mayor of our city, Ivan Fedorov, is also a graduate of TSATU.
24th February 2022
February 24, 2022, is the date that divided the lives of all Ukrainians into “before” and “after”. Dreams, plans, and prospects for development are now in the past. We now have the red line that separates the past from the present. Melitopol has always been considered a strategic city, the gateway to the Crimea, and this played a sad role for the city in wartime. Melitopol was occupied on the first day of the war. In Zaporizhzhia, Berdyansk and Melitopol, civilian resistance to the invading troops continued in February and March 2022. In March 2022, the Russian occupiers abducted the mayor of Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov, the head of the district council, Serhiy Pryma, and activists of peaceful rallies. On May 27, 2022, the enemy occupied the university buildings, and the occupation authorities announced the creation of a pseudo-university – Melitopol State University. Even though the university was evacuated to the controlled by Ukraine territory into the city of Zaporizhzhia, the danger remains, as the enemy continues shelling, destroying the infrastructure and destroying our nation.
Editor’s Note: You can support Dmytro Motornyi Tavria State Agrotechnological University by donating:
Company name: TSATU
IBAN Code: UA303133990000025206055700238
Name of the bank: JSC CB “Privatbank”, 1D Hrushevskoho str., Kyiv, 01001, Ukraine
Bank SWIFT Code: PBANUA2X
E-mail: office@tsatu.edu.ua, vmz@tsatu.edu.ua
