Merited Scientists. The language of instruction is predominantly Ukrainian, with options of Russian and English also available. A number of the university's rectors served as ministers of education, including the current rector Mykhailo Zghurovskyi. The UNESCO CEPES (European Centre for Higher Education) ranked Kyiv Polytechnic Institute as the best university in Ukraine. Notable alumni A large number of prominent people worked and studied at the KPI Ivan Bardin, metallurgist Saadoun Brahim, a Kyiv Polytechnic Institute student who joined the Ukrainian Armed Forces as a fighter-volunteer Boris Yakovlevich Bukreev, mathematicianknown for his works in complex functions, differential equations, and non-Euclidean geometry Vladimir Chelomei, Soviet mechanics scientist and rocket engineer Valeriia Hontareva, Chairman of the National Bank of Ukraine , chemist Sergey Korolyov, rocket scientist Arkhip Lyulka, USSR's premier designer of jet engines Aleksandr Mikulin, Soviet aircraft engine designer and chief designer in the Mikulin OKB E.O.Paton, inventor of electric welding Isaak Sigal, scientist Igor Sikorsky, creator of Sikorsky Helicopters Stephen Timoshenko, reputed to be the father of modern engineering mechanics Oleg Tozoni, the head of the Department of Electrodynamics at the Cybernetics Institute of the Academy of Science. Other institutes created based on KPI Kyiv National University of Construction and Architecture Kyiv National University of Technologies and Design Paton Institute of Electric Welding (National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine) Recreation at KPI The university has a well developed infrastructure of recreation and leisure, including sports, entertainment, arts, and others. The university has a sports complex with an indoor swimming pool, a multi-hall building, and a soccer field. The Kyiv Polytechnic Institute has been an important center of sports life in the city. Its football team "Politechniki" was one of the first football teams founded in the Russian Empire in 1906–1917. The university has several recreational resorts throughout the country. Two resorts are located near Kyiv, one is located in Carpathian Mountains, and another near the Black Sea. The university has its own arts center located in Center of Culture and Arts, better known by its Soviet standard name "Palace of Culture". The concert hall of KPI Center Culture and Arts is the main venue of the Ukrainian national qualification for continental song contest Eurovision. There is a park in the grounds of the university. International relations The Kyiv Polytechnic Institute has foreign economic relationship with 45 foreign partners from 12 countries of the world. 29 agreements and 17 contracts have been