Answer the questions

1. How is the structure of the higher education of Ukraine built up?

2. What educational levels does the higher education in Ukraine include?

3. What forms of teaching are there in the higher schools of Ukraine?

4. Why do applicants attend preliminary courses?

5. What does the amount of student grant depend on?

6. What subjects do students study at the higher educational establishments?

7. What university do you study at?

8. What specialties are the students trainedin at the university?

9. How many branch research laboratories are there at our university?

10. What social and life facilities are located on the territory of DIIT?

Ukrainian Railways Basic vocabulary

to allocate	призначити
emphasis	значення
reliance	довіра
renewal	покупка
to designate	визначати
to embark	починати
to handle	обслуговувати
the purchase	закупляти
extensive rail network	широка залізнична мережа
total route length	загальна довжина маршруту
to inherit	успадкувати
to rank	знайти місце
operational and financial performance	експлуатаційна та фінансова характеристика
emphasis	значення
upgrading	удосконалення
to provide	забезпечувати
to improve	вдосконалювати
transit hub	транзитний центр
pan-European railway corridors	загальноєвропейські залізничні коридори
competitive	конкурентний
staged programme	поетапна програма
to enhance network capacity	підвищувати перепускну спроможність мережі

Ukraine has one of the most extensive rail networks in Europe, with a total route length of approximately 22.000 km, employing 420.000 people. Ukraine inherited a strong transport infrastructure from the former USSR, and the country's geographical position gives the railway a major advantage as a key transit route between western and central Europe, Russia and other CIS countries. In terms of rail freight volumes, Ukraine currently ranks fourth in the Eurasian market, the top three being China, Russia, and India. Ukrzaliznytsya (the State Administration of Rail Transport) was established in December 1991, to centralise the management of the country's rail network after Ukraine declared independence from the Soviet Union in September 1991. Ukrainian legislation acts transferred control of six regional companies from SZD (Soviet Railways) to UZ (Ukrzaliznytsya).

International and local financing has helped to support a series of investment projects, and in 2007 year the railway administration Ukrzaliznytsya approved a US$2bn investment programm that will boost the technical modernization of the railway over the next few years. The biggest single priority remains the renewal of the rolling stock, with US$920m allocated for the purchase of new freight wagons, passenger coaches, locomotives and EMUs. The other main emphasis is on infrastructure upgrading for operation at higher speeds and further electrification to reduce the transport sectors reliance on fossil fuel.

In 2000, UZ instituted initiated a number of measures to improve its operational performance. These led to increased traffic volumes, more transit business and an improved financial performance. In the last five years, UZ has seen a steady growth in freight traffic, both in terms of the volume of traffic moved and the average journey length. Ukraine's geographical position provides a great opportunity to act as a transit hub, and in recent years the volume of transit freight has been growing steadily, from 30.7 million tonnes in 2000 to 68.6 million tonnes in 2007. The development of international corridors is a critical element in aligning the country with the wider European transport policy. Three of the designated pan-European railway corridors run across Ukraine, with a total length of more than 3.000 km.

UZ believes that its focus on modernisation will help to make the railway more competitive for transit freight. This will allow rail to attract a greater proportion of the traffic now moving by sea between Asia and Europe, due to a more flexible tariff policy, better information and management technologies and the development of intermodal operations. As an example, UZ has recently embarked on a staged programme to enhance both the network capacity for traffic moving to and from the Crimea region, and the terminal handling one. Meanwhile, the number of passengers carried by UZ has been declining for the past five years, although the distance travelled measured in passenger-kilometres has been increasing. Because of the regulated fare structure, the passenger business is currently loss-making and cross-subsidised from the profits generated by the freight sector. Passenger operations comprise commuter and long-distance services, both domestic and international.