Hennadii Udovenko Diplomatic Academy at the MFA of Ukraine has been working on the professional development of diplomatic staff for more than 16 years so far. Urgent needs for this arose at the beginning of the XXI century. To address this issue, the board of the MFA of Ukraine decided to create a system of advanced training for diplomatic staff on the basis of the Diplomatic Academy. This step was aimed to strengthen and advance the level of staffing at the MFA and in the foreign diplomatic institutions of Ukraine.
Based on this decision, following the decree of the Diplomatic Academy’s rector, the in-service training program was established on 22 January 2001. Later in 2006, the in-service training program was reformed in the Center for Advanced Training of the Diplomatic Service.
Due to the reorganization of the Diplomatic Academy of Ukraine into the professional development and research institution of postgraduate training Hennadii Udovenko Diplomatic Academy at the MFA of Ukraine back in 2017, the Professional Development Centre was established.
Until 2008, the Center was carrying out trainings exclusively for the diplomatic staff according to the needs of Ukraine’s MFA. There were significant adjustments to the process of retraining made due to Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers’ resolution № 516 from 4 June 2008 “On some issues concerning the professional development of the public officials working in the sphere of foreign policy”. In accordance with the mentioned resolution, the Diplomatic Academy of Ukraine as the institution under MFA has started to retrain public officials from the other governmental institutions in the sphere of foreign policy. The Center continues its work today.
Except for this, the Center for Professional Development organizes and coordinates its educational events, informs governmental institutions and authorities. The Center’s staff organizes the educational process, looks for the lecturers and experts according to the annual curriculum approved by the MFA of Ukraine. Center’s departments gather information on the educational process. Additionally, they conduct surveys among participants which allows them to evaluate their impressions, proposals for improvement of study programs, and the process in general. It is being done to ensure the advancement and enhancement of the educational and organizational procedures and scientific and methodological support. After the training, participants receive certificates on completing the course or the series of trainings.
It is important to mention that the Center for Professional Development also conducts the assessment of diplomatic staff in the terms of their rotation to diplomatic missions of Ukraine on the following spheres: “Country study”, “Consular service”, psychological evaluation of the consular staff.
There are more than 600 civil servants in the field of foreign policy who complete the in-service training in the Professional Development Centre annually.
The team
Oleksii Shovkoplias
Chief of Professional Development Centre
Natalia Rieznikova
Head of Professional Education Department
Tetiana Polischuk
Head of Communication Support Department
Yulia Alejnikova
Head of Organizational Department
Stanislav Zhelikhovskiy
Lead specialist of Analytics Department
Olena Ledovskykh
Lead specialist of Analytics Department