At the regular meeting of the Volodymyr Dahl East Ukrainian National University Crisis Positioning Committee, the Volodymyr Dahl East Ukrainian National University Crisis Action Plan for 2023 was approved.
The Committee was established as a temporary advisory body to increase the university’s capacity in its educational, scientific and social activities and to create an effective crisis risk management system as part of the implementation of the expert and public approach at the university under the project “Support to the Activities of Volodymyr Dahl East Ukrainian National University” with the support of the university’s international partners.
The University’s Anti-Crisis Action Plan for 2023 was developed on the basis of previously identified strategic directions of the university’s development, which are reflected in the “Strategy for the Development of the Volodymyr Dahl East Ukrainian National University under Evacuation – 2.0” developed and updated after the relocation. The measures were developed by the university team during the implementation of the project for displaced higher education institutions “Tools for Monitoring the Implementation of the HEI Development Strategy under Uncertainty” with the support of the Fulbright Program project.
At the meeting of the Committee, the Rector of the University Olha Porkuian first of all thanked the project representatives and consultants for their great work and support and spoke about the state of the university at the beginning of 2023. The university’s activities are evidenced by the results of the ratings, which, despite the relocation of the institution, have been improved: TOP 200 – by more than 20 positions, Scopus scientometric database – by 3 positions, Consolidated ranking of higher education institutions – by 2 positions.
Today, the university employs more than 500 people, 65% of whom are academic staff. The number of students decreased for known reasons even after the graduation of masters, although the results of the last admission campaign showed a 20% increase in the number of applicants compared to pre-war 2021.
According to Olha Porkuian, the priority areas of the university’s development are the quality of education with an emphasis on dual education; updating educational programs in accordance with the needs of the state (defense and future recovery); continuing digitalization, which fully coincides with the processes taking place at the state level; internationalization, that is, deepening ties with international partners, whose support and assistance has been felt both since 2014 and now.
Ruslan Halhash, Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs, Economics and University Development, reported on the draft Anti-Crisis Action Plan of the University for 2023.
The plan is structured according to the logic of project planning and consists of the following sections:
- prerequisites, which describes the realities of the university’s activities in the context of hostilities;
- results of the SWOT-analysis, which outlines strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats; c) current short-term measures for 2023 to restore operations;
- development projects to be implemented in 2023;
- project profiles, resources and teams, and project prioritization.
The speaker drew attention to the fact that the draft Plan does not highlight internationalization as a separate project, but it is assumed that, given the lack of state funding, the university’s development is based on the support of international partners.
Each profile of the proposed projects, developed in detail, is tied to the relevant section of the Strategy, and the team of its implementers is designated. The projects in the most important areas of the university’s activity are: introduction of the digital university concept; creation of a Technopark of research laboratories, including on the basis of interested enterprises; development of the university community; resumption of the university’s activities for community development, in particular, further development of space for veterans; arrangement of educational space at a location in Kyiv; definition of values with which the university community will associate itself.
The Dean of the Faculty of Engineering Serhii Kudriavtsev, the Head of the Charitable Organization “New University Charitable Foundation”, a member of the NGO “Prostir Foundation” Yana Bilous, and the Head of the NGO “Luhansk Region Development Laboratory” Yana Chankotadze reported on the most relevant and priority projects.
The moderator of the event and project expert Liliia Hrynevych emphasized that the key to project implementation is their common feature – the willingness of the university community, based on the ability to establish links with international partners, and suggested discussing a very difficult issue related to the image of the institution in the eyes of grantors in the presence of project representatives. This is the issue of positioning the university in connection with military events that threaten the existence of Ukrainian identity and statehood and have affected the fate of the university. This refers to the publications in the information space and discussions that have recently emerged about the figure of Volodymyr Dahl and the appropriateness of rebranding the university by refusing to use his name in the name of the institution, given this process through the optics of war, because it is not enough to look for links between Volodymyr Dahl’s work and Ukrainian identity today and it is simply impossible to ignore the processes that are emerging in society.
Associate Professor of the Department of History and Archeology Olena Sapytska cited the known facts of Volodymyr Dahl’s biography, reported on the difficulties in recreating the historical point of view on the issue due to the presence of primary sources in the occupied territory of Ukraine or in russia and the lack of verified sources for academic discussion, presented the arguments for and against the working group, and suggested that the specialists of the Institute of National Memory be consulted.
Andrii Smorodin, a member of the Supervisory Board of the Volodymyr Dahl East Ukrainian National University, Chairman of the Board of the Association of Transport Infrastructure Innovations of Ukraine, Project Manager of the Strategy and Transformation Department of JSC Ukrzaliznytsia, who is in charge of finding partners for the development of the Department of Railway, Road Transport and Hoisting and Transport Machines of the Volodymyr Dahl East Ukrainian National University, also expressed his position on this issue. He believes that, on the one hand, it is necessary to solve this issue delicately and carefully, on the other hand, it is necessary to develop a modern higher education institution and, perhaps, to abandon the trail that stretches from the pre-war times of Luhansk and think about what kind of university will return to Luhansk.
Next, the members of the Volodymyr Dahl East Ukrainian National University Anti-Crisis Positioning Committee discussed the Plan and the proposals for rebranding the university that were voiced.
After the discussion of the “Volodymyr Dahl East Ukrainian National University Anti-Crisis Action Plan for 2023”, the members of the Volodymyr Dahl East Ukrainian National University Anti-Crisis Positioning Committee unanimously approved the document. Next, the Plan will be submitted for discussion and approval by the Academic Council of the University.
Summarizing the Committee’s work, the participants of the meeting noted that the development of the University’s Anti-Crisis Action Plan for 2023 is a significant achievement of the partnership with international organizations. Next, the project concepts will be translated into English and, like the university profile, will be offered to foreign partners and interested organizations for further cooperation.