On December 19, the National University of Ostroh Academy hosted a meeting (conference) of the university staff. Traditionally, at the end of the calendar year, the Rector's Office of Ostroh Academy reports to the staff on the work done.
At the beginning of the event, the President and Founding Rector of Ostroh Academy, Doctor of Science (Psychology), Full Professor Ihor Pasichnyk, read out the names of all the employees who were part of the Ostroh Academy staff but, unfortunately, had passed away and initiated honouring all members of the academic community who lost their lives during the Russia-Ukraine War with a minute of silence.
During the meeting, Ihor Pasichnyk reported on the accreditation of educational and professional programmes, the results of the election of the rector, the effectiveness of training scientific and pedagogical personnel through their studies at postgraduate and doctoral programmes, the degree programmes admission results, the indicators of scientific activity of the university, the victories of the NaUOA students in scientific research competitions, contests, the international cooperation and social support for students, the indicators of the efficiency of the state property use, etc.
'Now we are witnessing the prosperity of Ostroh Academy, its resource base, teaching staff, and authority. Over the 30 years of its revival, the university has become an all-Ukrainian brand known across the country and beyond. The institution's greatest value is the people we have managed to unite in 30 years. I express my sincere gratitude for your hard work for one goal - the revival and growth of Ostroh Academy.'
Ihor Pasichnyk noted that in 2024, the NaUOA became one of the three Ukrainian universities participating in the pilot project of the National Agency for Quality Assurance in Higher Education and the Estonian Agency for Quality Assurance (HAKA) on institutional accreditation.
There is a positive tendency in the number of applicants enrolled in the degree programmes of the first (bachelor's) level of higher education. A record number of 810 students entered the university this year.
Six one-time specialised academic councils were formed in 2024 to confer on the postgraduate students of the NaUOA the degree of Doctor of Philosophy: 2 students in the '053 Psychology' speciality (Volodymyr Savchuk, Tetiana Chernous), 1 in the '035 Philology' speciality (Olha Demchuk), and 3 in the '081 Law' speciality (Tetiana Lotysh, Tetiana Bevz, Bohdan Mykhalchuk). In 2024, the University's Academic Council awarded the academic title of Full professor to Olha Demianchuk.
Ihor Demydovych also emphasised that the university signed nine cooperation agreements with foreign partners (Georgia, India, Poland, the USA, Sweden and France) in 2024. As of October 2024, the university has entered 80 cooperation agreements with educational and scientific institutions worldwide. Ostroh Academy is an affiliated member of the European University Association, the University of Warsaw and Ukrainian Universities Consortium, the Eastern European University Association, the International Consortium of Universities, etc.
In total, Ostroh Academy researchers implemented 10 international grant projects in 2024. The NaUOA is included in well-known world university rankings such as THE Impact Ranking, QS (EECA), U-Multirank, and GreenMetric.
One hundred seventy-six students received a tuition fee grant in the 2023/24 academic year; in the 2024/25 academic year, as of 17.12.24, 110 students received such an educational grant.
After that, the institution's Rector, Doctor of Science (Psychology) and Full Professor Eduard Balashov focused on the work's results in November-December 2024.
He analysed the economic and financial activities of Ostroh Academy, the effectiveness of educational programmes, and personnel structure. The rector also identified the criteria for minimising expenses and maximising income.
The major university's achievements were also presented. Among them are the following:
- Ostroh Academy has signed a cooperation agreement with the Ostroh Oblast Lyceum with Intensive Military and Physical Training;
- Ostroh Academy became a member of the international consortium of universities KreativEU (Knowledge & Creativity European University);
- The NaUOA was also categorised 3rd among Ukrainian universities in the UI GreenMetric 2024 World University Ranking. The ranking has evaluated the universities worldwide since 2010 in six areas: environment and infrastructure, energy and climate change, waste management, water resources, transportation, environmental education and academic research. The UI GreenMetric World University Ranking focuses on effectively implementing sustainable development goals and raising awareness of this process among universities.
'I am honoured to be here today and admit that I represent a well-coordinated team of individuals who have mastered self-efficacy, self-control, self-realisation, and self-regulation. Moreover, this is not just a team of individuals, but a united academic community that we are proud of.'
Ruslana Kalamazh, Vice-Rector for Education, Doctor of Science (Psychology), Full Professor, reported on the university's educational and volunteer work in 2024:
'Over the 30 years of Ostroh Academy's revival, we have had an unchanging, consistent forte that unites and empowers us: values and spiritual and moral principles. These are the foundation of the educational work at the university, which we jointly implement and strive to pass on to the students. I am sincerely grateful to everyone and hope to continue our fruitful cooperation for developing the Ukrainian state and Ostroh Academy.'
Ruslana Kalamazh depicted how Ostroh Academy continues to help the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in particular, the NaUOA students, graduates, and staff, who are now also defending Ukraine from the enemy; the university also sends humanitarian aid for the wounded those being treated in hospitals; students support children from de-occupied Staryi Saltiv in Kharkiv region; the employees and students weave camouflage nets.
The Vice-Rector also added that a significant number of well-known personalities visited the university in 2024, including Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belgium to Ukraine Peter Van De Velde; Polish diplomat, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Poland to Ukraine (2001-2005), Marek Ziolkowski; Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine Mykhailo Vynnytskyi; Vice-Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Olena Kondratiuk; and editor-in-chief of the newspaper Den' Larysa Ivshyna; Ukrainian lawyer and human rights activist, Nobel Peace Prize 2022 laureate Oleksandra Matviychuk delivered a public lecture; and retired US Army Lieutenant General and Honorary Doctor of Ostroh Academy Ben Hodges has already delivered 12 online lectures to university students.
The Vice-Rector for Research and Teaching, Doctor of Science (Philosophy), Full Professor Dmytro Shevchuk reported on the vision of education and science at Ostroh Academy in 2025. The main goals include institutional accreditation, a focus on microcredit and new interdisciplinary educational programmes, and the university's scientific research growth.
'First, I want to thank everyone for this difficult year. However, we worked very smoothly as a team in these conditions. The academic community of Ostroh Academy demonstrated how resilient we are and how well we can support each other and work hard to provide quality education in Ukraine. And this is extremely important and necessary now',
During the conference, Nataliia Melnychuk, Assistant Rector for the Development, Administrative and Economic Activity, made a report on the work done by the administrative and economic departments over the year. The main achievements include renovations in the university dormitories, support for internally displaced people living in the dormitories of Ostroh Academy, etc.
'2024 was a year of challenges and opportunities, and most importantly, of our triumphs. Thanks to our joint efforts, we have accomplished our assignments and laid the foundation for the further significant development of Ostroh Academy. Together, we are creating a future that students, staff and the entire academic community will be proud of.'
At the end of the event, Kateryna Yakunina, Assistant Rector for Strategic Development and Quality of Education, Cand. Sc. (History), Associate Professor, summarised the goals accomplished in the field of quality of education at the university. In particular, these are:
- nine new educational programmes have been launched;
- the sustainability of the EPs has been enhanced by engaging experts, employers and graduates in lectures, seminars, etc.;
- 76 NaUOA lecturers increased the index of their scientific research impact;
- the material and technical support of the university's educational programmes has increased;
- the regulatory documents of the university have been updated;
- the quality of education at the NaUOA has been regularly monitored;
- the NaUOA self-analysis, following the requirements of the State Quality Service of Ukraine etc., was conducted.
