Educational process  

However, the expert group identified several weaknesses and shortcomings in the educational program and provided recommendations for its improvement. Throughout 2023, a working group focused on reviewing and updating the educational program, and overall, the faculty of the Department of Health Product Technology worked diligently. Today, it can be acknowledged that the department has successfully implemented several recommendations from the expert group.

Specifically, for the first time, the department initiated the process of improving the English language proficiency of instructors. Associate Professor Svitlana Kaminska completed training courses in preparation for a language proficiency certificate at the B2 level and simultaneously engaged in international training at Bialystok University. The professional experience of instructors in the field of the educational program profile has been enhanced to ensure that learners acquire both hard and soft skills.

The practice of developing and revising educational materials has been improved to deepen and enhance the teaching of subjects specific to the department. This includes disciplines such as "Prospective Technological Processes in the Production of Health Products," "Functional Food Product Technologies," "Technology of Natural Food Sorbents," "Technology of Natural Vitamins," and "Fundamentals of Valeology. Health Aspects of Nutrition," taking into account the opinions of learners and stakeholders during the program review in March-April 2023.

The content of modern disciplines has been expanded through the implementation of the educational program by incorporating the experiences of foreign and domestic higher education institutions. This involves disciplines such as "Prospective Technological Processes in the Production of Health Products," "Biologically Active Substances in Food Technologies," "Bioactive Food Components and Health," and "Dietary Supplements: Innovations in Production and Consumption Technologies," which consider the interests of all stakeholder groups based on the results of the latest program review.

A practice of utilizing informal education potential has been initiated, including guest lectures by alumni and representatives of employers, as well as participation in training and seminars with medical professionals. Meetings with representatives of employers have been organized, contributing to a broader understanding of industry needs.

The positive practice of preparing author courses for teaching specific departmental disciplines has continued, with two new textbooks being published in the university's electronic database in 2023: "Prospective Technological Processes in the Production of Health Products" (April 2023, authors – H.O. Simakhina, N.V. Naumenko) and "Methodology of Scientific Research" (November 2023, authors – H.O. Simakhina, N.V. Naumenko, S.V. Kaminska). The textbook "Prospective Technological Processes in the Production of Health Products" was recognized as one of the best by the Office of Scientific Support within the "Scientist's Book" project and was presented on the office's Facebook page.

In response to the expert group's recommendations, the list of companies and research institutions for learners' internships, instructors' internships, and joint research projects has been significantly expanded. Agreements have been made with various entities, including Private Enterprise "VEND" (Cherkasy), State Enterprise "Zlatodar" (Zolotonosha), Private Joint-Stock Company "Novohrad-Volynskyi Bread Factory" (Novohrad-Volynskyi), Institute of Hydrobiology of the NAS of Ukraine (Kyiv), Institute of Horticulture of the NAS of Ukraine (Kyiv), LLC "Firma Favor" (Kyiv), Lviv National University named after I. Franko, and the Public Organization "Institute of Good Food" (Lviv).

However, the working group is fully aware of the unresolved tasks for improving the educational program and is committed to doing everything possible during the next year (2024) to address the remaining challenges and further enhance positive practices.

The additional criteria include:

1. Scientific justification of the main provisions of the work in the chosen direction. This indicator reveals the relevance of the chosen direction, derived from a review of literary and other scientific sources, comparing different perspectives on the issue, and identifying key contradictions that are worth considering in the course of the qualification work. The level of the applicant's scientific independence is evidenced by their vision of ways to solve this problem. Of course, all these conclusions are discussed with the scientific supervisor of the qualification work. This indicator can also be characterized by the originality of the author's approaches to interpreting specific provisions, indicating their independence as an essential component of a true scientist.

2. Consistency and logical structuring of the material. The department encourages any initiative from the applicant in terms of additional inclusion of specific subsections, additional argumentation of individual provisions, or additional experimental research that expands the format of the study. This additional work looks particularly impressive during the presentation of the qualification work when the applicant seeks to be heard and understood, strives to engage the audience in their thoughts, prove their legitimacy and validity. If you highlight a part of the scientific work in the form of a presentation at a conference, the author's approach with their own argumentation will either find support among the audience or create the basis for a lively discussion, which is a crucial factor in discussing any scientific work.

3. Analysis of the results of one's own research. An important component of the qualification work is the description of experimental research, their analysis, comparison with the results of the work of other authors in this direction. The results of the research indicate that the applicant has achieved the goal set in the work, completed all necessary tasks, and outlined paths for further development of this topic. Analyzing the results of the research, the applicant emphasizes the relevance of the theme of their work for the further development of technologies for health products, expanding the range of health products in the domestic market, and giving it an export-oriented direction. It is also necessary to justify the importance of the developed idea for the production of new generation products that correspond to the global trend of healthy eating, and which, at least to some extent, contribute to the theory and practice of the specificity of developing and obtaining health products.

4. Theoretical background and its role in the further development of the healthy food industry. The student should strive to utilize the acquired knowledge throughout their studies for the theoretical justification of the recipe composition of a new product. This involves the necessity to introduce new, less-known ingredients into traditional contexts, apply special methods for processing raw materials, and justify criteria for their selection, among other aspects.

Certainly, such theoretical groundwork may currently lack the required scientific depth and persuasive claims. However, these fragments complement existing data from pharmaconutritionology, overall expanding the knowledge base in this field and demonstrating the student's creative self-sufficiency in the execution of course projects and qualification works.

It is crucial for the student to make certain generalizations based on the obtained results, outlining the achieved and setting new goals. Evaluating the developed products using comparative indicators in pharmacy, such as benefit/risk and benefit/price ratios, as well as employing the widely used SWOT analysis in various scientific and technological fields, is advisable.

5. Use of scientific terminology and linguistic proficiency. The combination of judicious use of scientific terminology and linguistic proficiency indicates the student's creative maturity and understanding that without appropriate utilization of the categorical apparatus, scientific exploration and progress are impossible.

The use of scientific terminology in the work commences with the formulation of a scientific problem, which is further specified in defining the research topic, conceptualizing its intention and solution methods. This is supplemented by justifying the relevance of the problem, its goals, tasks, objects, and subjects of research.

Special attention is given to the term "scientific novelty," as it attests to a certain correspondence of the student's research to those conducted by other authors, indicating progress in the study of the problem and a specific contribution to the existing knowledge about the object and subject of the research known to date.

Proper literary language, the purposeful use of scientific terms (including foreign ones), the figurativeness of thinking, appropriate use of quotes from renowned scientists, emotional expression of material, and minimal application of clichés and banal phrases are all essential components of linguistic proficiency.

6. Quality indicator of literature processing, formation of biographical description. The biographical description should be presented through contemporary works of domestic and foreign scholars (excluding Russian and Belarusian) primarily in the form of references to periodicals not older than 10 years, monographs, reference materials, and internet resources. The biographical description should refrain from references to legislative normative documents, DSTU (State Standards of Ukraine), etc., as they do not qualify as scientific literature. It is also undesirable to reference textbooks, except for classical literature. References to patents are permissible.

Of course, the researcher's ethics prohibit plagiarism. Therefore, each qualification work undergoes a thorough plagiarism check before further consideration. The acceptable lower limit of originality should not be lower than 70%, meaning that borrowing from the authors of other works should not exceed 30%. Any work falling below this threshold requires improvement, followed by a recheck for plagiarism to minimize the extent of borrowing.

7. Indicator of material energetic saturation. This indicator, proposed for the first time to assess scientific work, is subjective but essential for evaluating the researcher's engagement with the chosen topic. It reflects the researcher's passion for the developed question, the amount of positivity and creativity invested, and the strength of the desire to captivate the audience with their scientific contribution. This includes the effort to be heard, find followers in implementing their ideas, encourage discussion, hear others' opinions, and justify their own. The most vivid characterization of this indicator is obtained during the public defense of the work, its presentation, and discussions at conferences, etc.

Therefore, each qualification work is evaluated on how well the researcher managed to present the science of healthy nutrition as a system of knowledge and as an art of applying this knowledge to practical needs in the field of healthy eating.

In conclusion, to assess the quality of completed qualification works, in addition to the standard 100-point system, the working group proposes a series of additional indicators that provide a more comprehensive characterization of the work, the level of preparation of the researchers, their ability and inclination towards independence, creativity, and the desire to contribute to the development of the healthy food industry in Ukraine. The proposed indicators were discussed and approved at the meeting of the Department of Technology of Health Products (Protocol № 5 dated October 31, 2023).