CampeX: How This Project Will Change the University
Uzhhorod National University has received national recognition: its project was among the twelve winners of the “Campuses of Excellence” competition organized by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine. Out of twenty-seven applications submitted, only twelve were selected—and UzhNU ranked ninth overall and third in its macroregion.
The project proposed by the university, “Campus of Excellence in Precision Neuromedicine and Quality of Life,” will be implemented as part of a joint program with the World Bank to improve higher education. For the university, this is both a significant investment and a rare opportunity to set the course for development over the next decade.
What exactly lies behind this achievement and why the project is much larger in scope than it seems at first glance—we discuss this in our conversation with the head of the UzhNU Reorganization Commission, Vice Rector for Scientific and Pedagogical Work, Doctor of Law, and Professor Oleksandr Rohach.
— Uzhhorod National University has been selected to implement the CampeX project. What does this outcome mean for the university?
— First and foremost, this is a very significant opportunity for the university. But I wouldn’t limit it to just funding or infrastructure modernization.
CampeX has given us the opportunity to set a much more ambitious goal for ourselves: which areas of the university’s development do we consider priorities for the next five to ten years, and what needs to be done today to ensure they meet modern European standards.
We proposed creating a “Campus of Excellence in Precision Neuroscience and Quality of Life.” This should be an environment that brings together neuroscience, genetics and genomics, personalized medicine, biotechnology, digital technologies, and clinical practice.
— Why did you choose this particular area?
— We didn’t want to come up with a topic specifically for the competition. We based our approach on what the university already has and what can realistically be developed.
UzhNU has a strong medical school, clinical facilities, and specialists in neurology, neurosurgery, genetics, and biomedical research. We’re already developing genomic technologies, have a third-generation sequencing lab, and participate in international research.
So the logic was simple: don’t spread our resources too thin, but rather focus them on areas where the university already has expertise, specialists, and the potential for growth.
— What does “precision neuromedicine” mean to someone who isn’t involved in science?
— After working on CampeX, my vocabulary has grown significantly. And that’s normal: my task wasn’t to become an expert in MedTech or Biotech, but to work with experts to turn their ideas into a project that can be implemented
To put it very simply, modern medicine is gradually moving away from the approach where a single treatment regimen is applied to all patients with the same diagnosis.
People are different. Their genetics, disease progression, response to medications, and many other factors vary. Precision medicine seeks to account for these differences and select the most effective approach specifically for each individual patient.
This requires a completely different scientific foundation: genomic research, neurophysiology, modern diagnostics, analysis of large medical datasets, bioinformatics, and artificial intelligence.
That’s exactly why we’re not talking about creating a single laboratory. We need a system where different technologies and specialists work together.
— So this isn’t strictly a medical project?
— Exactly. One of CampeX’s main ideas is to move away from the excessive isolation of individual university disciplines. Modern education, science, and medicine increasingly require interdisciplinary collaboration.
Modern science has long since become interdisciplinary. A doctor needs a geneticist; a geneticist needs a bioinformatician; and both need a data analyst. Then there are issues involving artificial intelligence, engineering, and rehabilitation technologies.
That is why the Campus is conceived as a unified educational, scientific, and clinical environment. In our proposal, we outlined a very simple chain: from fundamental research—to clinical application—to education—to innovation and technology transfer.
— The name of the Campus includes the words “quality of life.” How will the scientific component of the project benefit veterans and civilians?
— It is important to us that research does not end with a scientific publication. Its results must benefit people in the form of more accurate diagnoses, better treatment, rehabilitation, or improved quality of life.
This connection is especially important today. War leaves behind more than just visible injuries. Veterans and civilians face the consequences of traumatic brain injuries and blast injuries, neurological disorders, and chronic pain, and require long-term recovery and rehabilitation. This is precisely where neuroscience, modern diagnostics, and personalized approaches can have very practical applications.
For example, establishing a neurophysiological laboratory will make it possible to use EEG, EMG, neuromonitoring, and modern biosignal analysis. These are concrete tools for studying the functioning of the nervous system.
But it is not only important to obtain data; it is also important to learn how to integrate it. Genetic information, neurophysiological research results, clinical indicators, and medical data—all of this creates opportunities for more personalized approaches to diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation.
In other words, we are trying to build a clear chain: research—diagnosis—treatment—rehabilitation—quality of life. And for a veteran or a civilian, what matters isn’t how many laboratories or scientific publications a university has. What matters is whether these resources help provide a more accurate understanding of their condition and find a more effective path to treatment and recovery.
— Still, moving from concept to specifics: what do you plan to create?
— The investment component is very substantial. The total budget for our proposal is approximately $5.45 million (at the exchange rate specified in the project—234 million hryvnias). Of this amount, approximately 229.5 million hryvnias comes from the UIHERP project, and another 4.37 million is planned as a contribution from the university.
The plan is to renovate about 3,000 square meters and effectively create a modern educational and research space on this site. At least 20 specialized teaching, research, and other functional spaces are planned.
But what’s crucial is that we’re not just renovating the space—we’re immediately filling it with purpose.
Separately, plans call for the creation of a neurophysiological laboratory equipped with EEG, EMG, neuromonitoring systems, and biosignal analysis capabilities. Its budget amounts to approximately 35 million hryvnias. Another 13 million is allocated for a molecular genetics laboratory, and over 26 million is earmarked for state-of-the-art equipment for teaching laboratories and lecture halls.
In other words, the infrastructure here is tailored to the educational content, not the other way around.
— When is all of this supposed to be up and running?
— In the investment proposal, the implementation of the main part of the project was scheduled to be completed by the end of 2028. However, this involves more than just renovating the facilities. At the same time, equipment must be procured and installed, laboratories launched, digital systems integrated, staff trained, and work carried out on international certification and accreditation.
As for the construction component, the estimated timeframe for the actual work was 16 months. At the same time, we already have the design and cost estimate documentation prepared, the premises identified, and the technical and functional requirements defined. This is important because developing comprehensive design and cost estimate documentation for such a large-scale project is a complex task that requires significant funding. We were able to prepare it with financial support from the charitable organization “Charitable Foundation ‘Medical Aid Committee in Zakarpattia,’” for which we are sincerely grateful to our partners.
However, it should be noted that the procedure for selecting the winning bidders took longer than anticipated during the bid preparation phase. Consequently, the initial project implementation schedule will likely require some adjustments. We are currently awaiting consultations with the Ministry of Education and Science, after which we will have a clearer understanding of the updated deadlines and the sequence of the next stages.
For us, it is now important not to merely adhere formally to deadlines that were set according to a different selection schedule, but to carry out all procedures thoroughly and maintain the momentum of the project itself.
— What will the average university student gain from “Campus”?
— For me, this is one of the key criteria for success. Students should experience the changes not through a university press release, but directly during their studies.
First and foremost, this means new opportunities for hands-on training: state-of-the-art laboratories, simulation and interactive classrooms, and the chance to work with modern diagnostic and laboratory equipment, digital technologies, and medical data.
But even more important is that students will be able to participate in real-world research. They will work side by side with scientists and doctors, participate in research and international projects, and utilize the resources of neurophysiological and molecular-genetic laboratories. The campus is specifically designed so that education, research, and clinical practice are not separate from one another.
This represents a whole new level of university education. Students don’t just hear about modern technologies in lectures—they learn how to work with them. And for talented young people, this is also an opportunity to engage in cutting-edge science right here in Uzhhorod, without having to seek out such infrastructure exclusively abroad.
— How difficult was it to prepare such an application?
— It was difficult. CampeX isn’t a competition where it’s enough to describe an idea in a fancy way. We had to combine in a single document the scientific concept, educational model, infrastructure, technical solutions, equipment, budget, procurement, timelines, risks, the international component, and, ultimately, demonstrate the university’s ability to implement all of this.The investment proposal was evaluated based on a comprehensive set of criteria: alignment of the investments with the Campus’s goals, the quality of the physical environment and investment packages, the implementation plan, the soundness of the budget, co-financing, and the team’s capabilities. Individual components were evaluated using the World Bank’s methodology.
So we are truly pleased that we succeeded in this task. And I view this result as a team achievement.
It is important to note that the teamwork did not end with the submission of the application. The project includes an implementation team responsible for overall coordination, finance, procurement, technical support, monitoring, and reporting, as well as an execution team comprising specialists in specific areas of the Campus’s activities. In other words, we immediately established a model that provides for both professional project management and substantive responsibility for its individual components.
— The university already has experience implementing large-scale international investment projects. Did the experience of participating in the “Higher Education of Ukraine” program help?
— Undoubtedly. As part of the “Higher Education of Ukraine” program, UzhNU implemented a major energy efficiency project, carrying out a comprehensive thermal modernization of the academic and laboratory buildings and Dormitory No. 4.
This multimillion international investment project provided us with practical experience, as it entailed entirely different requirements for planning, procurement, financial control, technical supervision, deadlines, and reporting. We already have this experience, and it was taken into account during the preparation for CampeX.
But CampeX is still a more complex undertaking for us. In an energy-efficiency project, the goal is quite clear: there are specific buildings that we comprehensively modernize, making them more energy-efficient and up-to-date.
CampeX follows a different logic. First, we had to develop a concept for the Campus: exactly what we want to do there, and which areas of education and research to develop. And then, based on that, we design the space, select equipment and digital systems, and build a model for how it will operate.
— How important is the international component here?
— It’s fundamental. We aren’t setting out to simply create good laboratories for the university’s internal needs.
Modern science exists thanks to networks and consortia. If we want our researchers to be full-fledged participants in major European research projects, they must have the appropriate technological capabilities, work according to standards understood by international partners, and be able to generate and process high-quality data.
That is why the project includes not only infrastructure but also the creation of a quality system, staff training, validation of methodologies, conducting audits, and obtaining accreditation.
— What would be the main indicator for you that CampeX has truly been a success?
— I would evaluate the results on three levels.
First, did we create what the project envisioned: laboratories, modern teaching and research spaces, digital infrastructure, a quality system, and international accreditation?
Second, how effectively all of this is functioning. Here, we need specific metrics: the number of students and young researchers involved in the Campus’s activities, research and international projects, the utilization of laboratories and equipment, new educational opportunities, and partnerships.
And third—and for me, the most important—what has changed thanks to the Campus. Has the quality of student education improved? Have our researchers’ capabilities to conduct European-level research increased? Have we become stronger partners for other universities and research centers? Are the results of our research finding practical applications?
The measure of success will be the new level of quality in education and science that the University is able to achieve with the help of this resource.
