Use of public-private partnerships by Ukrainian universities to ensure the quality of higher education

Анотація

The article examines the prospects of public-private partnership (PPP) use by Ukrainian universities as a mechanism for ensuring the quality of higher education under martial law and post-war recovery. The theoretical framework draws on three concepts: H. Etzkowitz’s Triple Helix model, the transaction cost theory of the firm by O. Williamson and O. Hart, and D. Foray’s knowledge economy concept with its smart specialisation logic; on this basis PPP is approached simultaneously as a contractual-legal, managerial, and knowledge-economic practice. Empirical verification follows a three-step procedure: normative-legal analysis of Law of Ukraine No. 4510-IX of 19.06.2025 compared with the previous edition of Law No. 2404-VI of 01.07.2010; statistical analysis of PPP contract dynamics in Ukraine for 2022–2026 based on official data of the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture, cross-referenced with indicators of higher education budget funding and dual education coverage; case analysis of cooperation practices of Ukrainian higher education institutions with the private sector. It is established that despite the improved regulatory framework, the share of actually realised PPP contracts decreased from 16 % as of 01.01.2022 to less than 10 % as of 01.01.2026, while the share of higher education projects among those realised remains nil; dual education covers about 0.5 % of higher education students. A bidirectional model of further development of PPP is proposed: from the centre – institutionalisation of an accelerated procedure for educational projects; from the regions – direct inclusion of classical universities into smart specialisation strategies for the 2027–2034 programming period. The case of V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University illustrates the transition of a classical university in a frontline region from an inherited plan-and-report model of governance to a portfolio-project one.

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