The Department of Health Food Technology was established in 2001 in response to the challenges that the food industry faced, particularly the need to create a healthy food industry. This priority development has been confirmed by over 30 years of global experience in the production and marketing of health-promoting products. Today, this field is a global trend, and its significance and scale continue to grow.
Our department remains the only one in Ukraine that prepares specialists specifically for this fundamentally new sector of the food industry. Our experts are equally knowledgeable about modern medical insights regarding the role of food components in human body function, which contributes to improving the quality of life or, conversely, leading to various dietary-related illnesses. They are also well-versed in contemporary technological processes for producing health-promoting products.
Both our teachers and students, like the rest of the world, believe that healthy eating is the key to individual health, careers, happiness, and family harmony. In other words, it encompasses everything that gives meaning to life and is highly valued by all of us.
Furthermore, both our teachers and students understand that in the present day, the responsibility for the nation's health lies not only with medical professionals but also with us – the technologists of health-promoting nutrition.
The Department asserts that health food technology addresses two of the most crucial issues for every individual:
Providing for the basic nutritional needs for sustaining life.
Ensuring optimal health and a high quality of life, or as Academician Mykola Amosov put it, achieving the necessary "quantity of health."
The department's instructors are aware that today the functions of food technologists encompass various fields, including healthcare, intellectual and production activities. Consequently, medical-focused disciplines (e.g., "Fundamentals of Valeology," "Chemistry and Pharmacognosy of Plants," "Technologies of Natural Vitamins," "Fundamentals of Pharmaconutrition") are included in the curriculum. Humanitarian subjects (e.g., "Interactive Communication in Professional Activities," "Foreign Language: Practical Skills in Scientific Communication," "Professional Language for Health Food Technologists") and technological courses (e.g., "Technologies of Food and Dietary Supplements," "Food Products Technologies for Child and Gerodietetic Nutrition," "Promising Technological Processes in the Production of Health-Promoting Products," and more) are also offered.
It's worth emphasizing another specific aspect of training at the department. The modern food industry comprises various sectors and produces a wide range of products based on different food sources: grains, flour, dairy, meat, oils, and so on. These sectors rarely overlap, and each has its unique spectrum of products. Only health food technology covers and unifies all these sectors, as health-promoting products can be produced from any type of agricultural raw material. Therefore, in the field of health food technology, each student can find their calling and create their dream product on any food basis, which may become a brand in the future for the food industry or the restaurant business.
Since 2017, the department has been training master's students in the educational-professional program "Technologies of Health and Preventive Food Products." In October-December 2022, this program was successfully accredited, and the department received Certificate №. 3852, allowing it to continue training specialists until July 2028. The expert commission noted the uniqueness of this educational program, its relevance and prospects, compliance with modern higher education requirements, the needs of the food industry, the labor market, and the development of new scientific ideas and their implementation.
Another distinctive feature of the department's activities is that practically all courses, especially the specialized ones, are supported by the instructors' own materials. For example, "Technology of Natural Vitamins" (Ivanova V.D., Simakhina G.O., 2016); "Innovative Technologies and Products" (Ukrainets A.I., Simakhina G.O., 2015); "Fundamentals of Valeology. Valeological Aspects of Nutrition" (Simakhina G.O., Naumenko N.V., Bashta A.O., 2020); "Technology of Health-Promoting Food Products" (Simakhina G.O., Naumenko N.V., 2015); "Human Physiology" (Simakhina G.O., Naumenko N.V., 2022); "Promising Technological Processes in the Production of Health-Promoting Products" (Simakhina G.O., Naumenko N.V., 2023); "Bioactive Substances in Food Technologies" (Simakhina G.O., Naumenko N.V., Stetsenko N.O., 2016); "Methodology of Scientific Research" (Simakhina G.O., Naumenko N.V., Kaminska S.V., 2023), and many more.
The department's staff understands the importance of the scientific component in the education of students and recognizes that a scientific idea is the most crucial element of innovative business. Therefore, all the textbooks mentioned are based on the research results of their authors, which are also published in monographs such as "Low Temperatures in Health Food Technologies" (Simakhina G.O., Naumenko N.V., 2011); "Innovations in Food Technologies: From Scientific Idea to Implementation" (Shevchenko O.Y., Simakhina G.O., and others, 2013); "New Products for Military Personnel's Rations" (Simakhina G.O., Stetsenko N.O., Naumenko N.V., 2017); "Frozen Fruits and Berries: Quality, Safety, Efficiency" (Ukrainets A.I., Simakhina G.O., Naumenko N.V., 2019); "Cryodamage and Cryoprotection in Food Technologies" (Simakhina G.O., Kochubey-Lytvinenko O.V., Naumenko N.V., Kaminska S.V., 2023).
Starting in 2020, the department actively participated in the implementation of a long-term research and educational project titled "Healthy Eating from Childhood to Longevity: State and Prospects," initiated by our university and several medical institutions (clinical and research). The annual International Conferences with the mandatory participation of foreign scientists showcase the developments of the department's staff and students in this area. The strategy and tactics for implementing this project are based on all the research conducted by our scientists and their international counterparts, published at such conferences.
The department's instructors collaborate with researchers from medical institutions at the publication level and through participation in scientific and practical conferences of various levels, such as "Nutritional Mirror of Health: Is Everything Visible?" They also engage in roundtable discussions and more. The cooperation with the Institute of Hydrobiology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine continues.
Equally important for the department is collaboration with food industry enterprises. Long-term agreements for creative scientific and technical cooperation have been concluded and are successfully implemented with Private Joint-Stock Company "Novohrad-Volynsky Bread Factory" (CEO Sergiy Portianko), LLC "Firma Favor" (CEO Raïsa Mykhailova) until December 31, 2028, and with State Enterprise "Zlatodar" (CEO Valeriy Burkatskiy) until December 31, 2027. Department staff organizes meetings with the production personnel, conducts master classes, and engages in educational and career guidance work. In this way, the department enriches industry representatives with the latest scientific data on the impact of food products on human body functioning in various environmental conditions, while also gaining invaluable practical experience in their practical implementation.
The Department of Health Food Technology is dedicated to preparing and nurturing professionals. We understand that the future belongs to ambitious, well-educated, resilient individuals focused on achieving positive results. The synonym for expertise in health food technology is the prestige of this field on the global market. Throughout its history, the department, with its devoted team of 9 instructors, has produced over 500 graduates for various sectors of the food industry, research organizations, and higher education institutions, all of whom confidently establish themselves in the labor market, characterized by dynamic employment opportunities. The prospects for employment are even more optimistic, reflecting both domestic and international labor markets, as evidenced by a content analysis of job vacancies.
According to the teaching staff of the department, in the realm of health food technology, every graduate should be distinguished by intelligence, character, industriousness, and a true understanding of the concept: "Lifelong learning."
Especially in recent times when life presents us with new, unexpected challenges, the department motivates its students to develop self-education skills. Today, this is a significant personal competitive advantage for everyone. This is especially important considering that our professionals work not only in one of the food industry sectors but are equally prepared for the production of health-promoting products from any type of agricultural raw material on any food production facility.
The department ensures that graduates meet the main requirements for young professionals through:
- Excellent foundational education
- Knowledge of computer and information technologies
- Adequate communication skills
- Professional and general cultural literacy
- Motivation for career growth
- Teamwork skills.
The Department of Health Food Technology contributes to the development of leaders in professional, scientific, and self-realization endeavors. The philosophy of educational, scientific, and educational activities of the department's instructors and students is the health of the Ukrainian nation!