The order on the organization of the department of refrigerating and compressor machines in the Sumy Branch of Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute is dated June 5, 1981, and the order on Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute - September 8, 1981.

The opening of the department of refrigerating and compressor machines in Sumy is due to the fact that Sumy is the leading center of compressor production in Ukraine. Due to the rapid development of compressor production at the plants, there was a great need to improve the skills and staffing of these enterprises.

Admission of the first entrants to this specialty took place in 1974 at the evening department, and since 1977 the admission of students to full-time study began. Teaching staff to teach students a new specialty was completed within the section of heat engineering at the Department of Hydraulic Machines. Thanks to the initiative and perseverance of the head of this department, associate professor V. Malyushenko. and a new specialty was opened.

On September 1, 1981, students of the specialty "Refrigeration and Compressors and Installations" were trained in the new department. The teaching staff of the department in 1981 was as follows: Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Arseniev, Yuri Mikhailovich Vertepov, Mykola V. Grigorov, Mykola Vasilovich Kurilov, Vladimir Petrovich Popov, Sergey Fedorenko, Shestakovich I. The head of the department was appointed Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Arseniev. With a basic education in the field of refrigeration machines and installations, he provided the methodological side of teaching students of the disciplines of this part of the specialty. Arsenyev VM headed the department until 1997. Today Sergey Vaneev is the head of the department.

Today the staff of the department actively and successfully performs educational, methodical and scientific work. In recent years, teachers of the department have prepared more than 10 textbooks and 100 guidelines.