How the series of training courses  “Strategic development of medical education” for higher education institutions was held

In February and March, the administrative teams of six higher medical education institutions that joined us in Phase II of the project took part in the training “Strategic Development of Medical Education.”

The participants structured the main strategic concepts and methods; practiced applying the knowledge gained to their projects; identified problems and sought solutions to them.

During the training courses the participants figured out:

• What is strategizing, why is it necessary, and what approaches to strategy development can be applied.
• The importance of a clear statement of the university’s mission and vision. They were convinced that they should follow them in the organizational work of the institution.
• Who their main target audience is and reflected this in marketing strategies.
• Analyzing the problems of higher education institutions and how to highlight the strong or strategic advantages of their institutions.

Matviy Khrenov, expert and co-founder of the Ukrainian Healthcare Center (UHC), and Tetiana Nemyrovych, organizational development consultant and facilitator, conducted the training and provided mentoring support.

Olena Ihnashchuk, organizer of the training courses, and medical education coordinator of the Ukrainian-Swiss Medical Education Development Project, said:

“It is very important for us to organize such events because this way we get to know the institution and its representatives better and can plan our future work more effectively. Since two institutions are invited to the training, it is also an opportunity for the heads of higher education institutions to look in and see what it is like there.“

Representatives of Danylo Halytskyi Lviv National Medical University and Zaporizhzhia State Medical and Pharmaceutical University were the first to attend the training in Lviv.

“On behalf of the staff of Zaporizhzhia State University of Medicine and Pharmacy, we express our sincere gratitude for the opportunity to join the training. It was the case when we wanted to put down our phones and fully immerse ourselves in the atmosphere, listen, take notes, analyze, observe, and gain new experiences. Interesting theories, incredible experience and charisma of the trainers, and the full support of the organizers made this training rich, full, and certainly useful.

“Strategizing,” “mission,” “vision,” and “competition” – seemingly well-known concepts – turned out to be much deeper and more conceptual. The trainers explained what it is about and what it is eaten with in simple terms, and now we are practicing how it works. We realize that a “unique offer” starts with ourselves as a person and a department head. “Result-oriented management” is not about results at any cost, but about what needs to be done, what to pay attention to, and what mistakes to avoid to ensure that the result is of high quality and competitive.

Two days to learn how to strategize without mistakes is not enough, but this is the impetus for transformation for the better,”

shared her impressions Zhanni Ragrina, Dean of the First International Faculty of ZSMFU.

The second training in Zhytomyr was attended by representatives of Uzhhorod National University and Sumy State University.

After the training, we asked participants: “What did you note as the greatest achievement of the training?” and received the following answers:

“It helped to coordinate opinions in the team, deepened our knowledge of strategic planning, and created the prerequisites for new acquaintances.”

“That all proposals/problems need to be looked at from different angles, and that problem analysis is required. Any actions should be analyzed from the point of view of risks.”

“Recognition of problems and unanimous understanding of the need and the first steps to solve it.”

“Going beyond routine thinking and reviewing systemic strategies.”

“We got to hope for the reform of medical education in Ukraine and our university”.

Two more HEIs that worked together in Zhytomyr were Bogomolets National Medical University and Ivano-Frankivsk National Medical University.

Roman Yatsyshyn, the winner of the election for the position of rector of Ivano-Frankivsk National Medical University, shared his impressions of the training:

“An event that changes our perception of everyday activities. The challenges of our time (not only those related to the war) require a different approach to developing medical education in Ukraine. This training motivated us to identify problems in our field and at our university, develop solutions, and implement them. We also received tools and resources to improve and optimize our work.”

“The knowledge gained will allow us to improve the university’s development strategy and to define the mission for various stakeholders. Representatives of our university gained a unique teamwork experience for making managerial decisions,”

the Bogomolets National Medical University team shared their impressions.

As the organizers of these events, we are grateful to all the participants for their inspiration and desire for change and development. Communication with you teaches, motivates, and convinces us even more that implementing initiatives is highly important.