Since 2021, with a focus on enhancing the Academy’s performance standards, Maryna Tokar has initiated the establishment of new structural units with the active support of KSADA leadership. These include the Information and Computing Centre, the Art Centre, the Legal Department, the Document Management Department, and the Research and Grants Office. In 2021, she also initiated the creation of the Council of Educational Programme Guarantors at KSADA, which has led to a 100% successful accreditation rate of educational programmes. Furthermore, as part of an initiative group in 2024, she contributed to the establishment of the Junior Academy of Design and Arts, which currently maintains active strategic cooperation with the Department of Science and Education of the Kharkiv City Council.
Since 2021, M. Tokar has held the position of First Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs at KSADA. She has been working at the Academy since 2001, initially as an internship coordinator. From 2015, she served as the Head of the Centre for Part-Time Studies, and in 2019, she became the Dean of the Faculty of Audiovisual Arts, which was established on her initiative.
She is the developer of the licensing documentation (curricula developed by H. Zhernoklova) for the specialties “Audiovisual Arts and Production” and “Architecture and Urban Planning”, launched in 2019 at KSADA through her initiative in cooperation with Rector O. Soboliev.
Tokar holds a PhD in Art History (2018), was awarded the academic titles of Associate Professor (2019) and Professor of the Department of Audiovisual Arts (2025), and is a member of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine (since 2025).
She is the author of 38 publications (18 single-authored), including 34 research papers and 4 educational-methodological works, among them 1 textbook. She has 18 articles published in Ukrainian peer-reviewed professional journals approved by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, as well as 5 articles published in international peer-reviewed journals indexed in Scopus and Web of Science. She has also secured 8 copyright registration certificates.
Tokar is a member of the working group of the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine and the State Agency of Ukraine for Arts and Arts Education focused on updating the content of higher and professional pre-higher education in the field of audiovisual arts. She serves as an expert of the National Agency for Higher Education Quality Assurance for conducting accreditation procedures of programmes in “Audiovisual Arts and Production” and “Fine Arts, Decorative Arts, and Restoration” specialties. She has previously chaired the Academic Council of the Faculty of Audiovisual Arts and currently heads the Methodological Council and the Council of Educational Programme Guarantors at KSADA. She also leads KSADA working groups on accessibility and gender equality, and is a member of the Scientific Council and the Academic Council of KSADA.
She is a member of the quality assurance groups for the Bachelor’s and Master’s degree educational programmes in “Audiovisual Arts and Production”, a member of the Examination Commission for diploma defences at KSADA, and a research supervisor for postgraduate students (5 of whom have successfully defended their theses). She also serves on specialised academic councils for dissertation defences.
Tokar is a member of the Organising Committee of the International Forum “Design Education” Biennale (since 2001), has served as a jury member for the “Golden Frame” International Competition and the “Pinakoteka” Competition (Kharkiv), and was Deputy Chair of the Organising Committee for the 100th anniversary of higher art education in Kharkiv. She has also participated in round tables, such as “Business and Government” in cooperation with the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration.
She is also a reviewer of educational programmes and educational-methodological publications, and has participated in international internships, Erasmus+ academic mobility programmes, and professional trainings on visual and audiovisual arts (Poland, Estonia).
Languages: Ukrainian, French, English, Polish (B2).
She is a member of the research group executing the state-funded project of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine “The Phenomenon of Digital Art in the Artistic and Communicative Space of Post-Classical Culture” (№ 0117U001379, 2017–2019) and the faculty research project “Methodology of Cross-Cultural Studies of Audiovisual and Visual Practices” (2022–2025).
Awards: Letters of Appreciation from the Mayor of Kharkiv (2021, 2023, 2025); Certificate and Badge of Honour from the Kharkiv Regional Council (2024); Letter of Appreciation from the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine (2023); Diploma and Jubilee Medal of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (2021); Letter of Appreciation and Medal “People’s Recognition to Ukrainian Scientists 1918–2018” (2020); Honorary Certificate of the Presidium of the National Academy of Arts of Ukraine for significant contributions to the development of arts education in Ukraine (2021); Letter of Appreciation from the 10th Naval Aviation Brigade named after Hero of Ukraine Colonel Ihor Bedzai (2023).
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3666-0604
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=_HktU_YAAAAJ&hl=uk
