Vasyl KARPUSHA (SumDU rector) presented a case with relevant developments during the panel discussion “ESG-2015 and Institutional Changes at Ukrainian Universities”. It took place on 28 November 2025 at the Taras Shevchenko Kyiv National University within the 5th International Conference “Development of Internal Quality Assurance Systems in Higher Education Institutions of Ukraine”.

SumDU has been systematically developing the internal quality assurance system of higher education for ten years. Since 2015, significant results have been achieved.

The determining factor in this process was university’s participation in the international project “Quality Assurance System in Ukraine: Development Based on ENQA Standards and Rules” (QUAERE). This integrated European standards into a regulatory and methodological framework of SumDU and contributed to formation of a sustainable quality culture.

During this period, the university:

• Implemented the Standards and Recommendations for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG-2015) for educational activities;
• Modernized the quality management infrastructure. In particular, created the Education Quality Monitoring Bureau, which currently operates as part of the Higher Education Quality Assurance Center;
• Formed a transparent regulatory and methodological framework that ensures high transparency, clarity of procedures and accountability of management decisions;
• Implemented digital platforms for automated monitoring of educational activities, surveys, data analysis and internal audit of educational programs, which is a significant step towards the quality system digitalization.

SumDU takes systemic measures to form a quality culture, turning it into an effective tool for continuous improvement. This includes regular surveys, mechanisms for responding to monitoring results and other feedback tools.

The university achievements are confirmed by accreditation results of the National Agency for Quality Assurance in Higher Education: 13% of SumDU programs are recognized as exemplary. This significantly strengthened the university reputation as an institution with an effective quality assurance system and increased competitiveness of its graduates. Also in 2022, the university successfully passed the international accreditation of the Medicine program by the Independent Agency for Accreditation and Rating (IAAR). It indicates compliance of the specialist training processes with international standards and requirements of the World Federation of Medical Education.