Sign in

Private company

Odesa University

Logo: The original uploader was 718 Bot at English Wikipedia ., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons3

Public university in Odessa, Ukraine

The Odesa I.I.Mechnykov National University (Ukrainian: Одеський національний університет Iмені І.І.Мечникова, romanized: Odeskyi natsionalnyi universytet imeni I.I.Mechnykova), often referred to as Odesa National University (abbr. ONU, Ukrainian: Одеський національний університет, ОНУ), located in Odesa, Ukraine, is one of that country's major state-sponsored universities, named after the scientist Élie Metchnikoff (1845-1916), who studied immunology, microbiology, and evolutionary embryology, and won a Nobel Prize in 1908.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

May 13, 1865Founded1

See how the biggest companies compare on our leaderboards

Odesa Dvoryanska st 2-2
Photo: Investigatio, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons5

The Odesa I.I.Mechnykov National University (Ukrainian: Одеський національний університет Iмені І.І.Мечникова, romanized: Odeskyi natsionalnyi universytet imeni I.I.Mechnykova), often referred to as Odesa National University (abbr. ONU, Ukrainian: Одеський національний університет, ОНУ), located in Odesa, Ukraine, is one of that country's major state-sponsored universities, named after the scientist Élie Metchnikoff (1845-1916), who studied immunology, microbiology, and evolutionary embryology, and won a Nobel Prize in 1908. The university was founded in 1865 by an edict of Emperor Alexander II of Russia which reorganized the Richelieu Lyceum of Odessa into the new Imperial Novorossiya University. In the Soviet era, the university was renamed Odesa I. I. Mechnykov State University (lit. "Odesa State University named after I. I. Mechnykov").2

The story

Odesa I. I. Mechnykov National University is one of the oldest in Ukraine. It was founded in 1865, when by edict of the Russian Tsar Alexander II the Richelieu Lyceum (Ukrainian: Рішельєвський ліцей, which had existed in Odesa since 1817) was reorganized into the Imperial Novorossiya (New Russia) University. All academic and scientific life of the university—from the day of its foundation—was directed by the statute of 1863 that formed the liberal-democratic tradition of the higher institution which has been preserved in spite of all the disturbances in the social and political life of the country.

The university was later renamed for Nobel Prize winner I. I. Mechnykov. The first Rector of the university was Professor I. Y. Sokolov. At different periods of time, the university was headed by Professors P. N. Lebedyev, A. I. Yurzhenko, A. V. Bogatskiy, V. V. Serdyuk, and I. P. Zelinskiy—all prominent specialists in different branches of knowledge.

In 2013, The Ukrainian Week stated that members of the university staff were openly Ukrainophobic.

From Wikipedia’s article on Odesa National University, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Products and brands

Odesa University has engaged in international cooperation at the regional and global levels for the past 150 years. The university is currently a member of the European University Association, the World Association of Universities, the Supervisory Board of Magna Charta, the Eurasian Association of Universities, the Black Sea Universities Network and the Danube Rectors Conference.

From Wikipedia’s article on Odesa National University, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Acquisitions

  1. Succeeded Imperial Novorossiia University1

Timeline

  1. 2001Renamed Name changed to Одесский национальный университет имени И. И. Мечникова1
  2. 2001Renamed Name changed to Одеський національний університет імені І. І. Мечнікова1
  3. 1945Renamed Name changed to Одесский государственный университет имени И. И. Мечникова1
  4. 1933Renamed Name changed to Одесский государственный университет1
  5. 1917Renamed Name changed to Новороссийский университет1
  6. May 13, 1865Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5