Mission statement

The mission of Odesa I.I. Mechnikov National University (ONU) is the provision of high-quality educational services, the implementation of modern scientific research and the promotion of humanistic values on the regional, national and European levels.

Vision

The strategic goal of ONU is the creation of an attractive human-centered educational and scientific environment through the development of one's own potential, achieving leadership in the region and international recognition for the training of competitive, innovation-oriented specialists and a high-quality scientific product. The community of ONU (students, teachers, scientists, employees) will achieve the strategic goal together with all educational stakeholders - officials, partners, employers, entrepreneurs, patrons of education, artists, public figures, etc. interested in its sustainable development.

KEY VALUES AND PRINCIPLES*

STRATEGIC PRIORITIES

Priority #1, innovative educational activities that meet European quality standards

• Aplicant (pre-university work; successful career guidance practices; new opportunities for popularization ONU - outdoor coworking space, vacation schools, etc.)
• Current educational programs (monitoring and modernization of existing and introduction of new interdisciplinary and intersectoral, practice-oriented educational programs, taking into account the needs of the region, the labor market and employers' requests; introduction and development of dual education system)
• Quality culture (formation of recognition of the awarded degrees of higher education; development of the Internal Quality Assurance System; international accreditation of educational programs; annual rating of teachers; academic integrity - formation of ethics of scientists and teachers, prevention of plagiarism in science and education)
• Digitalization of the educational process (e-learning - syllabuses, introduction of content on modern electronic platforms; available information - formation of a unified system for informing students and teachers on current issues of the functioning of the educational process)
• Educational environment (monitoring, measures and practices to identify, take into account and meet the needs and interests of participants in the educational process; life and health safety; accessibility of conflict resolution policies and procedures)
• Educational hub (continuous improvement of teaching skills; introduction of innovative educational technologies and practices, flexible forms of learning, revision of traditional forms of learning; introduction and development of distance learning; lifelong learning)
• Educational and other services (introduction of short-term courses, trainings, certificate programs for obtaining additional competencies by the students getting higher education, provision of other services in accordance with the legislation, development of an electronic library, introduction of the programs to improve the skills of academic staff)
• Graduate (career tracking; questionnaires, alumni conferences; creating a database of vacancies from employers)
• Educational activities for regional development (relevance of educational programs and their focus on solving the problems of the city and region; monitoring trends in the demand for jobs and the development of the labor market; participation in regional projects and programs for the development of the city and region)

Indicators: absolute indicators - the number of students enrolled in the first year in the structures of postgraduate education; the number of educational programs accredited by the National agency for quality assurance of higher education; educational programs that have received international accreditation; the number of concluded cooperation agreements with enterprises and companies, providing for internships of students with subsequent employment of graduates; the number of students-winners of subject and professional Olympiads; the number of works of winners of the competition of the Minor Academy of Sciences, performed under the guidance of academic workers of ONU; the number of works of winners of student tournaments and competitions of practical and professional orientation; the amount of funding received ONU for the provision of educational and other services; high domestic and international rankings; relative indicators - the level of employment of graduates (including training of personnel for the needs of ONU; percentage of graduates' requests to the employment center; number of students per teacher, number of teachers using the latest educational technologies, in particular, distance learning.

Priority #2. Synergistic development of fundamental and applied research and introduction of innovations based on the latest achievements of modern science

• Interdisciplinarity and intersectionality (development of interdisciplinary, comprehensive research; creation of scientific research and training centers, interdepartmental laboratories)
• Technology transfer (pragmatization - the transformation of scientific developments into the ONU's source of revenue; focus on obtaining applied developments with their further commercialization as the end result of research; testing, prototyping using 3D-technologies; promoting startups, joint development of courses like Prometheus, Coursera on Youtube)
• Integration of science and education (introduction of the results of innovative scientific research in the educational process and introduction of new educational programs on this basis; support of scientific research of young scientists and gifted students; scientific circles, holding Olympiads, competitions of student scientific papers and developments; preparation of high-quality student publications and research qualifications; formation of a flexible system for training scientific and academic staff)
• Global academic space (support of existing and formation of new scientific schools; inclusion of scientific professional publications of ONU to international scientometric databases; revision of the system for stimulating publication activity)

Indicators: absolute indicators - the amount of funding for science; h-index ONU the number of publications in journals indexed by international databases and issued in the EU or OECD countries; the number of winners of competitions of student scientific papers; the number of doctoral and candidate theses; the number of published scientific monographs, obtained patents, articles in professional publications; the number of commercialized developments, startups; the volume of revenues from the commercialization of developments on international and national scientific projects; relative indicators - the share of timely defended dissertations; the number of publications, primarily rating, per scientific and academic worker.

Priority #3. Internationalization of activities

• Internationalization of educational programs (expansion of real foreign partnership; introduction of double degree programs; introduction of educational programs in foreign languages; attraction of foreign teachers; incentives for teachers of ONU to teach abroad)
• International projects (training in project activities; sharing the experience of project executers)
• Foreign student (expansion of traditional segments of attracting foreign students; educational and methodological support, social and psychological support)
• English for everyone (teaching; webpage; syllabuses, content on modern electronic platforms; language courses)
• Coordination (creation of a clear system for managing, planning and monitoring international activities; simplification of project registration, prevention of bureaucracy, motivation and autonomy of ONU project leaders who receive grants) 
• Educational and scientific embassy (conversion of ONU to regional representation of foreign humanitarian, scientific, educational, cultural and educational institutions and involvement of the university community in their activities)

Indicators: absolute indicators - the number of foreign students of language training courses, foreign students and teachers; the number of students who took part in academic mobility programs; the number of academic staff participating in academic mobility programs, the implementation of international educational, scientific projects, teaching in English; the number of publications of academic staff co-authored with foreign colleagues; the volume of revenues for international projects; the number of foreign higher education institutions whose specialists are involved in providing individual educational programs; relative indicators - the share of foreign students; disciplines that are taught in English; publications with international co-authorship; budget revenues from international activities.

Priority #4. Effective economic policy

• Effective finance (ensuring effective planning of financial activities; development and implementation of a system of intra-university grants; optimization of real estate operation costs)
• Motivation (development of a system of incentives for academic staff to improve scientific performance and professional growth)
• Business environment (reducing the distance relative to the business community; creating long-term cooperation in various areas of both high-tech industries and modern management and business areas; intensifying work with informal investors and patrons, creating spin-off companies)

Indicators: budget growth; the amount of funds provided for employee motivation and their share in the budget; the number and volume of internal grants; the number of agreements with the government, state institutions, local authorities, businesses and an increase in the share of funds raised in the budget; promotion of their own products to the innovation market; the amount of funds from consulting, service and other services in the field of technological development and innovation.

Priority #5. Modern structure and infrastructure, comfortable conditions for educational and scientific activities

• Institutional development (optimization and improvement of the level of competence of management personnel; development programs in divisions; revision of new educational trends; cooperation with local communities and authorities)
• Modernization of the property complex (preservation of the integrity of the property complex and rights to land plots of ONU; repairs of educational buildings, dormitories; updating of material and technical and software of educational process and scientific activity; modernization of the sports complex, publishing center and university museums, creation of science parks)
• Life and leisure safety (compliance with sanitary standards; protection of public order; psychological support; training for emergency situations; recreational areas in dormitories and relaxation areas in university buildings); inclusion — adaptation of infrastructure for people with special needs; a legal clinic.
• Cultural center of the region (multifunctional use of premises of ONU for various regional events: public lectures by scientists, concerts, performances, press conferences; events in museums (exhibitions, expositions), a botanical garden, a planetarium, etc.)
• Green university (energy efficiency; economical use of resources, waste sorting, etc.)
• Virtual reality (introduction of an integrated system of electronic document management and management of educational, scientific activities, financial and human resources; updating and improving branding ONU and its structures; marketing ONU in social networks)

Indicators: availability of the institution's strategy and development programs for all its divisions; the volume and share of funds for repairs and modernization in the budget; the number of computer classrooms provided with multimedia equipment; the number of specialized classrooms equipped in accordance with the educational profile; the total number of places in computer classes, renovated dorm rooms, garbage sorting bins on the territory; the volume and share of utility costs; fixing new structures in the Charter of ONU.

Download (PDF): Strategy of Development of ONU