Educational and Scientific Complex "Institute for Applied System Analysis" of the National Technical University of Ukraine "Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute"

ESC "IASA" of the Igor Sikorsky KPI

The idea of starting the training of system analysts in Ukraine was first proposed in 1987 by Academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences, Director of the V.M. Glushkov Institute of Cybernetics of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, and Chairman of the Scientific Council of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), V. Mikhalievich. He addressed this proposal to the Minister of Higher and Secondary Specialized Education of Ukraine, V. Parkhomenko, who fully supported the idea. By the order of Minister Parkhomenko, in September 1988, the Department of Mathematical Methods of Applied System Analysis (MMSA) was established at Kyiv Polytechnic Institute (KPI). At the request of KPI Rector P. Talanchuk, the organizational work was carried out by Professors M. Zgurovsky and Yu. Daletsky together with members of their research teams. Professor M. Zgurovsky was appointed Head of the newly created department. The core of the department consisted of faculty members of the Applied Mathematics Department of KPI — Yu. Daletsky, Yu. Bohdansky, V. Bondarenko, S. Paramonova, N. Tsvyntarna, as well as the research group of Professor V.V Azhogin under the leadership of M. Zgurovsky, including V. Romanenko, V. Melnyk, O. Novikov, O. Makarenko, O. Selin, P. Bidyuk, Yu. Selin, and others. The MMSA Department became the first in Ukraine to train specialists in the field of systems analysis, initiating a new specialty and a number of educational programs: "Intelligent Decision-Making Systems," "Social Informatics," and "Computer Science." Within their framework, educational and professional programs were developed and accredited, such as "System Analysis and Management," "System Analysis of the Financial Market," and "Systems and Methods of Artificial Intelligence." The department's faculty prepared a series of fundamental books and monographs on systems analysis, data mining, and artificial intelligence (authors — M. Zgurovsky, N. Pankratova, Yu. Zaychenko), which have been used in both domestic and international practice for more than two decades. In 1990, based on the department's research sector and under the leadership of Academician O. Kukhtenko, the Research Institute of Interdisciplinary Studies was established, conducting fundamental research in the fields of environmental protection, artificial intelligence systems, fractal theory, catastrophe theory, and synergetics. In 1997, based on the MMSA Department of KPI and the departments of "Numerical Optimization Methods" (headed by Academician of NAS of Ukraine B. Pshenichny) and "Applied Nonlinear Analysis" (headed by Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor V. Ivanenko) of the V.M. Glushkov Institute of Cybernetics of NAS of Ukraine, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine issued Resolution No. 1351 on December 2, 1997, establishing the Educational and Scientific Complex "Institute for Applied Systems Analysis" (ESC IASA) with dual subordination to the Ministry of Education of Ukraine and the NAS of Ukraine. This became the embodiment of the concept of integrating academic science and university education into a single organizational structure. Academician of NAS of Ukraine M. Zgurovsky became the Director and later Scientific Director of the institute. Since 2018, the Director of ESC IASA has been Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Professor, and Corresponding Member of NAS of Ukraine P. Kasyanov. The main goal of ESC IASA was to combine innovative educational activities at all levels of higher education with fundamental and applied research in the field of systems analysis, mathematical methods, and software tools for comprehensive forecasting and solving problems of national importance — social, economic, environmental-economic, and technological. The chosen model of integration of science and education proved to be extremely productive. This school laid the foundation for the development of systems analysis as a separate scientific and educational field in Ukraine, developed the first state standards for training specialists, initiated the opening of the relevant specialty at KPI, and became the source for the formation of dozens of departments and faculties in other universities of Ukraine. The influence of ESC IASA extended not only to the academic environment but also to state governance, the IT sector, and security and defense spheres. In the following years, the Institute proved its ability to conduct top-level research and train scientific personnel. Even after the reorganization in 2016 and the removal of ESC IASA as a legal entity from the structure of KPI, it retained and strengthened its potential in international cooperation. In partnership with the University of Kansas (USA), an innovative AI platform, GRAMMCell Web Server, was created for modeling protein interactions in the cellular environment with atomic precision, opening new possibilities for biomedicine and pharmaceuticals. Another strategic direction involved joint projects with Stony Brook University and the U.S. Navy in the field of defense analytics, aimed at developing decision-making methods in stochastic environments with incomplete information. ESC IASA, together with KPI, publishes the international scientific and technical journal "System Research and Information Technologies," indexed in the Scopus database. In 1999, in cooperation with KPI, the UNESCO Department "Higher Technical Education, Applied Systems Analysis, and Informatics" was opened, which became a flagship of international scientific and educational diplomacy. Given the institute's role in defense and security work during martial law, by order of the Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine, it was designated as a critically important enterprise. The Institute conducts active international cooperation. Among its partners are leading universities and research centers from the USA, Europe, Japan, Australia, and other countries worldwide. According to the Resolution of the Presidium of NAS of Ukraine dated April 29, 2015, No. 118 "On the distribution of responsibilities among the members of the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine," the Scientific Director of IASA, Academician of NAS of Ukraine M. Zgurovsky, oversees relations with the Committee on Data for Science and Technology (CODATA) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), and jointly with the President of NAS of Ukraine, Academician A. Zagorodniy, maintains relations with the "International Science Council" (ISC). Over more than 35 years of its activity, ESC IASA has trained more than 40 Doctors of Sciences and 110 Candidates of Sciences, as well as over 4,300 specialists in the field of systems analysis and information technologies. The Institute's scientists have become laureates of the State Prizes of Ukraine, and its leading professors — M. Zgurovsky and Yu. Daletsky — have been elected Academicians of NAS of Ukraine; V. Melnyk, N. Pankratova, and P. Kasyanov — Corresponding Members of NAS of Ukraine. Academician M. Zgurovsky was elected as a foreign corresponding member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, and P. Kasyanov — a corresponding member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences for Artificial Intelligence.