This article analyzes the pedagogical work of Vasyl Ivanovych Albitsky, one of the leading specialists in applied mechanics and hydraulics, who made a significant contribution to the development of higher technical education in Ukrainian territories at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries. The relevance of the topic stems from the lack of a systematic assessment of the educational contributions of this scholar in contemporary historical and pedagogical literature. The study examines the content, structure, and methodology of technical disciplines taught by V. I. Albitsky at the Saint Petersburg Practical Technological Institute (now – St. Petersburg State Institute of Technology) and later implemented at the Kharkiv Practical Technological Institute, which from 1898 was renamed the Kharkiv Technological Institute of Emperor Alexander III (now – National Technical University «Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute»).

The article describes the professor’s academic courses, including Applied Mechanics, Hydraulics, and Technical and Architectural Drawing. It reveals the thematic content, didactic structure, and the nature of both theoretical and practical instruction. Special attention is paid to Albitsky’s pedagogical methods, which emphasized the integration of deep theoretical knowledge with practical engineering applications – an approach aligned with the demands of technical modernization at the turn of the century.

The methodological framework of the study is based on both general scientific and specialized historical-pedagogical approaches: the principles of historicism, scientific objectivity, systematic analysis, and verifiability. The research employs problem-chronological, biographical, descriptive, and comparative-historical methods, along with content analysis of Albitsky’s published works. A significant array of archival sources was used, particularly the educational-administrative documents of KPTI (KTI).

For the first time in Ukrainian academic literature, the specifics of Albitsky’s teaching activities, his approaches to organizing the educational process, his role in student training, and the methodological support for his courses - based on his own publications - are comprehensively reconstructed. The article highlights his personal qualities as an educator: principled character, academic rigor, and a commitment to developing professional engineering culture and independent thinking in his students at KTI.

It concludes that V. I. Albitsky’s pedagogical efforts not only contributed to the establishment of a national school of hydraulics but were also crucial in shaping the first generation of domestic engineers. His didactic model, grounded in the close integration of science and education, was ahead of its time and remains a benchmark for blending theoretical knowledge with applied technical practice. In this context, Albitsky’s educational legacy is a vital subject of study for the modern history of science and higher technical education in Ukraine.

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