Kharkov IT universities: where to go to study if you really want to get a programmer's degree

We at JavaRush continue to insist on our point: to become a programmer, you don’t have to graduate from a specialized university. If your goal is practical ability to write code, and not basic knowledge, there is a 95% chance that at university you will only waste time (and sometimes money). However, if you are at the appropriate age and still want to graduate from a higher educational institution, it is logical to take a closer look at the specialized specialties. What if you want to not just code, but write systems that require scientific knowledge? And in general, you may be lucky with a teacher, and he will teach you something right. Seriously, this happens.

What's there in Kharkov?

Kharkov universities have become more active - the busy season is just beginning for 2018 applicants. They have very little time left to properly prepare for taking the External Economic Examination (ZNO), and most importantly, decide on their specialty and place of future study. Universities are actively opening their doors, inviting young people to take preparatory and specialized courses for schoolchildren. It would seem that everything is simple: if you want to be a teacher, go to pedagogical school, or a doctor, go to medical school. But, as it turns out, there are practically no clear-cut monopolists, and competition exists in almost all areas of training. The eyes of applicants run wild, and here the active work of educational institutions is called upon to help applicants make a decision, and the university itself to provide itself with students.

I want to be a programmer!

Twenty years ago, everyone went to economics or law faculties, now more and more young people are turning their attention to technical schools and storming admissions committees with the thought “I’ll be a programmer.” But here, applicants face two problems: the number of universities ready to teach IT specialties, and the absence of a clear specialty “Programming” in the “List of areas of knowledge and specialties for which training is carried out in the higher education system of Ukraine” (last updated - February 2017). So you have to choose from what is available. Below is a list of specialties that may be of interest to a future programmer: Please note that one code may include several specializations at one university, do not confuse them with the specialties in the list! For example, the following specializations are related to the specialty “Computer Science and Information Technology”: “Computer Science”, “Artificial Intelligence”, “Computer Science”. Moreover, if these areas belong to different faculties, then there will definitely be some differences in preparation. And, conversely, if two different specialties are taught at the same faculty, then their teaching will have common features. Now you can figure it out. We take a directory of universities, look for the necessary specialties, and begin to look at what you need specifically. To do this, you need to decide on two things: firstly, who is the programmer that you want to become. And, secondly, what to do with this desire and how to realize it with the help of higher education, and not only. So, a programmer is a person who creates algorithms for the operation of electronic devices: from calculators and computers to spacecraft. Conventionally, programming is divided into two categories: system (for example, writing programs for hardware drivers) and applied (creating websites, applications, software, etc.). The programmer must be proficient in one or more programming languages, know English, be collected and attentive. The profession requires constant self-education, as generations of products become obsolete, sometimes replacing each other annually. Accordingly, we are looking for a technical university, and in this case, no matter what university you choose, it will not be easy to study there. You will have to receive serious mathematical training, study algorithmic and programming languages, and master a number of special disciplines directly related to the chosen specialty.

The pain of choosing a university

Universities now offer a whole range of IT specialties, and oddly enough, any of them are related to programming. Let's take, for example, Kharkov - not only the first, but also the student capital of Ukraine. Specialists are trained here by 69 higher educational institutions of various forms of ownership and levels of accreditation, including 17 universities and 9 academies. We have selected 13 universities included in the TOP 20 of the “Rating of Higher Educational Institutions of Kharkov portal Osvita.ua” which offer to “make a cool IT specialist out of yesterday’s incoming student.” And this is not all local educational institutions that can help you get an IT education. The order of the university in the list corresponds to the “Rating of higher educational institutions of Kharkov portal Osvita.ua” (July 2017) ( http://ru.osvita.ua/vnz/rating/45567/ ). The number in the ranking among all universities in Kharkov is indicated in brackets.

Tip of the iceberg

The eyes run wide, the heart is silent, the mind is in shock from the upcoming External Examination (EIT) and applicants begin to look for various ratings and lists of the best among the IT field, maybe this is where the great knowledge of “where to go and what to choose” is hidden. Well, let's look at two more ratings: Rating of the DOU portal for universities with IT specialties, May 2017 https://dou.ua/lenta/articles/ukrainian-universities-2017/ This survey is based on questionnaires of more than two thousand IT specialists who studied in Ukrainian (not foreign) universities, regardless of whether they have a diploma. The main goal of the survey is to create a ranking of universities for higher education and work in IT in Ukraine. The final ranking included faculties and universities for which 40 or more questionnaires were collected. Please note that the sample was made for Kharkov universities. Rating of Ukrainian universities in IT specialties, 2013 http://itukraine.org.ua/sites/default/files/prezentaciya_it-obrazovanie.pdf For comparison, we present a study of the effectiveness of training Ukrainian students in IT specialties of the IT-Ukraine Association. The study was compiled based on data from about 10 thousand questionnaires of IT company employees. The period from 2000 to 2012 was taken into account. In total, about 20 large IT companies took part in the study, including GlobalLogic, SoftServe, EPAM, Luxoft, Miratech, SoftLine and others. Data on graduates who work in small and medium-sized companies, as well as those who went abroad, were not taken into account. The sample was made for Kharkov universities. Judging by the three ratings, as well as reviews on forums and websites dedicated to IT education, let’s talk a little more about the three leaders among IT universities: KNURE, NTU KhPI and KhAI.

KNURE

KNURE is one of the largest universities in the country that graduates specialists in the field of IT. There are all 8 areas related to IT. The university actively interacts with Kharkov IT companies. A number of computer disciplines are taught by practicing programmers and employees of local software developers. The university cooperates with NIX Solutions, Microsoft Ukraine, Sigma Ukraine, IBM and others. The university operates several laboratories, organized jointly with local IT companies. The Oracle Academy is based in KNURE, where training in Java, C#, .NET, QA Automation in Java and others is provided on a paid basis. As in any other university, the student will have to study several courses in general and humanities, a number of mathematical disciplines and subjects related to IT to one degree or another. The list of subjects studied at the university includes programming languages ​​(Java, C#/.NET, C/C++, HTML/CSS, JavaScript, PHP, Haskell, Python/Django, Assembler, Prolog, MVC), databases (Access, MySQL, Oracle, MongoDB), mathematical packages (Mathematica, MatLab, MathCad, Maple), software development methodologies (Agile) and much more. Of course, the subjects will depend on the chosen specialty and faculty. “In the first year they teach programming in C++, discrete mathematics, higher mathematics, algorithms, and the basics of computer computing. In the 2nd year we study OOP with C++, we also learn WinAPI, working with databases based on MySQL, MSSQL, computer logic, digital automata, coding theory. In the 3rd year - computer architecture (theory + Assembler programming), circuit design, C#, Java. Hardware languages ​​include VHDL, Verilog, SystemVerilog.” Igor, 5th year (KIU) “Applied Mathematics” and “System Analysis” are not much different, there is a lot of higher mathematics. The languages ​​we study are mainly C++ and C#.” Bogdan, 4th year (ITM)

NTU "KhPI"

Polytechnic is traditionally rated as a university with strong technical training. It even has its own “Silicon Valley”. This is the name of the educational and production complex located on the territory of the university - a joint project of KhPI and the Telesens company. The main goal of creating the complex is to establish interaction between production and education. Students and teachers participate in the development of real business projects without interrupting their studies or work. At the same time, graduates gain work experience, teachers gain an understanding of the trends and needs of the IT industry, and companies gain more prepared applicants. The Department of Software Engineering and Management Information Technologies collaborates with NIX Solutions. The company offers teachers to take advanced training courses, and 3rd and 4th year students to take educational projects in its own training center. The Cisco Networking Academy operates at the Department of Information Systems. NTU “KhPI” is included in the Microsoft IT Academy program.

KhAI them. Zhukovsky

National Aerospace University named after. Zhukovsky "Kharkov Aviation Institute" is the only university in Ukraine that provides comprehensive training in the field of design and production of all types of aircraft, aircraft and rocket engines. KhAI has 14 specializations related to IT. During training, students become familiar with technologies for creating intelligent systems, such as Prolog, Lisp, a variety of programming languages ​​(C#/.Net, C++, Java, HTML/CSS, JavaScript, Assembler, etc.), mathematical methods of data analysis, software design methodologies . The university has introduced several highly specialized courses with the support of IT companies. The All-Ukrainian Team Programming Olympiad is held annually, sponsored by Plarium for the last few years. Just last week, a cool multimedia audience from NIX Solutions appeared at KhAI. University students praise their alma mater for high-quality knowledge, the opportunity to take part in “live” projects, support from teachers, and basic knowledge for further development and improvement of their knowledge. At the same time, like students of other challenges, they note that the educational process is still not able to cover the variety of algorithms, applied problems, mathematical methods, programming languages ​​and software application development tools.

How exactly to become a programmer

Dear applicants, we once again urge you to decide on your desires. If you like stories about your future salary being six figures, are attracted to life “over the hill”, or are interested in the status of “programmer’s wife”, then a specialized university is definitely not your lucky ticket. Moreover, IT is not only programming, and maybe somewhere in a related field as a tester, designer or system administrator you will be more comfortable and have more prospects. In any case, English will be useful to you. It is not obligatory, but it is necessary. Not all IT vacancies write about higher education or work experience, but knowledge of English is everywhere. Not only is the program text itself (code), technical documentation, most reference publications written in English, many companies work closely with foreign colleagues and, of course, the language of communication is English. The minimum stated requirement is level B1 (Intermediate), but by this the employer also means knowledge of specialized terminology, reading and writing technical documentation. If you have some programming experience and you are choosing a university with the desire to improve your scientific skills and experience Zen, then perhaps you are on the right path. But this path will lie among the blocks of fundamental technical sciences and it may happen that, after 5 years of studying them, you will not be able to compare your specialty at the university and vacancies on Rabota.ua. Since the specialties at the university are divorced from the realities of modern development - well, there is no specialty “Programmer”, and the curricula cannot keep up with actively developing technologies. Perhaps it’s enough for you to learn a programming language (for example, with us, on Javarush). Today Java is one of the most universal and popular programming languages. Plus books, information on the Internet, a huge number of face-to-face and online courses will be able to introduce you to the basics and give you an understanding of what to expect next. Only by regularly doing programming - solving problems in JavaRush, developing educational programs or your personal projects, by the 3-4th year will you come close to your cherished dream of taking a place in the sun of one of the development companies. University and courses are not interchangeable or mutually exclusive things. The university provides fundamental knowledge and understanding of global processes, and the courses place the main emphasis on teaching practical skills. Technical education allows you to gain fundamental knowledge, master a certain set of technologies and programming languages, provides additional advantages when fighting for a desired job, is very useful in terms of developing your skills and knowledge and, of course, will make you a certified specialist. But the modern education system, with all its desire to provide the most practical and relevant knowledge, does not keep up with dynamically developing technologies. So any person who wants to connect his life with the IT world and become a programmer must be prepared to be an eternal student, and self-education should be one of the important parts of his development as a professional from the moment he enters a university, or even earlier. In the alley near the main entrance of KNURE there is a monument to the programmer - a young man with a laptop thoughtfully looks into the sky. We don’t know if he is thinking about complex code or dreaming of a job offer somewhere at Google or Facebook, but we are sure that daily work and great desire will help you call him a colleague in a few years, no matter which university you choose.