16 January 2025 was a remarkable day for students and faculty of the Department of Transport Technologies, the Institute of Mechanical Engineering and Transport, Lviv Polytechnic. On this day, they took part in a large-scale career guidance event «Successful Start of Your Career with Ukrzaliznytsia». This unique event, organized on a modern diesel train DPKr-3 manufactured by Kryukiv Railway Car Building Works, was the first trip to take place on a route specially created by the Lviv railway and was the first stage of a project aimed at promoting railway professions among young people.
Initiators and participants of the event
The project «Successful Start of Your Career» was developed by students Ihor Palenyk and Antonina Kopaieva under the guidance of Yuliia Hermaniuk, Associate Professor at the Department of Transport Technologies, guarantor of the educational and professional program «Organisation of transportation and management in railway transport», with the direct assistance of Oleksandr Pertsovskyi, Chairman of the Board of JSC Ukrzaliznytsia, and the management of the regional branch Lviv Railway. The event brought together students of two majors – Transport Technologies in Railway Transport and Transport Technologies in Road Transport.
The event was organized by the faculty of the Department of Transport Technologies with the assistance of the Head of the Department Yurii Roiko and partners:
- Centre for Professional Development of Personnel of JSC «Ukrzaliznytsia»;
- Youth Council of the Trade Union of Railway and Transport Builders of Ukraine;
- public organisation «Line102.ua»;
due to the assistance of:
- the regional branch of Lviv Railway;
- Suburban Passenger Company branch;
- the production unit of the Lviv station of the Station Company branch of JSC Ukrzaliznytsia.
Start of the event
The event started at 10:10 with the solemn departure of the train from the main station of Lviv station. Before the journey began, Orysia Kalynevych, Head of the Department of Safety and Labour Protection, the Lviv Railway Regional Branch, conducted a safety briefing for all participants.
The participants were greeted by:
- Yuliia Hermaniuk – the project manager,
- Andrii Kyrda – Deputy Director of the Executive Regional Branch «Lviv Railway» of JSC Ukrzaliznytsia for Human Resources and Social Policy,
- Zenovii Finiak – Deputy Head of Station Operations,
- Anatolii Kochan – permanent representative of the regional branch in Lviv region.
At the event, representatives of the regional branch of Lviv Railway actively shared information about the work of the railway industry, talked about the specifics of the activities of various Departments, answered students’ questions and highlighted the prospects for professional growth in the railway sector. Their experience and advice made a valuable contribution to the students’ understanding of their future careers.
During the welcome speech, the purpose and stages of the project were announced, and the participants received a fortune-telling souvenir that added a sweet mood to the journey. The wrapper of the souvenir featured an image of a passenger carriage, which reminds that each of the participants is an important part of the Ukrainian railway future.
Zenovii Finiak told the participants about the work of the Lviv railway and shared his experience and vision of the future of the railway industry.
Future prospects
This event was an important step in the young professionals’ training. The participants received invitations to take part in the next stage of the project, and the best students would have the opportunity to learn more about the work of the Train Control Centre and improve the quality of the educational process.
The Department of Transport Technologies, Lviv Polytechnic, has once again proved that cooperation between educational institutions and enterprises can make good specialists who will become the basis for the successful development of the Ukrainian railway.
