Today, on June 30, the Republic of Belarus celebrates Economist's Day, a professional holiday for specialists whose work is an important component of the sustainable development and prosperity of the Republic of Belarus.
Economist's Day was established as a state professional holiday by Decree No. 35 of the President of the Republic of Belarus dated February 2, 2000. The date was chosen for a reason, it was on this day in 1921 that the State Planning Commission was established in Minsk, which was entrusted with the development of a unified state plan.
In the same year, the All-Russian Congress of Soviets pointed out the need to establish higher economic bodies in the provinces and regions - Economic Conferences. However, due to the Civil War and foreign intervention, it was not possible to implement the congress's decision in practice until later.
The first meeting of the Economic Conference established in the BSSR took place on April 26, 1921. Already on June 30, 1921, the Economic Conference developed and approved the Regulations on the State Planning Commission (Gosplan) of the BSSR. This date is considered to be the beginning of the establishment of the Gosplan of the BSSR.
The activities of the Gosplan of the BSSR were inextricably linked with the entire work of the national economy. The development of economic potential, its restoration after the Great Patriotic War, and further economic growth were all carried out with the direct participation of the leading planning center.
After the collapse of the USSR, the State Planning Committee of the BSSR was transformed into the State Committee of the Republic of Belarus for Economics and Planning, and since 1994, it has been the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Belarus. The Ministry of Economy is responsible for developing and implementing state economic policy in the areas of analysis and forecasting of socio-economic development, entrepreneurial and investment activities, as well as countering monopolistic activities and promoting competition.
The training of economists at the Belarusian National Technical University is a multifaceted process that organically combines fundamental economic knowledge with deep engineering competencies. Today, several faculties of the BNTU are offering the specialty of Engineering Economics: the Faculty of Automotive Engineering, the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, the Faculty of Energy Engineering, the Faculty of Marketing, Management, and Entrepreneurship, the Faculty of Energy Construction, the Faculty of Construction, and the Faculty of Management Technologies and Humanitarian Studies.
Engineering and Economics education at BNTU is based on a simple and clear principle: modern production is a complex system where every technical decision has a financial cost. Economics at the Polytechnic University does not exist separately from engineering; it becomes an integral part of it. The division of economic education by industry is not a coincidence. Economics is always linked to a specific field: mechanical engineering, energy, transportation, and construction. Therefore, the training of economists is carried out not in one department, but in different faculties, where each student receives not just a diploma, but a real understanding of their future profession in a particular industry from the inside.
The achievements of BNTU in engineering and economics education confirm the high level of training in this field. For example, in November 2025, the university hosted the 2nd International Scientific and Technical Conference on Engineering Economics, where key issues related to the digital transformation of industry and ensuring the country's economic sovereignty were discussed. In addition, in 2025, the Politekhnik Research and Technology Park of the Belarusian National Technical University was recognized as the "Manufacturer of the Year" in the Import Substitution competition organized by the Ministry of Economy, resulting in the production of products worth 5.76 million US dollars. The technopark also won the "Best Products of the Republic of Belarus" award in 2025 from the city of Minsk, with the advanced development of the technopark's knee joint endoprosthesis receiving high recognition from the government. In March 2026, the Faculty of Construction held the 11th StroyProekt Youth Competition, where students had to not only develop their own project, but also conduct a comprehensive analysis of the cost of implementation, payback period, profit, and other indicators.
In the XXXII Republican Competition of Students' Research Papers, the winners were Vladislav Narbin, a student from the Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics, and Economics, with his work on the impact of international division of labor and technological innovations on the sectoral structure of the Belarusian labor market; Evgeny Shman and Artem Lesoma, students from the Faculty of Energy, with their technical and economic justification for the use of blockchain technology in the Belarusian energy sector; and Maria Natalevich and Alexandra Falchenko, who developed a strategy for the development of Belarusian energy system enterprises in the context of creating a common energy market in the EAEU.
Graduates of economic specialties from BNTU are in demand in the financial services of enterprises, research organizations, systems of republican, local, and sectoral management, and business structures. Graduates successfully work in their field and hold positions as managers and highly qualified specialists in leading organizations of the country. These include OAO ASB Belarusbank, CJSC MTBank, OAO Minsk Automobile Plant, OAO BelOMO-MMZ named after S.I. Vavilov, OAO Keramin, and many others.
Economist's Day is a holiday of a profession without which it is impossible to imagine the development of any enterprise, industry, or country as a whole. BNTU economists have always been and remain the backbone of the Belarusian industry, combining engineering thought with competent management and strategic planning. We congratulate all those who have dedicated themselves to this important and responsible field: veterans, teachers, students, and graduates. We wish you new successes and wise decisions!
