Practical Hints

Academic Mobility Office can help you with information about the transfer from the airport or station. You need to change money to hryvnias (UAH). We advise you to change money from dollars or euros (other currencies exchange offices would be more difficult to find). The exchange rate in the airport or station is unprofitable, the best variant is the bank. There are a lot of banks and ATMs near the campus. Almost everywhere in Kyiv you can easily pay with the card, but using public transport and at the markets you need to pay with cash. In rural areas of Ukraine cash is much more preferable.

You need to buy the sim-card of one of Ukrainian mobile providers. There are three main operators – “Kyivstar“, “Lifecell” and “Vodafone“. You need to use Ukrainian sim to communicate with all your coordinators and professors, as well as many registration procedures (especially related to payments) tied to Ukrainian mobile numbers.

To navigate in Kyiv and travel through the city easier, it is recommended to you to download the map of the campus, scheme of subway and download “EasyWay” application.

Ukraine has right-hand traffic, house numbering is European – numbers start from the end of the street closest to the city centre; odd numbers beginning from 1 on the left side of the road, even numbers beginning from 2 on the right side; houses located deep into the quarter have additional Cyrillic letter indexes (1-а, 1-б, 1-в, 1-г etc).

Kyiv has developed transport infrastructure; it includes subway, buses, trolleybuses, trams, light rail (rapid tram), city train, taxis, funicular and scooters. You can find more information about the transport  on the websites of “Kyivpastrans” and Kyiv Subway.

• METROhas three lines. One trip costs 8 hryvnas (unlimited by time, crossings from line to line are free). Entering the hall of the station, you can buy the one-way ticket with QR-code at the cash desk or automatic machine, or use paypass (NFC technology payments); when you stay for a long period, it is more profitable to buy Kyivsmartcard. All announcements (both text and voice) in metro are in two languages – Ukrainian and English.
• BUSES, TROLLEYBUSES and TRAMSare the part of “Kyivpastrans” (Kyiv Passengers’ Transportation) provider.One trip costs 8 hryvnas, but KyivSmartCard is also applicable in onground transport. You can buy the one-way ticket with QR-code at the cash desk or automatic machine at the subway station, or via the application: https://app.kyivcity.gov.ua/start. You need to validate the card or ticket inside the bus or tram, etc. – there are several validating machines of orange colour – scan the QR-code or attach the card until the green light and the sound will appear. The fine for the ticketless ride is 160 hryvnias. Funicular is type of tram that has only two stations and travels by the hill from Poshtova Square to Mykhaylivska Square. It also costs 8 hryvnas.
• NIGHT TRANSPORT.If you are late for a normal transport, you can use the night trolleybuses. You can find routes and schedules by the link: https://kpt.kyiv.ua/schedule. The prices and system are the same as in daytime normal onground transport.
• LIGHT RAIL(rapid tram) is also served by “Kyivpastrans”. It is similar to tram, but more separate from road traffic, thus has a higher speed. The prices and system of payment is the same as for subway. The Light Rail’s Line passes through the campus – you can take it to reach the Central Railway Station.
• CITY TRAINis the ring line system of trains. One ride costs 8 hryvnas, tickets are sold in the ticket-offices at the stations. It has big interval and operates only during rush hours.

You can find some points in the city, where you can connect to WI-FI (MAP). The most popular places are cafes and fast-foods. You can catch WI-FI on campus at the Library, Knowledge Square and at several points on the campus territory. “KPI Telecom” operator provides the Internet service for dormitories. Also, all mobile operators provide the mobile Internet connection – 3G and 4G.

During the registration procedures after the arrival, all incoming students should undergo the medical examination in the Hospital No 11. If any problems with the health will appear, incoming student should inform Academic Mobility Office, coordinator at the faculty/institute and professors (if courses will be skipped). All foreign students are registered in the Hospital No 11, so they can use the service of this clinic. Also, the obligatory condition for incoming students is the medical insurance. It is provided by one of Ukrainian insurance company and students can register and pay for the insurance in the Centre for International Education.

• Learn Ukrainian or use online translators to communicate with locals. Many young people in Ukraine speak English, but the opposite situation with people who are a little bit older. Drivers in public transport, many policemen and other servicepeople do not speak English at all. At the same time, local people are very hospitable, and will definitely help you.

• If you are from Southern warm countries, you should think in advance about warm clothes. Winter in Ukraine can be very cold, so you should be ready to meet this climate and not to fall ill.

• Academic Mobility Office, as the modern department, uses social networks to contact with Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute students. We advise you to add the pages of our Office in Facebook, Instagram, Telegram into your list of friends to communicate with us faster.

• Note, that the legal drinking and purchasing age of alcoholic beverages is 18; drinking and smoking in public is not allowed; keep your passport with you, local police may ask to see your passport and visa at any time; penalties for possession, use or trafficking of illegal drugs are strict; there is zero tolerance for driving under the influence of alcohol.