In 2023, based on the new Department of State Regulation and Public Administration in the IT-sector, a new educational program “Public Management of Innovative and Informational Ecosystems” appeared at SUITT in the specialty 281 “Public Management and Administration”, for which experienced scientists and highly qualified specialists were invited with practical experience.
Due to the need to optimize the work of the structural units of the educational process, introduce new specialties and fulfil the tasks of the State University Development Strategy until 2026, according to the rector’s order “On improving the organization of the educational process at SUITT” dated 29.12.23 № 01-02-218 Department of State Regulation and Public Administration in the IT-sector was renamed to the Department of Public Administration and Digital Economy from January 1, 2024. In accordance with this order, professors, associate professors, and teachers of the Department of Economics and Digital Business were also transferred to the department.
The specified organizational changes have a logical basis both from the point of view of scientific knowledge and from the point of view of training modern specialists who, in the rapidly changing conditions of economic reality, characteristic of the digital age, need to make choices and make various decisions every day.
Having common roots – the “art of managing a household” – the specialties “Economics” and “Public management and administration” are related today among themselves as “content” and “form”.
The training of specialists in economics has an interesting long-term history at our university. The origins of this process go back to the time of economic disciplines introduction into the training programs for future communications engineers at the Odesa Electrotechnical Institute of Telecommunications. Since the 1940s of the 20th centuries, providing students with basic economic knowledge has been an integral part of their full preparation for future professional activities. At first, the economic foundation was laid by teachers of social sciences in the same department with philosophers, historians, economists, political scientists, etc., later in 1954 a separate structural unit was created – the Department of Political Economy. From 1967 to 1974, teaching of economic disciplines was provided by teachers from the Department of Political Economy and Economics of Telecommunications. In the mid-70s, the department was reorganized, the Department of Political Economy and the Department of Economics and Telecommunications Enterprises Management were separated, which was subsequently divided into two structural divisions.
The rapid development of the telecommunications industry increasingly required not only engineers, but also specialists in non-technical specialties, which led to the start in 1992 of training specialists in economics and management at the new Faculty of Engineering and Economics, which since 2003 has become the Educational and Scientific Institute of Economics and Management of the O.S. Popov Odessa National Academy of Telecommunications. The structure of the institute gradually expanded, more than 100 applicants annually chose the specialties “Economics” and “Management”, dozens of professors, associate professors, and teachers who taught theoretical and applied economic disciplines already worked in different departments. Over a period of more than 30 years, the teaching staff of the Department of Economic Theory, Department of Enterprise Economics and Corporate Management, Department of Management and Marketing, Department of System Analysis and Project Management have provided fundamental economic training and developed practical skills for thousands of graduates who now work not only in Ukraine , but also far beyond its borders, in particular, today they are represented by the relevant committees in the Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada, the Ministry of Digital Transformation, the Ministry for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine, the Ministry of Finance, State Treasury Service of Ukraine and other government bodies working in various companies in different countries world, in financial institutions, institutions of higher education, scientific institutions, etc.
Socio-economic and political changes in the state, aggravation of demographic problems and reform of the higher education system, new technological conditions for the organization of the educational process, new trends in the labour market, reorganization and implementation of a new course of innovative development of the university are the main factors that contributed to the transition to a new model organizations for the training of specialists in non-technical specialties at the State University of Intelligent Technologies and Telecommunications.
Changes in the field of telecommunications and information, which today ensures the development of the infrastructure of the digital economy, determine changes at all levels of the economy, because most economic entities choose the path of digital transformation. Specialists working with information and telecommunications in one form, or another are becoming in demand in various areas of professional activity, so today the Faculty of Business and Social Communications is expanding the range of non-technical specialties at SUITT, new departments and new relevant educational programs are appearing.
Preserving scientific and pedagogical traditions that are of fundamental importance for the development of the system of training specialists in the field of economics and public administration, today we continue to observe new trends in the world, and we immediately implement the results of scientific research into the educational process, new courses that affect not only the program the training and applicants results at the university, but also help to form guidelines for the personal and professional development of young people.
From the beginning of 2024, the Department of Public Administration and Digital Economy provides training of specialists in new educational and professional programs: “Public Management and Administration of Innovation and Information Ecosystems” in specialty 281 “Public Management and Administration”; “Digital Economy” (bachelor’s degree) and “Enterprise Economics” (master’s degree) in specialty 051 “Economics”. For applicants of the third (Doctor of Philosophy) level of higher education, we provide training in the educational and scientific program “Economics”. The teachers of the department also teach several academic disciplines within the framework of other educational programs at all faculties of the university.
The current stage of development of the department is characterized by a high level of involvement of all its representatives in events aimed at implementing the strategic guidelines of our university. Teachers of the department regularly improve their qualifications, develop new courses, update educational and methodological support of disciplines, publish the results of scientific research in monographs, in professional publications included in international scient metric databases, take part in international conferences and seminars, actively involve young people in new projects, organized in cooperation with companies and government agencies.
