The Department of International Economics of the KNEU was founded in 1989, when for the first time in Ukraine a new direction of educational activity for training international specialists was launched. With Ukraine's independence and the actualization of our country's development of an independent foreign economic policy, the department has formed an effective system of training international professionals with deep economic knowledge.

The founder and long-time head of the department was Doctor of Economics, Professor, Honored Worker of Science and Technology of Ukraine D. Lukianenko; in 1995-1997 the department was headed by Doctor of Economics, Professor, Academician of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Y. Pakhomov; in 1997-2021 - Doctor of Economics, Professor, Honored Worker of Science and Technology of Ukraine, Professor, Honored Worker of Science and Technology of Ukraine Poruchnyk A. M. Since 2022, the Head of the Department is Doctor of Economics, Professor Stolyarchuk Y. M. Currently, the Department has 17 teachers, including: 7 Doctors of Sciences; 6 Professors; 9 Candidates of Sciences, Associate Professors and 1 Senior Lecturer. Among the teachers of the department are the winners of the Presidential Prize for Young Scientists in 2009, Prof. Stoliarchuk Y. M. and Prof. Shvydanenko O. A.

The portrait of the department is characterized by the following key features: innovation, creativity, mobility, perspective and competitiveness. The department trains highly qualified specialists in international economics, developing both fundamental theoretical knowledge and practical skills. Thanks to the work of the teaching staff, students effectively master the disciplines of the curriculum, acquire hard and soft skills, and gain systematic thinking skills for effective professional activity in a turbulent business environment. Graduates of the educational and professional programs “International Economics” of the first (bachelor's) and second (master's) levels, implemented at the department, are in demand in the labor market. They work in international and domestic companies, state and local governments, diplomatic missions, NGOs, and international organizations.

The most significant achievements of the department in educational, scientific, innovative and consulting activities, which ensure its high all-Ukrainian competitive status, are as follows:

• training of about 20 doctors and more than 60 candidates of economic sciences and doctors of philosophy in the specialty «World Economy and International Economic Relations»;
• publication of more than 60 collective and individual monographs in Russian, Polish and English, including abroad;
• publication of about 20 textbooks and manuals on international economics, world economics, economics of foreign countries, international economic analysis, international competitiveness management, global competitive leadership, etc.

The department is the center of formation and development of the scientific school of Global Competitive Leadership, and it has doctoral and postgraduate programs that train researchers. The department's researchers are actively involved in the preparation of legislation, implementation of state research topics, examination of dissertations, implementation of national and international projects, development of state programs for economic and innovative development, and formation of a new model for the development of higher education in Ukraine.

Main directions of scientific research of the department:

• Theoretical foundations of global competitive leadership of international economic relations;
• Digital transformation of the world economic system;
• Greening of international economic activity;
• Strategies of global and regional competitive leadership;
• Global leadership in the context of the implementation of the concept of sustainable development;
• International competitive strategies of economic development;
• Competitive strategies of the European Union countries;
• Competitive leadership strategies of China and the Middle East;
• Formation of competitive international economic policy of Ukraine;
• Educational strategies of key innovator countries.

The staff of the department has developed and implemented 4 master's programs, 15 exclusive training courses, more than a dozen international projects and grants, and is successfully developing cooperation with leading international companies and foreign universities. The department's academic staff is highly qualified in various areas of theory and practice of world economic relations. Thanks to their efforts, innovative ideas of pedagogical and academic science are being implemented in teaching practice, as well as international cooperation projects.

Under the guidance of the department's faculty, students have repeatedly won national, European, and global competitions in research papers and consulting projects. The high international image of the department's faculty is evidenced by their publications in foreign journals and invitations to teach special courses at foreign universities.