Today, a staff conference and a regular meeting of the Academic Council were held at the Vasyl Stefanyk Carpathian National University.
The event began with a moment of silence in memory of our compatriots who died in battles with the Russian aggressor.
Traditionally, at the beginning of the meeting, the acting rector of the university, Ihor Tsependa, presented awards for many years of conscientious work, high professionalism, organizational activities, and personal contribution to supporting gifted youth and the development of the university.
Awarded with a Diploma:
• Oleksandr Novosyolov — Associate Professor of the Department of Hotel, Restaurant and Resort Business, Faculty of Tourism;
• Nelya Dolynko — Associate Professor of the Department of Therapy, Rehabilitation and Morphology, Faculty of Physical Education and Sports;
• Igor Kozych — Head of the Department of Crime Control Policy and Criminal Law of the Educational and Scientific Law Institute;
• Andriy Korolko — Associate Professor of the Department of History of Ukraine and Methods of Teaching History, Faculty of History, Political Science and International Relations;
• Bohdan Paska — Associate Professor of the Department of History of Ukraine and Methods of Teaching History, Faculty of History, Political Science and International Relations;
• Oleksandr Soletskyi — Professor of the Department of Ukrainian Literature, Faculty of Philology.
Awarded with Gratitude:
• Anatoliy Kazmerchuk — Associate Professor of the Department of Differential Equations and Applied Mathematics, Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics;
• Volodymyr Troyanskyi — Professor of the Department of Physics and Astronomy, Faculty of Physics and Technology.
Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, Associate Professor, Professor of the Department of Primary Education and Educational Innovations Petro Koval received a professor’s certificate.
The head of the trade union committee of students and postgraduates, Ivan Khomyak, was also awarded a Doctor of Philosophy diploma.
During the meeting, a number of issues were considered according to the agenda.
In particular, the Acting Rector Ihor Tsependa delivered a report on the preliminary results of the admissions campaign and the tasks of the university staff for the 2025–2026 academic year.
He emphasized that the university ranks high in domestic and international rankings.
“We are consistently among the top ten universities in Ukraine. This is an important indicator, because it is based on the results of ratings that educational institutions are often evaluated,” he noted. “In the so-called consolidated rating, we are currently in sixth place. Only two Kyiv universities, two Lviv universities, and one Kharkiv university are ahead. This testifies to our many years of joint work, to our systematic work, thanks to which we have become noticeable in the national educational space.”
The Acting Rector emphasized that the university achieved this result thanks to consistent work in all areas: the development of scientific activity, cooperation with communities, support for talented youth, work with students and the formation of competitive specialists from them.
“Step by step, we have built a mosaic of success. This is not a coincidence, but the result of systematic work,” emphasized Igor Tsependa. “We have overcome stereotypes about provinciality. We have proven that through hard work and cooperation, you can achieve results that no one expected.”
He also thanked the university staff for strengthening the institution’s position in higher education not only in Ukraine, but also beyond its borders.
Igor Tsependa separately focused on the results of this year’s admissions campaign. He emphasized that it is always a reflection of the university’s work in the previous year.
“2025 was not easy for us, because we partially changed the name of the university. This caused some concerns that recognition would decrease and this would negatively affect the number of applications,” said Tsependa. “However, a well-constructed marketing strategy, a number of events, including Stefanyk Open Day and Stefanyk Info Day, meetings with schoolchildren in schools and lyceums, as well as the use of university infrastructure, including the Smerichka sports and recreation complex, allowed us not only to avoid losses, but also to significantly strengthen the dynamics of the admission campaign.”
According to him, thanks to joint efforts, the number of applications increased by 47.5%. This was evidence that the visibility and authority of the university have a direct impact on the results.
At the same time, Igor Tsependa noted that the main challenge remains the issue of the quality of applicants: “The number of applications is important, but we strive for it to always be backed by the high quality of applicants, whom the university prepares for their future professional life.”
Among the main tasks of the university and the team:
• Ensuring a high-quality educational process;
• Introduction of an individual educational trajectory;
• Digitalization and use of AI;
• English as one of the components of academic communication;
• International integration and mobility of applicants and teachers;
• Expanding international partnerships and networks;
• Internationalization of research and innovation;
• Systemic cooperation with schools, colleges, and AHs;
• Innovative formats for schoolchildren;
• Strong communication policy;
• Infrastructure modernization and more.
