On May 28, a large-scale scientific and practical event “Improving the Methodology for Assessing Scientific Research in Ukraine: Experience of EU Countries” was held at the Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian (Carpathian) National University.
The event brought together key stakeholders in the science assessment reform in Ukraine: representatives of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, the Council of Vice-Rectors for Research, experts from higher education institutions, international partners of the EDUC-WIDE project, as well as the scientific community of universities.
The event program covered key reform topics: from the regulatory framework of the new certification and the role of URIS to the principles of responsible evaluation under COARA and DORA. Special attention was paid to qualitative evaluation indicators, which are increasingly recognized in international practice as an important complement to traditional quantitative metrics.
The welcoming part was addressed by Hryhoriy Mozolevych, Director General of the Directorate of Science of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, Volodymyr Pavlikov, Chairman of the Council of Vice-Rectors for Research, and Michal Petr, Head of the Scientometric Support Center of Masaryk University and WP3 leader of the EDUC-WIDE project. The main part of the event featured speeches by Valentyna Yakubiv, First Vice-Rector of PNU and EDUC-WIDE expert, who presented the national and European context of the research assessment reform, and Volodymyra Boychuk, Professor of the Department of Applied Physics and Materials Science, who introduced the participants to the principles of assessment according to the COARA methodology and the possibilities of its implementation at the university level.
In the practical part, participants took part in a workshop where they analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of the current assessment system in Ukraine, formulated ideas for its improvement, and proposed directions for action at both the national and institutional levels. These developments will be taken into account in the strategic recommendations of Work Package 4 of the EDUC-WIDE project. Online presentations were made by Professor Ramon A. Finstra (Jaume I University, Spain), who shared his experience in implementing the COARA Agreement at the university, and Professor Luciano Colombo (University of Cagliari, Italy), who presented the vision of Open Science as the basis for a new system of scientific assessment.
We are sincerely grateful to all speakers, participants, and partners for the inspiring atmosphere of cooperation. The event proved once again: a qualitative reform of the science assessment system is possible only through dialogue, exchange of experience, and shared responsibility for the future of the research environment in Ukraine.
