Ukrainian Journal of Forest and Wood Science

Oleksandr Petrovych Bala was born on 9 July 1976 in the village of Novaky, Lubny District, Poltava Region. In 1995, he graduated from the Lubny Forestry Technical School (now the Lubny Forestry Technical College) with a degree in Forestry. In 2000, he graduated with distinction from the National Agrarian University (now the National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv). His degree is in “Forestry”, with the qualification of “Forestry Engineer”.

From 2001 to 2004, he studied on the full-time postgraduate programme at the National Agrarian University. In 2004, he defended his PhD thesis on the topic: ‘A modelling system for assessing and forecasting the growth of artificial mixed oak stands in the Forest-Steppe of Ukraine’ and was awarded the academic degree of Candidate of Agricultural Sciences in the specialisation 06.03.02 – Forest Management and Forest Valuation. He was awarded the academic title of Associate Professor in 2009 at the Department of Forest Management, National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine (Kyiv).

Associate Professor Bala O.P. began his teaching career in 2004 as an assistant lecturer in the Department of Forest Management; from 2004 to 2005, he worked as a full-time researcher on state-funded research projects; and from 2006 onwards, he has served as an associate professor in the Department of Forest Management. From 2004 to 2011, he concurrently served as Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Forestry. From 2011 to 2014, he was Dean of the Faculty of Forestry. In 2015, he served as Deputy Director for Academic and Educational Affairs at the Institute of Forestry and Landscape Architecture of the National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine. From 2016 to 2018, he studied in a full-time doctoral programme. Since 2011, he has been a Corresponding Member of the Forestry Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. Since 2019, he has been a member of the Presidium of the Forestry Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. Since 2021, he has been an expert at the National Agency for Higher Education Quality Assurance in the field of study 205 ‘Forestry’. Since 2023, he has been Director of the Research Institute of Forestry and Ornamental Horticulture at the National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine.

He trains specialists in the fields of ‘Forestry’, ‘Landscape Architecture’ and ‘Woodworking and Furniture Technologies’. He teaches subjects related to accounting in various sectors of the forestry, municipal and woodworking industries. He has 22 years of experience in research and teaching.

Associate Professor Bala O.P. is the author and co-author of over 110 scientific and educational works (12 of which are indexed in the Scopus and Web of Science databases), including 5 monographs. His research interests relate to the theoretical basis and practical implementation of a system for updating the valuation indicators of stands of hardwood tree species in Ukraine.