Updated: 6/2/2026
A FEW USEFUL TIPS FOR TEACHERS WHO PLAN (OR NEED) TO UNDERGO PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
1. Enhancing professional skills, pedagogical mastery, and scientific qualification is an obligation for every academic staff member. This is stated in Article 58 of the Law of Ukraine "On Higher Education."
2. Do not perceive professional development (PD) as a mere formality—treat it as an opportunity for your professional growth!
3. Choose a PD provider where you would like to undergo short-term training (these are usually partner universities or scientific institutes of academies of sciences). It is advisable to contact representatives of the relevant department in advance and carefully review the available information about the PD on the provider’s website.
4. Determine the time frame for your qualification program (note: one day of PD is evaluated as 6 hours or 0.3 ECTS credits, while one week (five working days) equals 1 ECTS credit).
5. Keep in mind that the total volume of PD over five years must not be less than six ECTS credits. Of these, three to four credits should correspond in content and provider to your teaching profile, while the remaining credits may be earned through other activities confirmed by relevant certificates.
6. Inform the head of your department about your intention to undergo professional development.
7. Discuss this matter at a department meeting (as the department must recommend you for qualification advancement).
8. After the department meeting, start preparing the necessary documents:
- An application for professional development, in the format provided in Appendix 1 of the Regulations.
- An excerpt from the department meeting minutes regarding the professional development.
- A referral for professional development in the format provided in Appendix 2 of the Regulations.
- An individual professional development program in the format provided in Appendix 3 of the Regulations.
9. Send the completed set of documents, duly signed as per the Regulations, to the corporate email of Yuliia Mykolaivna Yurina, Head of the Department for Work with Talented Youth.
10. If professional development is carried out through informal education (self-education), instead of a qualification certificate, you must submit a report on the results of the PD and a creative work completed during (or as a result of) the PD. This creative work must be published on the university’s website or in the academic staff member's electronic portfolio.
Your professional development is a step toward your professional excellence! Use this opportunity effectively.