Educational and Research Center for Defense Management

Head of the Center
Doctor of Economic Sciences, Associate ProfessorColonel
Mykola Tkach

Deputy Head of the Center
Candidate of Military Sciences, Senior ResearcherColonel
Lesia Skurinevska

Head of the Department of Defence Management of the Center
Candidate of Military SciencesColonel
Taras Cherevatyi

The Educational and Research Center for Defense Management is an independent structural unit of the National Defense University of Ukraine (subordinate to the Deputy Head of the University for Educational Activities), responsible for educational, instructional, methodological, scientific, and technical activities related to training students at strategic and operational levels. The educational and research activities of the center are focused on defense management.

The Center comprises:

• Center Management;
• Department of Defense Management;
• Research Laboratory.

The Educational and Research Center for Defense Management was established and operates according to:

• Decision of the Minister of Defense of Ukraine dated 20.09.2017 No.1439/з/2;
• Annual National Program under the auspices of the NATO-Ukraine Commission for 2018;
• Charter of the project "Development of Education and Training of Military Specialists" (approved by the Minister of Defense of Ukraine on 19.12.2018);
• Order of the Head of the National Defense University of Ukraine dated 31.07.2019 No.Н-221.

The main tasks of the center include:

• training and professional development of higher education students and conducting classes for military specialists in professional military education courses in relevant knowledge areas and qualifications;
• preparation of scientific and pedagogical personnel (Doctor of Science, Doctor of Philosophy) for Ukraine's security and defense sector;
• conducting scientific and technical activities in priority areas of defense through research, scientific-practical conferences (seminars), development of scientific works, and production of other scientific outputs;
• scientific support for implementing research findings into practical activities of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and the University's educational process;
• participation in combat training and mobilization activities;
• cooperation with components of the Ukrainian defense forces, national and international educational and research institutions, and other organizations involved in training, research, and innovation projects in defense management;
• ensuring the operation and development of the center at a level enabling task fulfillment;
• conducting internal control adhering to academic integrity and zero tolerance for corruption.

The center employs:
2 Doctors of Economics, 3 Candidates of Economic Sciences, 3 Candidates of Technical Sciences, 2 Candidates of Military Sciences, 1 Candidate of Political Sciences, and 2 Doctors of Philosophy.

The center provides training for:
officers and civil servants within Ukraine's defense and security sector:

• At the third (educational-scientific) level of higher education in the discipline:
  • "Project Management";
• At the second (master's) level of higher education:
  • strategic-level specialists "National Security of the State," specialty – K3 "National Security (specific areas and activities)," specialization – "Strategic Leadership in Security and Defense Sector," disciplines:
    • "Defense Management";
    • "Global Economy";
    • "Energy Security";
    • "International Strategies for Economic Development of the Defense Industry";
  • operational-level specialists:
    • "Support of Troops (Forces)," specialty – K6 "Support of Troops (Forces)";
    • "Military Administration," specialty – K5 "Military Administration (by branches of armed forces)";
    • "Armament and Military Equipment," specialty – K7 "Armament and Military Equipment," disciplines:
      • "Project Management";
      • "Force Generation."
  • professional military education courses:
    • Strategic high-level management and state policy L-5;
    • Senior strategic management L-4 (module 5 "Governance and Defense Resource Management");
    • Joint staff officers operational level L-3 (module 5 "Project Management," module 4 "Force Development");
    • Joint staff officers operational level L-3 English (module 5 "Project Management").
  • retraining and professional development courses:
    • Organization and conduct of public procurement (DM-PP);
    • Capability-based defense planning (DM-CBDP);
    • Program-project management in the security and defense sector (DM-PPM);
    • Project management in the Armed Forces of Ukraine (DM-PM);
    • Budgeting and defense resource management (DM-BDRM);
    • Lifecycle management and quality assurance of defense products (DM-LMQADP);
    • Resource management planning in defense (DM-RMPD);
    • Armament and procurement in defense (DM-APD);
    • Joint governance in the Ministry of Defense System (DM-JGMoDS);
    • Project planning and management using Microsoft Project software (DM-PPMuMPS);
    • State quality assurance (DM-SQA);
    • Organization and methods of teaching project management (NDU-PM).

Achievements of the Center:

1. Academic staff participates in developing doctrinal, conceptual, and regulatory documents.
2. Academic staff conducts extensive work on scientific recommendations for the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, the General Staff, and other structural subdivisions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine through research and operational tasks.
3. The Center actively cooperates with structural units of the Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces of Ukraine, significantly contributing to improving defense management.
4. Since 2014, the center’s staff has actively participated in tasks during the Anti-Terrorist Operation in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, with most officers being combat veterans. Since the onset of russia’s full-scale aggression (2022–2025), officers participated in combat tasks within military management bodies created to repel aggression in Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, and Donetsk areas.
5. Representatives of the center actively participate in projects of the Ministry of Defense and General Staff of Ukraine focused on defense management transformation: implementation of program-project management, defense planning improvement, defense resource management, and procurement management.

The Center is located on the territory of the military compound at 28 Povitrialnykh Syl Avenue, Kyiv.