Unit 3
THE DEVELOPMENT OF SCIENCE IN UKRAINE
Lead-in
· What can you say about the influence of the government on modern science?
· What is your opinion on reforms in the system of higher education and specialists’ traininig in our country?
· What Ukrainian scientists are famous abroad?
Practise pronunciation of the following words and underline the stressed syllable. Translate the words into Ukrainian.
Entirely, inhabitance, genuine, creative, comprise, witness, technology, concern, microprocessors, recognize, establishment, metallurgy, community, engineering, achievements, disproportion, experiencing, inadequate, academicians, tangible, postgraduate, unite, creative, candidates of science, considerable, biophysics, accomplishment, eliminate, despite, certain, ceaseless, security, decrease.
2. Memorize the following words and word combinations. Make up your own sentences:
| 1. to overcome obstacles | – долати перешкоди |
| 2. to recognize | – визнавати |
| 3. a great deal | – величезна кількість |
| 4. to have certain achievements to over credit | – мати деякі досягнення, якими можна пишатися |
| 5. data processing | – обробка даних |
| 6. to bring closer | – наблизити |
| 7. to train specialists | – готувати спеціалістів |
| 8. to grant degrees | – присвоювати ступені |
| 9. to have something at one’s disposal | – мати щось у власності |
| 10. tangible | – реальний |
| 11. In the course of few decades | – на протязі кількох десятиріч |
Read the text and state the stages of historical development of science in Ukraine.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF SCIENCE IN UKRAINE
I
The current scientific and technical revolution has entirely changed the technology, procedure, organization and management of production and, consequently, the mode of people’s lives. For this purpose a fundamental reform of the whole system of higher education and training scientists is needed. For the first time in the history of Ukraine a genuine democratic system of education is being created. It implies the provision of conditions for the solution of such important social tasks as bringing closer the educational level of urban and rural inhabitants.
A lot of young people study at different general educational schools, institutes and universities, at different advance study courses. Among universities in Ukraine there is the oldest one – Lviv University founded in 1661. All our universities train specialists for various fields of economy, the state apparatus, science and culture, conduct postgraduate studies and also grant degrees.
One of the biggest scientific, cultural and educational centers of Ukraine is Kyiv State University, named after T. G. Shevchenko, founded in 1834.
A scientific potential of Ukraine is very powerful. Thousands scientists are working on the scientific problems at higher educational schools, branch research institutions. The greatest creative forces are united under the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, which has at its disposal scientific and research laboratories and establishments. They developed their own research schools which made a tangible contribution to the Ukrainian science. The objective of the Academy is uniting the greatest creative forces: thousands doctors and candidates of science, academicians and corresponding members under its guidance.
II
Broadening the horizons of human knowledge, overcoming insurmountable obstacles scientists of all ranks and ranges do their utmost to further the progress of knowledge, to radically change the existing conceptions. Some discoveries could be classed as revolutionary, and some of them greatly influenced on many sides of man’s life and activity. On scientific research Ukraine occupies a leading place in some branches of material studies, welding technologies, special metallurgy, mathematics, computer engineering, chemistry, molecular and cellular physiology. For the first time in the world the staff of the Kyiv Institute at Advanced Medical Studies have developed the “Biotrone” appliance for carrying on treatment and prophylaxis of vascular brain disorders, new means of sight corrections. The Institute of Registration and Information Problems under the Ukrainian Academy of science has developed a system of using computer communications.
One cannot help but saying about the present formed hard circumstances for Ukrainian science. It is experiencing difficult time. In many respects the present situation in Ukrainian science has resulted from its class association with the former USSR. Inadequate region locations of scientific establishments also had affected upon Ukraine. The most number of scientific institutions are located in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk. To eliminate this disproportion a national program for further development of scientific research as well as a scientifically grounded plan of regional locations of scientific institutions should be adopted. In times of former USSR the science of Ukraine was not recognized at the world level, despite certain great achievements. It was associated only with soviet or Russian science although Ukraine has certain achievements to its credit. Now it is not a terra incognita for the world community.
At present the main task for Ukraine is to overcome a great deal of formed obstacles to develop further all achievements the country made and reach the world level. They are lack of necessary financing, lack of electric power, lack of knowledge, in the field of natural and technical sciences or the application of the scientific and technological innovations, ceaseless decrease in the living standard of scientist, lack of stimuli for the development of scientific research. All these problems should be solved not by scientific establishments or Academy of Sciences but by the government as the scientific and technological sphere is one of the most important elements in the system of our national security, of our most rapid integration into the world community.
