V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University is one of the oldest universities in Eastern Europe. It was founded in November 1804, on the initiative of the prominent educator V.N. Karazin and in accordance with the charter of Tsar Alexander I. The history of Kharkiv National University is part of the intellectual, cultural and spiritual history of Ukraine. The names of many world famous researchers, scholars and educators are associated with Kharkiv University, among them are P. Hulak-Artemovskyi, O. Lyapunov, M. Kostomarov, M. Barabashov, M. Beketov, D. Bahaliy, A. Krasnov, M. Ostrogradskyi, V. Steklov, O. Potebnya, O. Pogorelov and many others. Kharkiv University is the only university in Ukraine that has trained and employed three Nobel Prize laureates: the biologist I. Mechnikov, the economist S. Kuznets, and the physicist L. Landau. The University is one of the largest research centers in Ukraine. It covers virtually all spheres of modern fundamental research and incorporates the Research Institutes of Chemistry, Biology, and Astronomy, the Institute of Physics and Engineering, and the Institute of High Technologies.

The main building of Kharkiv National University.

The view of the main city square University building is on the right.

Today Kharkov National University is organized into 18 Schools, among them School of Mechanics and Mathematics, School of Physics and Technology, School of Radio physics, School of Physics, School of Computer Sciences, etc. Since 1808, the University has its own Astronomical Observatory, which is one of leading astronomical centers in Ukraine involved in fundamental and applied research in the physics of the Sun, planets, asteroids, comets and satellites. Kharkov National University offers 115 major opportunities and specializations, covering the whole scope of modern and classical university education. Total University enrolment amounts to about 12,000 undergraduate and graduate students and about 400 postgraduate students. The University employs up to 1,500 faculty and research staff, including more than 200 Doctors of Sciences and Full Professors.