Stages of development of the world scientific and technological space: engineering projects, pedagogical approaches and international relations of notable scientists

Abstract

The article provides a systematic analysis of the global engineering, practical, scientific and pedagogical spheres through the prism of the activities of Professor Vasyl Ivanovych Albitsky in the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Given the insufficient coverage of this issue in domestic historiography, the main focus is on reconstructing the scientist's professional achievements in an international context, including his participation in world exhibitions, scientific forums, the development of hydraulic engineering projects for leading industrial customers, the implementation of strategic state expeditionary tasks, particularly on rivers, as well as his work within the framework of intergovernmental negotiations with Norway.

The methodological basis of the study is a combination of problem-chronological, biographical and interdisciplinary approaches, which made it possible to verify and conceptualise the engineering and scientific legacy of V.I. Albitsky. A source analysis of archival documents and the professor's own scientific publications was used, which made it possible to trace the transnational nature of his professional mobility as a scientist.

The work shows that Vasyl Ivanovych was not only a lecturer at the Kharkiv Technological Institute, but also a leading state expert in the fields of hydraulics and hydrotechnics, whose activities were of significant importance for the development of water management, energy, as well as engineering and hydrotechnical infrastructure and international projects. The scientist's engineering solutions, implemented at the request of well-known entrepreneurs, management structures, and military departments, were characterised by technical perfection and strategic expediency.

It should be noted that despite numerous episodes of the scientist's professional activity outside Ukraine, in particular his participation in the Paris World Exhibition (1878) and the Nizhny Novgorod Exhibition (1896), an expedition to Norway (1907), and research on the Paz River, reports in Riga and Tiflis (1913), these facts remain little studied in Ukrainian historiography.

The need for further in-depth research related to the study of Professor V. Albitsky's international activities is emphasized, which is of considerable interest not only for the history of science and technology, but also for understanding the Ukrainian contribution to the formation of European engineering culture.