On February 24, the next meeting of the Academic Council was held at Vasyl Stefanyk Carpathian National University, chaired by the Academic Council’s Chairman, Professor Ihor Tsependa.
Liliya Turovska, Vice-Rector for Scientific and Pedagogical Work and International Activities, delivered a report on the results of the university’s scientific and research work for 2025 and the tasks for 2026. The report highlights the results of activities in the following blocks: ranking positions of the university, general characteristics of scientific activity, financing of scientific and international projects, publication activity, and students’ scientific work.
The most significant achievements in 2025 were:
- strengthening the university’s positions in national and international rankings (TOP-10 in the Scopus ranking, TOP-200 Ukraine, SCImago, participation in THE World University Rankings);
- an increase in the volume of funding for scientific research – in 2025, 21 scientific and research projects were implemented for a total amount of over UAH 29 million, a significant increase in the share of the special fund;
- increasing the publication activity of scientific and pedagogical workers, increasing the number of publications in publications indexed in Scopus and Web of Science Core Collection, maintaining positions in the Scopus ranking;
- improving the quality of the scientific and pedagogical staff (increasing the number of awarded academic titles of professor and associate professor, dissertation defences, scholarships of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, state awards);
- four university scientists entered the TOP 2% of the most cited scientists in the world;
- development of postgraduate and doctoral studies (31 educational and scientific programs, 682 postgraduate students, 14 doctoral students);
- development of research infrastructure (functioning of 49 scientific units, activities of the Science Park and the Regional Startup Accelerator);
- advanced training and international internships for scientific and pedagogical staff;
- support for student research work.
In the reporting year 2025, the university’s scientific and pedagogical staff published 256 publications in Scopus-indexed journals, of which 221 were articles, and 14 were review articles. The number of citations is 5554, the university’s h-index is 74, and the number of publications per NPP is 0.3. In the Web of Science Core Collection database, in 2025, 187 publications were published, of which 171 were articles, and 5 were review articles. The number of citations is 3994, the university’s h-index is 70, and the number of publications per NPP is 0.2.
Special attention was paid during the meeting to the development of student science. In 2025, the positive dynamics of growth in performance were maintained: the number of student winners of scientific competitions within the university’s structural divisions was 122 (in the 2023–2024 academic year, 113; in the 2024–2025 academic year, 55). The applicants of the Educational and Scientific Institute of Arts demonstrated high results: in 2025, 90 students became winners of all-Ukrainian competitions, another 15 – international ones; in particular, 46 first places and 13 Grand Prix were won. University students also became laureates of international and all-Ukrainian language and literary competitions, as well as professional and specialised competitions.
An essential tool for supporting student scientific and academic activity remains participation in scholarship programs. In 2025, university students received 31 scholarships from the Institute of Oriental Studies Foundation, 5 from the Lozynsky Foundation (USA), 1 from the Zavtra.UA Foundation, 49 from the mayor’s scholarships, 3 from the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional State Administration and Regional Council, as well as 18 mayor’s awards to first-year students with a score of 185+. This testifies to the growth in students’ academic performance and their active integration into the national and international educational and scientific space.
At the same time, several tasks have been outlined in organising and implementing scientific activities that require further systematic work. Among them: activating project and grant activities and increasing the volume of international funding; strengthening the commercialization of scientific research results; increasing the share of publications in Q1–Q2 quartile publications; ensuring that the university’s scientific publications comply with the updated requirements for forming the List of Professional Publications of Ukraine and preparing them for inclusion in category “A”; expanding international academic mobility of students and scientific and pedagogical workers; integrating digital solutions and artificial intelligence tools into scientific activities.
Within the agenda, the members of the Academic Council also considered the issues of changes in the composition of the Academic Council of the university and approval of the composition of the counting commission; awarding academic titles; nomination for awarding state awards of Ukraine; submission to the competition of scientific works for the Prize of the President of Ukraine for young scientists; renewal of documents for the award of a scholarship of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine for outstanding services in the field of higher education and other organizational issues.
The Academic Council meeting confirmed the continued development of the university’s scientific activities, its competitiveness in the national and international academic space, and its readiness to implement new strategic objectives in 2026.
