The Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine visited UzhNU
On Monday, September 15, the Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine, Oksen Lisovyi, visited Uzhhorod National University. A meeting was held with the rector of UzhNU, Volodymyr Smolanka, during which he acquainted the minister with the history of the westernmost Ukrainian university, which will celebrate its 80th anniversary in a month.
During the conversation, special attention was paid to the prospects for the development of UzhNU in the near future, the introduction of new specialties in the educational program, which the Ukrainian economy will urgently need during its post-war reconstruction. The discussion also covered the experience and practice of establishing effective and productive relations with universities in neighboring European countries, student exchange programs with partner universities, obtaining double degrees, and grant work aimed at modernizing the university's material and scientific-educational base.
Minister Oksen Lisovyi, accompanied by Rector Volodymyr Smolanka, visited several locations at the university. In the main academic building, the guest familiarized himself with the work of the state-of-the-art information center of the geography department, created as part of the implementation of the EIS Hungary-Slovakia-Romania-Ukraine 2014-2020 cross-border cooperation project, whose main task is to geomonitor natural and man-made processes in the cross-border territory of these countries. The dean of the Faculty of Geography, Ivan Kalinich, and the head of the Department of Algebra and Differential Equations of the Faculty of Mathematics and Digital Technologies, Oleksandr Reitii, told the minister in detail about the work of the information center and its role in assessing natural phenomena.
Rector V. Smolanka and Vice-Rector Dmytro Soima also familiarized the minister with the progress of the reconstruction of the main university building, the arrangement of future training laboratories, and modern auditoriums.
The minister was also interested in the living conditions of students and the creation of conditions for the full development of the younger generation of Ukrainians. He familiarized himself with the progress of the major reconstruction of student dormitory No. 4, where, thanks to cooperation with international partners, energy-efficient functional spaces that meet European standards are being created. He visited the students' living quarters, utility rooms, stadium, and sports grounds. The minister was particularly impressed by the YouthHub Youth Center, where training sessions, master classes, board game nights, movie screenings, eco-parties, and the Kontenta audiovisual studio, where students can develop their creative abilities by recording vocals, musical instruments, podcasts, video blogs, and live broadcasts.
At the Educational and Scientific Institute of Chemistry and Ecology, its director Vasyl Lendiel told guests about the history of the building in which the department is based and facts from the life of the institute, in particular, the holding of the IV stage of the All-Ukrainian Olympiad for Young Chemists, and they inspected the renovated research laboratory of the Department of Organic Chemistry. The laboratory was equipped with the help of the Yenamin Charitable Foundation in 2023. It is equipped with modern European-style fume hoods, reagent storage cabinets, and laboratory tables. When equipping the laboratory with an exhaust system, all safety rules for working with reagents used in European scientific institutions were taken into account, and it was also equipped with all the necessary instruments for conducting research. The laboratory is actively used by teachers, students, and graduate students to carry out scientific work. The institute's scientists shared their areas of work and the results of their research with the minister. They also conducted a tour of the institute's other laboratories.
Minister Oksen Lisovyi's visit then continued at the Faculty of Biology. Yaroslava Hasynets, Dean of the Faculty of Biology, drew the guests' attention to the unique research on the Ukrainian genome being conducted by scientists at the Faculty of Biology. This is fundamental research into genetic diversity, the results of which not only provide information about genetic variants of medical significance in these territories, but also allow us to understand demographic, historical, and prehistoric migration processes through the prism of genetics. This work is of considerable importance to global science, as the genetic variation of people in Central and Eastern Europe at the genomic level has never been studied before. The material and technical base of the laboratories – molecular biology and genetics, cytoembryology, monitoring of water and land systems, etc. – allows scientists and students to learn, teach, and conduct high-quality research that is recognized far beyond the country's borders.
The minister's final stop at Uzhhorod National University was the medical faculty, the largest educational unit within the university. Here, specialists in the field of healthcare are trained in the specialties of “Medicine,” “Pharmacy,” and “Nursing.” Acting Dean Oleh Deviniak gave Oksen Lisovyi a tour of the surgery, emergency care, internal medicine, gynecology, and obstetrics departments, where future doctors learn on special computerized medical mannequins and simulators that react to touch, and even respond. The guests examined the Anatomage multimedia 3D anatomical table, which allows you to study human anatomy in real time. It is equipped with unique technology that allows you to display high-quality 3D models of body organs and perform virtual incisions.
Such was the visit of the Minister of Education and Science Oksen Lisovyi to UzhNU – filled with fruitful conversations with university teachers, viewing the university's attractions, new ideas, and faith that the joint efforts of the state and the university community will bring tangible results for students and teachers.
