The Department of Information Technology and Computer Engineering (ITCE) was opened in March 1996 and was named at that time: the Department of Geoinformatics. National Technical University "Dnipro Polytechnic" (NTU DP) was known in the world as the State Mining Academy of Ukraine. The order of the rector of the State Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Academician Gennadiy Pivnyak No. 4 of March 28, 1996, stipulated that the new department of geoinformatics would start operating from March 28, 1996.

  The department consisted of four employees: Head of the Department, Professor, Doctor of Technical Sciences Boris Busygin, Deputy Head of the Department, Assistant Professor, Candidate of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Sergii Yakovlev, Assistant Professor, Candidate of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Lyudmila Sarycheva (Miroshnichenko) and assistant Sergii Nikulin.

  In addition to teaching, the department conducted a set of research works aimed at creating mathematical methods, algorithms and software for processing spatial-distributed data (geodata). At that time, the department had a research laboratory of geoinformation technologies (1/78). The main room of the department is the room of 1/79. The department was opened at the Faculty of Geological Prospecting.

  From the first year of its existence, the department started to train specialists in the field of information technologies – bachelors, specialists and masters in the specialty "Information control systems and technologies" (specialization "Geoinformation systems and technologies"). The department was one of the first in Ukraine to train professional developers of geoinformation systems (GIS). In 1996, the IT industry in Ukraine was still young. The latest technologies have come to light. Specialists from this new IT sector for the Ukrainian IT business were very valuable. As at present, there was a great demand for such specialists at that time. In 1997, a branch of the department was created at the City Communal Enterprise "Zemgrad" (Dnepropetrovsk), and in 1998 - at the State Geological Information Fund of Ukraine "Geoinform" (Kyiv).

  In 1998 – 1999 the department was intensively developing. The department attracts new specialists – teacher-intern Igor Garkusha, associate professors Anton Kozhevnykov, Grigoriy Korotenko, Lyudmila Akhmetshina, professor Alexander Akhmetshin.

  In 1999, with the efforts of the teachers of the department, a new specialty was opened: "Computer Ecological and Economic Monitoring", and in 2001 – a specialty "Intelligent Decision Making Systems". In all three specialties, the department actively trains IT specialists, who, due to their competencies, can work with various software and solve many different tasks related, in particular, to the processing of location data, using methods of systematic, geoinformational, intellectual analysis with the involvement of spatial systems. management of databases, artificial intelligence systems.

  In 2003 the Department of Geoinformatics was renamed the Department of Geoinformation Systems.

  In 2007, doctors of sciences worked in the department: Boris Busygin, Alexander Akhmetshin, Vasyl Kuzmenko, and Valentin Voronov, Candidates of Sciences: Lyudmila Sarycheva, Grigoriy Korotenko, Sergii Nikulin, Lyudmila Akhmetshina, Valeriy Trusov, Vyacheslav Kozhevnykov, Anton Kozhevnykov, Valentin Salikov, Anatoly Miltsyn, Volodymyr Doroshkevich, Volodymyr Senkin, Senior Lecturer: Igor Garkusha, Assistants: Gennady Babenko, Olga Zakolesnyk, Alexander Kachanov, Marina Levchenko, students: Kateryna Sergieieva, Yevgeny Zatsepin, V.Volovchenko was involved in work at the department. At the moment of 2020 among the graduates of the department remained working and reached certain positions: Assistant Professor Kateryna Sergeeva, Assistant Denys Ivanov, Head of the Laboratory Olga Korobko, Engineer Alexander Kachanov.

  In 2017, the department opens a new promising specialty "Information Systems and Technologies". At that time, the students of the department can study in three specialized computer classes 1/78, 1/76 and 4/55.

  At the department students acquire knowledge in a wide range of modern disciplines of fundamental and general orientation. Particular attention in the student learning process is paid to professional mastery of various information technologies and software products. In computer classes, students work with different versions of MS Windows operating systems, and learn the features of Linux-based open source software systems. We study widely known object-oriented and specialized programming languages: C/C++, Java, C#, Python, Ruby, SQL, VBA, HTML, JavaScript. Students ability to interact with complex information systems is conducted in integrated application development environments, mathematical modeling packages, and GIS and DBMS –  Visual C/C++, IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm, Netbeans, Code::Blocks, MathCAD, Matlab, ArcGIS, Oracle PL/SQL Server, MS SQL Server, etc. Students acquire knowledge acquired during the study of planned disciplines in educational, industrial and undergraduate practice. Over the years the department has trained about 400 specialists in information systems and technologies.

  It should be noted that for a long time at the department they monitor the setup of network equipment and perform the tasks of administration of the computer network of the department, the functioning of server equipment and software Assistant Professor Igor Garkusha and Assistant Denys Ivanov. Thanks to their fruitful work, the computer classes of the department are up to date.

  In addition to teaching activities, the department actively conducts research on the design, development and implementation of information and geoinformation systems in mining and geological organizations. One of the components of the department's research work is participation in international conferences and seminars. The department maintains international relations with various organizations of Germany, Canada, China, Slovakia, USA, Turkey, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. The staff of the department carries out the state budgetary and economic contractual research projects. The last few years have been completed:

  1. Modeling of development of ecological processes in the regions of Ukraine on the basis of updated databases in order to develop and support management decisions.

  2. Three-dimensional computer simulation of perspective sections of ore fields using materials of geological, geophysical and space surveys.

 3. Development of scientific bases of geoinformation support for ecological and economic environmental monitoring of the mining region.

  4. Development of the basics of the theory and creation of a set of methods of selection of informative features of texture images for problems of neural network classification.

  5. Development of methodological and theoretical bases, creation of methods for describing the structure of geological-geophysical maps.

  6. Investigation of tools and methods of three-dimensional representation and analysis of spatial-distributed data.

  7. Increasing the sensitivity of image segmentation of low-contrast terrestrial images based on multi-parameter adaptive clustering methods.

  8. Creation of theoretical bases and methods of computer analysis of maps of landscapes of different origin.

  9. Intelligent computer technologies for data processing, forecasting and control.

 10. Development of geoinformation technology of integrated analysis of heterogeneous and heterogeneous data in geological and geo-ecological studies.

  The department has developed several specialized information systems, implemented in Ukraine and in the Western partner countries:

• RAPID – GIS for forecasting and supporting decision making in the areas of nature management, ecology, mining and emergency forecasting (maintainer: Sergii Nikulin);
• GIS CONTOUR – the main task of which is to provide software tools for visualization of geological prospecting data, to perform their spatial analysis, as well as to use methods of automated creation of three-dimensional models of geological objects (maintainer: Igor Garkusha).

  The defending events in the history of the department in various years are considered to be the defense of the candidate's dissertation (Sergii Nikulin, Іgor Garkusha, Kateryna Sergieieva, Volodymyr Boyko) and doctoral dissertation (Sergii Nikulin, Grigoriy Korotenko).

  In 2002, Sergii Nikulin defended his PhD dissertation, which became one of the stages of completion of a complex of studies aimed at creating geoinformation systems and technologies to solve the complex problems of three-dimensional modeling of geological objects.

  In 2007, the senior lecturer of the department, Igor Garkusha, defended his PhD dissertation on "Computer technology of automated three-dimensional geological modeling".

  In 2010, two dissertations were defended at the department: a doctoral dissertation on a closed subject by associate professor Grigoriy Korotenko and a dissertation candidate, Volodymyr Boyko, director of the enterprise "Orbita" on the topic: "Development and research of methods of statistical classification of textures of geo-images." In the same year, the doctoral dissertation "Mathematical Support and Computer Technology of Ecological, Socio-Economic Monitoring of Regions" by Professor Lyudmila Sarycheva was prepared.

  In 2014, she defended her PhD dissertation by Kateryna Sergieieva on the subject: "Geoinformation technology of analysis of thermal status of heaps according to space surveys".

  Annually, the department publishes educational and methodical literature on specialized disciplines. In 2007, the first Anglo-Russian-Ukrainian dictionary on geoinformatics was published in Ukraine under the guidance of the academic editor of the NAS of Ukraine Gennadiy Pivnyak. An explanatory dictionary on Informatics in Russian was released in 2008, and in 2010 it was revised and supplemented in Ukrainian (also the first in Ukraine). All of the above editions have the stamp of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine.

  In 2009-2010, the team of scientists of the department actively participated in the implementation of work on international grants, designated by the Scientific-Educational Center at the University and the Foundation for Civil Research and Development of the United States. Grants topics:

• "Technology of landscape analysis of technogenically loaded regions using materials of space surveys";
• "Geoinformation technology of analysis of thermal anomalies of coal basins on the materials of Earth remote sensing".

  During 2011, the staff of the department participated in an international scientific and technical project with the company Sodawerk Staßfurt (Germany), during which the Associate Professor Igor Garkusha developed an information system of three-dimensional modeling OPMA (Open Pit Mining Analyzer), which allowed to simulate the state of open pit mining The Sodawerk Staßfurt soda extraction.

  During the years of its existence, teachers have published several textbooks, more than 10 textbooks and more than 20 methodical recommendations, 5 monographs and more than 220 scientific articles.

  In the course of a major reorganization and optimization of the departments of NTU DP, in mid-August 2019, by order of the Rector of the University of NAS of Ukraine, Gennadiy Pivnyak, on the basis of the Department of Geoinformation Systems and a part of the staff of the Department of Automation and Computer Systems, at the Faculty of Information Technologies created the Department of Information Systems and Technologies with two leading specialties:

• 126 "Information systems and technologies";
• 123 "Computer Engineering".

  The department's current laboratory facilities include computer classes 1/78, 1/76, 4/55, department rooms 1/79 and 1/97. Three more rooms for specialized computer classes are planned to be transferred to the department.

  In 2019 the current structure of the department includes Doctors of Sciences: Boris Busygin, Volodymyr Hnatushenko, Grigoriy Korotenko, Sergii Nikulin, Candidates of Sciences: Leonid Tsvirkun, Igor Garkusha, Anton Kozhevnykov, Kateryna Sergieieva, Serhii Tkachenko, Ihor Shedlovskyi, Associate Professor, Candidate of Sciences Dmytro Khramov, head of laboratories Olga Korobko, assistants Liliya Beshta, Yana Panferova, Denys Ivanov, engineer Alexander Kachanov.

  It should be noted that the scientists Leonid Tsvirkun, Liliya Beshta and Yana Panferova is a participant in international grants, instructors of Cisco International Academy. In 2013 under the leadership of Leonid Tsvirkun at NTU DP the Center for Training of Trainers and Support of Cisco Network Academies was created. Cisco Academy courses are integrated into the Computer Engineering specialty program. Studying for international programs and obtaining Cisco Academy Certificate students provides graduates with more opportunities for employment in the IT field.

  In 2013, Professor Leonid Tsvirkun was the Editor-in-Chief and translator of a Ukrainian team that translated from English and prepared for use the first Cisco Multimedia Computer Hardware and Software Course in Cisco. The guide is posted on the Cisco Academies Training Portal. In 2017-2018, Leonid Tsvirkun has done similar work in the preparation of other Cisco language courses – Introduction to Cybersecurity and Cybersecurity Fundamentals.

  For the last several years, the staff of the department have been in close contact with stakeholders: US companies EOS Data Analytics, Cisco Systems, EPAM Systems, Ukrainian companies SoftServe, 2GIS and TVIS.

  In January 2020, the department was headed by a specialist in the field of information technology, mathematical and computer simulation of processes and systems, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor Volodymyr Hnatushenko.

  Volodymyr Hnatushenko is the author of more than 300 scientific and educational works, including patents and copyright certificates for inventions. He has participated in numerous international conferences and symposia. He is a member of the program committees of a number of international conferences in Ukraine and abroad, IEEE Senior Member, SPIE Member. It maintains close links with enterprises engaged in the implementation of modern information technologies, and allows to adapt the relevant curricula to prepare students according to the needs of leading IT companies. Member of the Scientific and Methodological Commission #7 of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine for Information Technology, Automation and Telecommunications Subcommittee 122 Computer Science. He is a full member of the expert council of the Department of Certification of Higher Qualification and Licensing of Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine. 

In 2020 the title of the department was changed to Information Technology and Computer Engineering.