The main results of activities for the 2020/2021 academic year

The main achievements in education, the formation of the University’s positive image, and the functioning of the quality assurance system

1. According to the results of 2020 admission, the university welcomed 1,323 new students. The total number of ANU students is 4,408. Diplomas were awarded to 883 graduates.

It should be noted that the rate of enrolment is growing, in particular, last year the increase in applicants for the first year of bachelor’s degree was 27.3% (732 in 2019, against 932 in 2020). If we compare the figures for first-year enrolment for the last 5 years with the previous five-year period, there is an increase of more than 200 percent (2020 - 2016 – 3,346 students; 2015-2011 1,499 students).

According to the results of the enrolment, the University holds a leading position in all study programs in the region, and in the study program Philology Translation – 1st place among the higher educational institutions of Ukraine.

The record enrolment in 2020 became possible only due to the coordinated work of the University team.

2. Recognition of the achievements of Alfred Nobel University at the national and international levels is a demonstration of systematic and coordinated work of the whole team, a reflection of an effective and efficient system of quality assurance, which is formed and operates in full compliance with European standards, norms, and procedures adopted within European Higher Education Area.

2.1. In November 2020, the recertification audit of the University’s quality management system was completed. The audit was conducted in accordance with the international standard ISO 9001: 2015 and ended with the issuance of a certificate for a period of 3 years - until July 4, 2023. To extend the validity of existing certificates, from 27 to 28 May 2021 a scheduled supervisory audit was conducted at ANU by representatives of the certification body DQS CERTIFIC UKRAINE LLC, which is a representative of the German certification body DQS in terms of providing assessment and certification services in Ukraine, and Intersectoral Quality Centre “PRYROST” LLC.

2.2. Accreditation of the study program 015 Professional Education (by specializations) has been successfully passed in the National Agency for Higher Education Quality Assurance. As a result, the high level of professional education within the program was confirmed by a certificate valid for 5 years (until July 1, 2026).

2.3. From March to July 2021, the University was in the process of accreditation for thirty study programs of bachelor’s and master’s levels at the Central Evaluation and Accreditation Agency ZEvA, Hanover (Germany). Based on the results, the agency decided to grant international accreditation to these study programs for a period of six years.

2.4. The 2020-2021 academic year was devoted to active preparation for accreditation in the international agency AACSB. The key task was to compile and submit the Initial Self-Evaluation Report. In April 2021, the AACSB Initial Accreditation Committee reviewed the University’s Initial Self-Evaluation Report. The university received recommendations for finalizing the report. The revised Initial Self-Evaluation Report must be submitted to the AACSB by September 15, 2021.

3. Both practitioners and lecturers from abroad are actively involved in the educational process: the share of practitioners in the educational process within study programs ranges from 10 to 60%. The departments improve the content and methods of teaching. The results of the monitoring conducted by the Committee on the Quality of Academic Standards showed that more than 95% of the surveyed masters and 94.8% of bachelors evaluate the methods of teaching and learning as effective. More than 90% of masters and 86.6% of bachelors are satisfied with the quality of educational services provided by the University.

Research and teaching staff are constantly improving their professional level, also through the activities offered by the University. In the 2020-2021 academic year, research and teaching staff participated in 91 training events. In the 2020-2021 academic year, the Department of Didactics, together with faculty members and the Centre for Software and Information Technologies, held 14 training events, namely 4 seminars (including QA-session), 6 master classes, and 4 workshops. Particular attention was paid to the use of the ZOOM platform in the educational process and the increase of its efficiency (a series of training seminars and QA-session).

4. The departments of the University have signed long-term agreements for internships and practical trainingsfor students, as well as a number of agreements on partnership and cooperation between the University and enterprises/organizations. The degree-granting departments of the University have groups on the content and quality of education, which involve heads of business and government agencies and alumni of departments; practitioners are involved in the certification of graduates of departments as chairmen of examination commissions, who objectively assess the level of preparation of bachelors or masters.
5. The challenges of 2020-2021, the global pandemic have contributed to the introduction of high-tech learning using a combination of educational platforms Google Classroom and ZOOM. Due to the prompt decision on the organization of the educational process during the quarantine period, it was possible to achieve its continuity and proper quality. Regular surveys on online learning showed a student’s high level of satisfaction with the online learningorganization (more than 80% of respondents).
6. The formation of the University’s positive image was facilitated by:

Monthly open days, events Become a Student for One Day, Five Steps to the Future Profession, Technologies of Success, tours of the University, seminars, and trainings for schoolchildren, open classes in secondary schools, English lectures for schoolchildren, etc.

On November 28-29, 2020, ANU students for the first time took part in the International online conference Model UN hosted by Kyiv Scandinavian Gymnasium. This event was attended by educational institutions from different parts of Ukraine and the world, with more than 200 schoolchildren and students. 3 ANU teams took part: 2 (5 players each) teams spoke in Ukrainian and English, in addition, the students as tutors prepared the schoolchildren of Secondary School No. 111 for participation.

Alfred Nobel University has confirmed its status as an innovator and information partner at the Interregional Forum “My child is an Applicant”. The event was held online in February for 490 listeners. It should be noted that the University has organized such an event for the third time, and each time more and more people want to visit it.

The social networks of the university worked actively, which was confirmed by the high indicators of the rating UniRank (Facebook – 29^th place among 147 universities of Ukraine; Instagram page, -18^th place among 100 universities, YouTube channel – 36^th place among 132 universities.

In the 2020-2021 academic year, more than 30 programs have been created to reflect innovations and unique educational programs created by the ANU faculty members including the introduction of new formats “questions to experts” and “video tours”. This makes it possible to meet today’s requirements and increase the audience considering the youth segment.

The formation of a positive image and increasing the level of loyalty among students and graduates is evidenced by the high NPS index. The average NPS index for the educational field is 40%, over 50% is considered excellent, and over 70% is considered extraordinary. The NPS index of 2021 ANU master’s degree graduates is 75.5% compared to last year (64.1%), the NPS index increased by 11%. Satisfaction is a key factor in customer retention and contributes to the dissemination of positive information through the WOM marketing.

7. In 2020, the University continued to implement a number of measures aimed at forming the image of the University as a leading centre for quality assurance in higher education:

- the pool of experts of the National Agency for Higher Education Quality Assurance is expanding: currently, there are 7 ANU students and 9 faculty members. Experts actively participated in accreditation examinations during the 2020-2021 academic year.

- the functioning of the internal system of quality assurance is ensured through participation in the conferences, speeches in live broadcasts and programs on NOBEL TV, articles in professional publications and monographs, formal and informal communication with representatives of domestic universities, participation in the survey of the National Agency for Higher Education Quality Assurance;

- in February 2021 the University’s representatives spoke at the seminar “Quality of Education and Features of Educational Legislation 2021. Methodical, psychological and career guidance for the State Final Examination and External Examination preparation”

- On May 12, 2021, at the initiative of Alfred Nobel University, an International Seminar was held on European Quality Standards of Higher Education in the Context of International Accreditation. The co-organizers and participants of the event were Alfred Nobel University (Ukraine), the Central Evaluation and Accreditation Agency ZEvA (Germany), and the National Agency for Higher Education Quality Assurance (Ukraine). The event was attended by about 300 people from all over Ukraine.

The main achievements in research activity

1. The popularity of the ANU research developments at the international level has been expanded. The number of research papers in the reporting year:

• published in foreign publications – 55;
  • included to the scientometric databases Scopus, Web of Science, – 57;

Participation in international scientific conferences:

• number of conferences participated by ANU faculty – 230;
• hosted by ANU – 15;

The number of international research projects with the participation of faculty members, PhD and doctoral students of the University - 60.

2. Implementation of the results of research developments of the ANU faculty.

The total number of security documents (patents, certificates) - 15.

3. Quantitative and qualitative indicators of participation of ANU faculty in all-Ukrainian research projects, competitions, and programs are increasing:

• the number of research papers published in scientific journals of Ukraine - 137;
• the number of all-Ukrainian and regional scientific and practical conferences participated by ANU faculty– 58;
• the number of all-Ukrainian scientific conferences hosted by ANU– 2.

4. The Alfred Nobel University has PhD programs in the following majors:

015 – Professional Education (by specializations),

051 – Economics,

073 – Management,

076 – Entrepreneurship, trade and exchange activities.

The University has received a license to conduct educational activities at the third level (educational and research).

At the research level of higher education, Doctors of Science are prepared at the University without a license.

In the reporting year, on the basis of the decision of the ANU Academic Council of December 21, 2020, diplomas of the Doctor of Philosophy were awarded for the first time.

On November 6, 2020, Lidiia Verchenko and Tetiana Kozhushkina, PhD students of Alfred Nobel University, successfully defended their theses for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in the field of study 01 Education/Pedagogy in the subject area 015 - Professional education (by specializations).

5. Student research activity in 2020-2021:

The number of participating students:

• II round of the All-Ukrainian competition of student research papers in natural, technical sciences and humanities – 31;
• international art competitions – 36;

The number of prize-winning students:

• II round of the All-Ukrainian competition of student research papers in natural, technical sciences and humanities – 10;
• international art competitions – 15.

6. ANU publishing activity indicators:

4 monographs, 6 textbooks, 16 collections of abstracts, as well as regular issues of periodicals - Academic Review; European Vector of Economic Development; Nobel Herald; Alfred Nobel University Journal of Philology; Bulletin of Alfred Nobel University. Series: Pedagogy and Psychology; Bulletin of Alfred Nobel University. Series: Law.

The main achievements in international activity

In the 2020/2021 academic year, the International Cooperation Department has established 10 new partnershipswith Universities of Turkey, Kyrgyzstan, Poland, Sweden, as well as with international companies that will promote internationalization processes at the University. Thus, the IPARN Foundation, India offers an advertising campaign for the ANU in India, SELF INVEST company (Ukraine) has provided 30 ANU students with summer internships, Liberty Consulting, Kyrgyzstan has already launched an advertising campaign for the University.

In the 2020/2021 academic year 13 ANU faculty and staff members were provided with international mobility opportunities:

ANU lecturers taught at the WSB University (in Dabrowa Gornicza, Poland) within the double degree program.Four lecturers participated in the virtual mobility program within the Polish Language Learning project.

In the 2020/2021 academic year, the International Cooperation Department initiated and implemented a new mobility project NOBEL VIRTUAL, in addition, an algorithm for “incoming mobility” was developed for foreign students of partner universities. In total, 24 students took part in the Erasmus +, Semester Abroad and NOBEL VIRTUAL mobility programs, which is twice as many as last year.

Internship programs continue to develop: 35 students took part in an internship program in Germany.

Double degree programs continue to develop:

WSB University (Dabrowa Gornicza, Poland). Bachelor’s degree, study program Management - 30 students; 

University of Occupational Safety Management (Katowice, Poland). Master’s degree, study program Management - 8 students;

HUMANITAS University (Sosnowiec, Poland). Master’s degree, study program Management - 29 students;

University College of Social Sciences (Częstochowa, Poland). Bachelor’s degree, study program Philology - 1 student

University of Wales Trinity Saint David (Wales, UK). Bachelor’s degree, study program International Management - 39 students.

In total, 107 ANU students took part in double degree programs in the 2020/2021 academic year.