ONMedU: Academic Council meeting October 30, 2025

On October 30, under the chairmanship of the rector, academician Valerii Zaporozhan, a regular meeting of the Academic Council of the Odessa National Medical University was held.
The meeting began with a solemn part. Members of the Academic Council congratulated Mykhailo Mefodiyovych Trofimov, who for a long time headed the military toxicology cycle at the naval department of our medical university, on his 90th anniversary. Strochenko Yevgheny, Tarasenko Iryna, and Shchelkunov Anatoly were congratulated on being awarded the academic title of “associate professor”. Students Oleg Myakishev and Dmitry Pylypenko were awarded certificates for organizing and technical support of the mental health symposium “The Art of Resilience”, which took place on October 21 in the ONMedU Student Hub.
The results of the licensing exams “Step” in the 2024-2025 academic year and priority measures to prepare students for the licensing exam in the 2025-2026 academic year were reported by the Vice-Rector for Scientific and Pedagogical Work, Associate Professor Eduard Buryachkivskyi. He noted that the best dynamics of increasing the results of passing “Step 1” were demonstrated by applicants from the Faculty of Medicine, and the best results were demonstrated by applicants from the Faculty of Dentistry. The percentage of correct answers is higher than the national indicator. “Based on the results of the analysis, we can conclude that the most effective means of control and preparation for passing licensing exams is conducting rector’s control and working on the “Educational Module” of the Testing Center of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine,” Eduard Buryachkivskyi summarized.
A thorough report on the results of the research work “The influence of broadband micromechanical waves on the closure of experimental amputation trauma” was delivered by the head of the Department of Physiology, Pathological Physiology, Medical Physics and Informatics, Professor Leonid Godlevsky. He spoke about the stages of joint experimental research with scientific enterprises of Ukraine and Israel, as a result of which an international application for an invention was submitted.
At the meeting of the Academic Council, the results and plans of the international grant activities of the University were presented. During the report of the first vice-rector, Professor Valeria Marichereda, it was emphasized that during 2025 the ONMedU team simultaneously implemented 8 international grants and projects aimed at modernizing medical education, developing international partnerships and strengthening the university’s capabilities in the conditions of war and post-war reconstruction of Ukraine.
Among the key initiatives is the project “Simulation Medicine and Scenario-Based Emergency Training” (01.01.2023–31.12.2025), designed to improve the quality of training for doctors, first responders, and eyewitnesses. The university team conducted training on creating virtual patients on the OpenLabyrinth platform, disaster psychology, and first aid, purchased equipment worth €38,200, developed seven bilingual training scenarios (21 scenarios were created within the project), implemented the certification program “Emergency Care. Psychological Aspects of First Aid. Virtual Patient” and a special four-day course for school teachers. 60 teachers of secondary education institutions and 50 ONMedU applicants underwent training under the updated programs. The project results are reflected in the manual for teachers “Simulation Medicine and Scenario-Based Learning for Emergency Care”, as well as in three articles in Scopus/WoS publications (Q2–Q3) and four theses at specialized conferences, in particular SESAM Annual Meetings 2024–2025.
The second strategic direction was the project “Digital Transformation of Medical Education in Ukraine / UkraineDigiTrans” (01.11.2024–30.11.2027), in which ONMedU acts as the national coordinator. Within the framework of the initiative, trainings on innovations in digital learning, media production and the use of artificial intelligence have been deployed, seminars in the Peer-Trainers format are being held, and equipment for €6,500 is being purchased. Key management documents (project management and internal reporting plan, communication and dissemination plan, quality assurance plan, training plan and training of trainers program) have been developed and approved, four training cycles for academic staff have been formed. A roadmap for updating digital competences disciplines has been approved: five new, five updated and five microcredit (certificate) courses.
A strategic Twinning partnership with Queen Mary University of London (2022 – present) is ongoing, focused on supporting ONMedU during and after the war through meaningful academic and scientific ties. University teachers and students participated in over twenty thematic events (including within the Horizon Europe program), carried out academic mobility to leading clinical institutions in London (14 students), and Professor Sir Mark Caulfield, Director of the NIHR Barts Biomedical Research Centre, was awarded the title of Honorary Doctor of ONMedU.

A separate block of activities is dedicated to the project “Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights of Youth in War and Post-War Times” (01.12.2023–30.11.2025). Its goal is to strengthen interdisciplinary training in medicine, psychology, sociology, and social work to provide basic SRH services in demographically sensitive settings. A course and seminars worth 7.5 ECTS were completed (12 students and 8 teachers), two study visits to Sweden were carried out (5 teachers and 1 postgraduate student), the online platform “Youth Health Ukraine” was created, and a series of seminars for students was held. Together with the Positive Women of Odesa NGO, the training “Conversation without Stigma: Women, HIV and Medicine” was implemented, peer-to-peer workshops were organized for 372 first-year students, an educational component for 3.0 credits was approved, two sociological studies were conducted (sample — 1000 respondents) and three articles were published in the Sexual & Reproductive Healthcare (WoS, Q1) publication.
In 2025, ONMedU also selected 3 microgrants, in particular under the MInT-Ukraine program (2025–2029), aimed at improving educational models for the development of international cooperation, and two THEA Ukraine Lead grants, which strengthen the university’s management and leadership practices, internationalization and integration into the European Higher Education Area. In parallel, in September, three new scientific applications were submitted within the Horizon Europe and COST programs (in particular, on the topics of innovative surgery in multimodal interventions for locally advanced/metastatic cancer and improving the quality of life of cancer patients 65+ through nutritional approaches), and three project applications are being prepared for submission under the Erasmus+ program.
“For us, international grants are tools for systemic change: from the digitalization of the educational process and the development of simulation medicine to the development of services in the field of sexual and reproductive health of young people. We are purposefully forming a sustainable ecosystem of medical education that meets European standards and the social needs of Ukraine,” concluded Professor Valeria Marichereda.
The Vice-Rector for Scientific and Pedagogical Work, Professor Kostyantyn Talalayev, reported on the implementation of the international project “ClimEd — Multilevel Education and Professional Training on Climate Services, Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation at Local, National and Regional Scales,” and the Professor of the Department of General and Clinical Pharmacology and Pharmacognosy, Professor Petro Antonenko, reported on the implementation of the pilot scientific grant “Features of the Spread of M. tuberculosis Strains Taking into Account HIV Status.” The meeting considered the awarding of the academic title of Associate Professor at the Department of Anesthesiology, Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine to Ph.D. Kostyantyn Bosenko, approved the creation of a one-time specialized academic council for the defense of dissertations for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, approval of individual plans of candidates for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, a number of Regulations on the work of university departments, a recommendation for the publication of manuals developed by the institution’s employees was provided.
We would like to draw your attention: this year it is extremely important to participate in the Times Higher Education survey on the academic reputation of the university. We ask you to monitor the email addresses under which you are registered in the Scopus and Web of Science databases for three months. You will receive a letter from Times Higher Education in your email – please also carefully check the “Spam” folder. We encourage you to actively participate, because not only our joint educational and scientific activities, but also your response will help strengthen the reputational position of the university at the international level.