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

doi:10.26565/1684-8489-2026-1-13

Volodymyr Hryhorovych Bulba Education and Research Institute of Public Administration of V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, 4 Svobody Sq., Kharkiv, 61022, Ukraine https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5352-0574
Iryna Vasylivna Konovalova Kharkiv Military Administration, 6 Svobody Sq., Kharkiv, 61022, Ukraine
Serhii Volodymyrovych Fedchenko V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, 4 Svobody Sq., Kharkiv, 61022, Ukraine https://orcid.org/0009-0006-1325-9830

DOI: https://doi.org/10.26565/1684-8489-2026-1-13

Keywords: public-private partnership; quality of higher education; universities; ensuring the quality of higher education; infrastructure projects; innovative development; practical training; material and technical base

Abstract

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.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Volodymyr Hryhorovych Bulba, Education and Research Institute of Public Administration of V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, 4 Svobody Sq., Kharkiv, 61022, Ukraine

Doctor of Science in Public Administration, Professor, Professor of the Department of Law, National Security and European Integration

Iryna Vasylivna Konovalova, Kharkiv Military Administration, 6 Svobody Sq., Kharkiv, 61022, Ukraine

Candidate of Science in Public Administration, Deputy Director of the Department of Economics and International Relations

Serhii Volodymyrovych Fedchenko, V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, 4 Svobody Sq., Kharkiv, 61022, Ukraine

Doctor of Philosophy in Public Administration, Methodologist of the Sports Club

References

Busel, V.T. (Ed.). (2005). Large Explanatory Dictionary of the Modern Ukrainian Language. Perun [in Ukrainian]

Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine. (n.d.). Public-private partnership in education and science. https://mon.gov.ua/ua/tag/derzhavno-privatne-partnerstvo [in Ukrainian]

Yefymenko, T.I., Cherevykov, Ye.L., & Pavliuk, K.V. (Eds.). (2012). Public-private partnership in the system of economic regulation. Institute for Economics and Forecasting of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine [in Ukrainian]

Moskvichova, O.S. (2014). Public-private partnership in Ukraine: problems of development. Scientific Bulletin of Kherson State University. Series «Economic Sciences», 9-1(3), 77–81 [in Ukrainian]

Parpan, U. (2020). Public-private partnership in the higher education of Ukraine. Visnyk Bulletin of Lviv Polytechnic National University. Series: Legal Sciences, 7(4), 213–220. http://doi.org/10.23939/law2020.28.213 [in Ukrainian]

Popova, V. (2022). Paradigms of public-private partnership in the vocational education system: a comparative analysis. Education: Modern Discourses, 5, 118–126. https://doi.org/10.37472/2617-3107-2022-5-09 [in Ukrainian]

Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. (2014). On higher education: Law of Ukraine No. 1556-VII of 01.07.2014. https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/1556-18 [in Ukrainian]

Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. (2010). On public-private partnership: Law of Ukraine No. 2404-VI of 01.07.2010. https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/2404-17 [in Ukrainian]

Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. (2011). On approval of the Procedure for providing support to public-private partnerships: Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 279 of 17.03.2011. https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/279-2011-п [in Ukrainian]

Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. (2017). On education: Law of Ukraine No. 2145-VIII of 05.09.2017. https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/2145-19#Text [in Ukrainian]

Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. (2025). On public-private partnership: Law of Ukraine No. 4510-IX of 19.06.2025 (new edition). https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/4510-20 [in Ukrainian]

Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. (2019). On professional pre-higher education: Law of Ukraine No. 2745-VIII of 06.06.2019. https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/2745-19 [in Ukrainian]

Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute. (n.d.). Naukovo-doslidna diialnist [Research activity]. https://kpi.ua/science [in Ukrainian]

Collaborative academic programs development. (2023). Chronicle of Higher Education.

World Bank. (2018). Education reform in Egypt: Strategy and implementation.

QS. (2024). Graduate employability in PPP programs. QS Graduate Employability Rankings.

EY Global. (2024, December). How the right public-private partnerships in higher education provide value. https://www.ey.com/en_gl/government-public-sector/how-the-right-public-private-partnerships-in-higher-education-provide-value

National Science Foundation. (2023). Industry-university research partnerships. https://iucrc.nsf.gov/

Federal Highway Administration. (2020). Infrastructure lifecycle management.

World Bank. (2020). Monitoring and evaluation of PPP education programs.

OECD. (2020). Netherlands country note. OECD Education Policy Perspectives. https://www.oecd.org/education/policy-outlook/country-profile-Netherlands-2020.pdf

The Ohio State University. (n.d.). Parking lease. https://ap.osu.edu/parking

Patrinos, H. A., Barrera-Osorio, F., & Guáqueta, J. (2009). The role and impact of public-private partnerships in education. World Bank Publications. https://doi.org/10.1596/978-0-8213-7866-3

World Bank Group. (2019). PPP in higher education infrastructure.

Ernst & Young. (2023). Private sector financing of higher education infrastructure.

National Association of College and University Business Officers. (2022). Public-private partnerships in higher education: Trends and challenges.

Drexel University. (2016). Schuylkill Yards development project. https://www.phillyvoice.com/drexel-leads-region-75-million-dod-textile-manufacturing-research-initiative/

Siraj, S. (2023, September). Role of public-private partnership in higher education. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4564788

University of California. (2016, November 8). UC Merced kicks off historic $1.3B expansion. https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/uc-merced-kicks-historic-13b-expansion

University of Iowa. (2020). USAID Kosovo Higher Education Partnership.

Etzkowitz, H. (2008). The Triple Helix: University-industry-government innovation in action. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203929605

Williamson, O. E. (1985). The economic institutions of capitalism: Firms, markets, relational contracting. The Free Press.

Hart, O. (1995). Firms, contracts, and financial structure. Clarendon Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/0198288816.001.0001

Foray, D. (2015). Smart specialisation: Opportunities and challenges for regional innovation policy. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315773063

National Agency for Higher Education Quality Assurance. (2024). Report on the quality of higher education in Ukraine and its compliance with the objectives of sustainable innovative development of society in 2023. https://raqa.gov.ua/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Доповідь-2023-року.pdf [in Ukrainian]

Research Service of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. (2025). Public-private partnership under martial law: problems and prospects: a parliamentary study. https://research.rada.gov.ua/uploads/documents/33766.pdf [in Ukrainian]

Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine. (n.d.). Status of public-private partnership implementation in Ukraine. https://me.gov.ua/Documents/Detail?id=9fc90c5e-2f7b-44b2-8bf1-1ffb7ee1be26&lang=uk-UA&title=StanZdiisnenniaDppVUkraini [in Ukrainian]

Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on Budget. (2022). The 2023 state budget provides sufficient funds for the educational process under martial law. https://budget.rada.gov.ua/news/main_news/77309.html [in Ukrainian]

Osvita.UA. (2023). Education budget 2024: increasing expenditures in main areas. https://osvita.ua/news/90417/ [in Ukrainian]

Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine. (2025). MES and KSE presented a study on dual education. https://mon.gov.ua/news/mon-i-kse-prezentuvaly-doslidzhennia-pro-dualnu-osvitu [in Ukrainian]

National Erasmus+ Office in Ukraine. (2025). Ukraine 2025: Five things to know after three years of full-scale invasion. https://erasmusplus.org.ua/en/news/ukraine-2025-five-things-to-know-after-three-years-of-full-scale-invasion/