Efficiency Of Higher Education Institutions Research Articles

Implementation of Knowledge Management in Universities of India

This article examines the essential need for and difficulties related with the adoption of knowledge management (KM) strategies in institutions across India. The implementation of information Management, a methodical strategy for acquiring, arranging, and distributing institutional information, is becoming more and more crucial in the swiftly changing environment of higher education. The essay explores the specific circumstances of Indian universities, where a variety of academic fields, cultural subtleties, and administrative intricacies provide particular obstacles to the efficient administration of information. The use of Knowledge Management (KM) at Indian institutions is examined in relation to worldwide patterns and the revolutionary influence it may have on academic and administrative procedures. The paper emphasizes the possible advantages, such as increased cooperation, better decision-making, and optimized resource allocation. It also acknowledges the need for a cultural transformation inside academic institutions to promote a culture of sharing information among academics, students, and administrative personnel. Moreover, the study analyses the necessary technology infrastructure for effectively implementing knowledge management in Indian institutions. The text highlights the significance of using sophisticated information systems, cloud computing, and data analytics to enable effective generation, storage, and retrieval of knowledge. The significance of leadership in spearheading this cultural and technical transformation is underscored, as successful knowledge management requires robust institutional backing and strategic foresight. The article discusses the obstacles that arise while adopting Knowledge Management (KM) at Indian universities and business schools, including opposition to change, concerns over data security, and the need for capacity training. The article suggests implementing a gradual and flexible strategy, customized to the specific attributes of each university, to address these obstacles and optimize the advantages of knowledge management in promoting the academic objectives and overall efficiency of higher education institutions in India.

The development of energy saving measures as a basis of ensuring energy efficiency in higher education institutions in healthcare of Ukraine

The implementation of efficient energy management systems (EnMS) to meet the requirements of ISO 50001 is an urgent problem, taking into account the aggravation of the issue of energy supply and energy saving in the country, especially in the conditions of martial law. The main issue facing higher education institutions (HEIs) of Ukraine when creating rational activities for the use of energy resources is the implementation of an energy management system to meet the requirements of DSTU ISO 50001:2020. The main problems faced by all HEIs now are revision of legislation, rising prices and cost of energy resources, high inflation, frequent exchange rate changes. EnMS will allow each institution to monitor energy consumption and provide an opportunity to develop and implement effective energy saving projects. Aim. To theoretically substantiate and propose practical energy saving measures for a higher education institution (HEI) in the healthcare sector of Ukraine within the framework of the implemented energy management system. Materials and methods. The research materials were data from scientific publications, statistical reports and the results of own research, in particular measures for the energy modernization of electric lighting in public areas of educational buildings of HEI. Such scientific methods as the method of content analysis, comparative analysis, the method of generalization and systematization of information, as well as the methods of mathematical and statistical calculations were applied. Results and discussion. The calculation of electricity costs and savings for lighting public areas of all educational buildings of HEI of healthcare of Ukraine has been carried out, and the need for lighting equipment has been formed. The total electricity savings during the energy modernization of lighting in educational buildings of HEI of healthcare of Ukraine and the total economic efficiency from the electricity savings have been calculated. It has been found that the energy efficiency during the energy modernization of lighting in the educational buildings of HEI is 25,126 kWh/year, and the total economic efficiency from electricity savings is 69,600 UAH/year. Conclusions. Energy saving measures have been proposed as part of the implemented energy management system, which will make it possible to significantly save electricity and reduce the financial costs for its purchase and distribution. This, in turn, will allow HEI to form its own general energy supply strategy aimed at improving both energy efficiency and overall operational efficiency.

МЕТОДОЛОГІЧНІ ПІДХОДИ ДО УПРАВЛІННЯ ПРОФЕСІЙНИМ РОЗВИТКОМ НАУКОВО-ПЕДАГОГІЧНИХ ПРАЦІВНИКІВ КОМУНАЛЬНОГО ЗВО

The article updates the problem of managing the professional development of scientific and pedagogical workers of a communal institution of higher education, since the research of the mentioned phenomenon must be carried out using substantiated methodological approaches. Based on the results of the analysis of scientific and pedagogical literature, it was concluded that modern scientists have not fully studied the issue of methodological approaches to the management of professional development of scientific and pedagogical workers of a communal institution of higher education. In the article, the leading methodological approaches are defined as integrative, innovative, motivational, activity, reflexive, andragogic, competence, humanistic, person-oriented, axiological, acmeological, centralized, decentralized, regional. It has been established that the implementation of the integration approach allows to ensure the coherence of actions between all sections of the organizational structure of the communal institution of higher education. The use of an innovative approach has a positive effect on the emergence of new modern management ways of increasing the efficiency of higher education institutions. Taking into account the motivational approach ensures an increase in the internal motivation of scientific and pedagogical workers, the activity approach ‒ professional selfactualization, the reflective approach ‒ strengthening their ability to self-assess, adequate self-analysis. It is emphasized that the introduction of the andragogic approach allows to strengthen the connection between theory and practice of adult education, to determine ways of improving the qualifications of pedagogical workers. It was concluded that taking into account the principles of the competence approach helps in making balanced competent decisions, the humanistic approach helps to build friendly and tolerant relations between all participants in the process of managing professional development, and the person-oriented approach ‒ the development of individual qualities and abilities. The author also substantiates the significance of the axiological approach to the researched phenomenon (the application ensures the perception of the human personality as a value), acmeological (the implementation helps to achieve professionalism), centralized and decentralized (taking into account allows to find out the degree of influence on the management of professional development), as well as regional (the application provides take into account the peculiarities of a certain region) approaches.

Teaching, research, and third mission efficiency of universities: A data envelopment analysis and hybrid multi‐criteria decision‐making approach

AbstractPrevious studies on the efficiency of higher education institutions have generally approached the functions of higher education from a limited perspective, and the studies have followed traditional methods. The aim of this study is to determine the teaching, research, and third mission technical efficiency of universities, to rank efficient universities, to identify potential areas for improvement, and to examine the determinants of efficiency scores and the differences in scores in terms of various variables. In this study, the efficiency of 187 universities was measured by data envelopment analysis. Efficiency criteria were weighted by both objective and subjective multi‐criteria decision‐making (MCDM) methods and ranked by different MCDM methods. Beta and Linear regression were performed to determine the factors on efficiency scores. According to the results of the study, the most efficient universities are in the fields of research, teaching, and third mission, respectively. Budget criterion is the most important input criterion. Number of graduates, number of publications, and number of social responsibility projects are the most important output criteria. Having an older history positively predicts teaching and research efficiency. The size of universities and being located in developed regions negatively predict research and third mission efficiency. There is a positive relationship between rankings in teaching, research, and third mission. This research provides more comprehensive information to universities by considering teaching, research, and third mission efficiency separately. Second, this research proposes a new methodology for higher education efficiency measurement by integrating DEA and hybrid MCDM. Finally, this research provides new insights by analyzing factors related to teaching, research, and tertiary mission efficiency.

Higher Education governance and policy in Spain

The knowledge society of the 21st century is undergoing important changes in the field of information, communication, and globalization, which has led Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to play a leading role in its sustainable development, based on three fundamental pillars: social, economic, and environmental, which go beyond its traditional role based on training students to obtain a professional degree. The need to address these significant changes and improve the quality and efficiency of HEIs has led to a reassessment of their governance structures, which require a more agile governance system that includes professionalized management. The most recent analyses on governance agree that the current mechanisms and systems of participation and decision making must be modified to guarantee greater effectiveness, and an improvement in transparency and accountability with the aim of contributing to promoting the role of the university in society, highlighting its contribution to innovation, research, generation and transmission of knowledge, and fostering collaboration with the business environment to promote the socioeconomic development of the surrounding area. This article analyses the role of the governing bodies in Spanish universities, highlighting the challenges and threats, and providing critical insights that result in improved self-governance.

Factors Affecting R&D Share in University Revenues: Case of Russia

Recent government projects and initiatives (such as Priority 2030) have significantly increased the role of universities in creating and commercializing innovations in Russia. One of the most important indicators of university performance in these programs is R&D revenue. Its values have a significant deviation between universities that lead to different importance of R&D activities and make some universities more R&D oriented than others in the terms of their economics. This orientation can be considered an important factor of university sustainability as it allows it to be less dependent on admission volume which varies due to demographic waves and other endogenous factors. This paper studies the factors affecting the R&D orientation of big Russian universities. Monitoring the Efficiency of Higher Education Institutions provides sufficient data on Russian universities for such study including the share of R&D revenue in the total value of revenue which is used as a measure of R&D orientation. This study analyses the factors affecting this indicator using the data from the 49 largest Russian universities between 2015 and 2020 to build econometric panel data models. The modelling proves the significance of various factors such as entrance scores of students, the number of publications per faculty member, the share of young researchers, the ratio of average salary to the regional average salary, and the share of faculty members holding doctoral degrees. The research highlights the connection between publication performance and R&D activities and the importance of supporting young researchers in the development of scientific entrepreneurship.

Linkages between Investment Potential and Quality of Educational Institutions: Evidence from India

Using disparate datasets, one on the quality of higher education institutions (HEIs) in India comprising 348 HEIs that were accredited over the years 2004–2008, and another on the investment potential of states based on four indicators, we fail to find a correlation between the investment potential of a state and the mean efficiency of its HEIs computed using nonparametric data envelopment analysis (DEA). However, interactions of investment potential indicators with HEI scores on seven quality assessment criteria exhibit a significant impact on efficiency scores thereby suggesting a latent moderating effect. We conclude that the investment potential moderates the quality assessment of HEIs, but these indicators do not affect the efficiency of HEIs. A direct policy implication of the study is a latent link between HEI quality and investment potential of a state but not an overt one. Moreover, a state’s infrastructure interacts with teaching and learning to affect HEI efficiency positively, whereas research output and good political governance interact to affect efficiency positively and significantly.

Assessment of variables determining the health management departments' efficiency with analytical hierarchy process.

This study was conducted to determine the variables that play a role in the efficiency of Health Management departments in Turkey and the ranking of them in order of importance. These variables were determined by systematic analysis. The Prisma method was used in the systematic analysis approach. Input and output variables used in studies assessing the efficiency of higher education institutions in the literature were listed. The ranking of these variables was determined by Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method. The questionnaire used for the AHP analysis and the judgments of 127 academicians working in Health Management Departments in universities in Turkey were assessed. The first three input variables found as a result of the AHP were "the number of registered undergraduate students per faculty member", "the number of faculty members", and "the number of other academic staff". The most important three output variables included "the number of articles searched on SCI, SSCI, SCI-E", "the number of papers presented in international congresses", and "the count of publications published in international peer-reviewed journals". To achieve positive developments in the efficiency of Health Management Departments, it is recommended to carry out studies to increase the number of qualified publications.

An Analysis of Research on The Efficiency of Higher Education in Türkiye

The aim of this study is to present the general trend and direction of the research, both in terms of content and methodology, from a critical point of view by examining the studies on the efficiency of higher education in Türkiye and thus, to shed light on new research to be done and to make suggestions to researchers. Bibliographic analysis and descriptive content analysis methods were chosen in the research. Data was obtained from Web of Science, Scopus, EBSCO, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global, Google Scholar, Sobiad, National Thesis Center of the Council of Higher Education, TR Index databases. 70 studies meeting the determined criteria are included in this study. As a result of the research, it has been concluded that there is an increase in the number of research on the efficiency of higher education institutions, and the research focused on universities, data envelopment analysis is used more as an analysis method, the number of methods used is low, the most output-oriented BCC model is preferred among the efficiency measurement models, current data are not used in research, the number of units examined is low, and state universities are examined more. In addition to that, it has been concluded that the number of personnel, financial inputs, number of students, physical resources, the unit numbers represent almost the entire input set, and the outputs used in research are basically represented by four different outputs, which are students, research, project and publication, financial variables, and academic success, and the purpose of this study is directed to different problems, but the scope of the research can be improved.

The use of information and communication technologies is the key to improving the efficiency of higher education institutions

Information and telecommunication technologies are confidently included in all spheres of human activity. The introduction of information technology is taking place in almost all areas, but the most acute solution to this issue requires the education system, in particular the organization of school management. The dynamics of development of an educational institution depends on the quality of construction of an integrated information automated management system of higher education institutions. The problem of informatization is the main issue around which the whole system of higher education is built. Solving this problem allows to solve the orders of the information society, to train specialists who are able to apply information technology at a modern level in professional activities, in everyday life. It is difficult to imagine a higher education institution that operates without the use of computers and information technology. Thus, the choice of topic is due to the need to study this issue in order to develop new approaches to the introduction of information and communication technologies in the educational process, its improvement and modernization in the general educational system, and on this basis to identify and disseminate positive experience higher education institution.

A Systematic Analysis of Content Structural Efficiency for Estimating Higher Educational Institution Engagement Over Facebook

The purpose of this research article is to examine the Facebook content themes and structural efficiency of higher education institutions in order to understand how these factors influence engagement. The sample consisted of 4703 Facebook posts from the top ten most popular Indian and global higher education institution pages. The platform engagement options were used to categorize audience reactions, while structural attributes were examined in accordance with applicable theory using a negative binomial regression model. Factor analysis and descriptive metrics were used to evaluate theme efficacy. The findings highlight the significance of developing a comprehensive assessment of content structural efficiency. The paper presents a number of evidence-based recommendations for projecting and estimating content performance. This study adds to the body of knowledge by first merging the content subject with its structural parts. Previously, the content theme was thought to be a qualitative unit.

Do socially responsible higher education institutions contribute to sustainable regional growth and innovation?

Purpose This study aims to analyse the efficiency of public higher education institutions (HEIs) through teaching and learning (T&L), research and technology (R&T) and social responsibility (SR) activities. It also aims to assess the external factors influencing the efficiency of T&L, R&T and SR, and influence of this efficiency on sustainable regional economic growth and innovation intensity. Design/methodology/approach The empirical approach is based on a two-step data envelopment analysis to compare the efficiency of 23 Portuguese public HEIs, using a Tobit regression, to assess the influence of the factors affecting HEI efficiency which in turn affects regional sustainability and innovation. Findings The results lead to the following conclusions: HEIs with better SR efficiency are situated in large urban centres; an insular location is positively associated with HEIs’ T&L and SR efficiency; HEIs’ T&L and SR efficiency positively influence regional gross domestic product (GDP); and HEIs’ R&T efficiency positively influences R&D in regional GDP. Practical implications This study offers implications in the domain of sustainable regional growth. The study recommends that the policies of HEIs should concentrate on developing activities that meet the needs of the region. It also emphasizes the need to invest in recruitment of qualified lecturers and researchers, and creation of relevant PhD positions. The study also emphasizes the need for government actions to consider the most disadvantaged regions and create infrastructure to attract new companies and people. Originality/value This study contributes to the existing literature on the efficiency of HEIs by considering the efficiency of not only T&L and R&T but also SR. It also analyses the influencers of both HEIs’ efficiency and regional development.

National and Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) IP Policies: Comparison of Indian HEIs’ IP Policies from a Global Perspective

Until the end of the eighteenth century, Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) were restricted to generate knowledge for free access to industries which they use for making commercial products. Though HEIs have the potential to contribute to the national economy from their creative and commercially viable R&D output through commercialization of research and Intellectual Property Rights, it was not given the needed importance due to lack of supportive policies. In many developed countries, innovation strategies, Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) and national Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) policies provided opportunities to HEIs to own and commercialize knowledge they generate. National IPR policy and formulation and implementation of HEI IP policies became crucial for effective implementation, promotion of innovation, generation, and protection of IP in the HEIs. Efficiency of HEI in commercializing research is dependent on national IP policy framework aligning vision and goals of HEI IP policy with national IP policy, objectives, ownership, and revenue sharing mechanism. These are the key indicators for comparing the institutions’ innovation and IP capacity. This paper uses these indicators to discuss the impact of different countries’ (developed, developing, and least developed) national IPR policy frameworks on top-performing HEIs of those countries and to address the research question, how national and HEI IP policies have worked in achieving envisaged economic growth by improving innovation output of the HEIs. It further compares Indian HEI IP policies with global HEIs. We found that there is a greater need for local governments and HEIs to make their incentive strategies and policies in line with their corresponding national frameworks for facilitating the collaboration and commercialization of innovations. Implementing a robust IP policy framework at state/region and HEI level plays a pivotal role in creating an innovation ecosystem supportive to envisaged national economic growth.

Economic efficiency of higher education institutions in Vietnam between 2012 and 2016: a DEA analysis

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the economic efficiency of Vietnamese 172 higher education (HE) institutions within the 2012–2016 inclusive period through the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) approach. The authors also compare public and private, multidisciplinary and mono-disciplinary, non-autonomy and autonomy, non-international and international HE Institutions’ efficiency.Design/methodology/approachThis study derived from an unique dataset from the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) of Vietnam. The data set comprises financial and academic annual reports of higher education institutions (HEIs). The authors achieved totally 204 Vietnamese HEIs, and the sample for analysis is 172 after the elimination of missing units, accounting for 84.3% entire of Vietnamese HEIs. The authors estimate the efficiency scores relying on these selected inputs and outputs by using the DEA method.FindingsOverall, HEIs in Vietnam decreased their operational efficiency during the 2012–2016. It also seems that public universities operate in the absence of market mechanism so that they tend to be less efficient than their counterparts in private sector. Based on our analysis, the authors observe that the HEIs including the international programmes have higher efficiency scores rather than these without international programmes.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the theoretical aspects as follows. First, it enriches the existent efficiency literature on HE using the DEA approach. This stands out among similar studies in Vietnam in terms of duration (from 2012–2016) and data size (172 entities). Second, the research is the first to examine HEIs in terms of disciplinary (mono or multi-disciplinary) and autonomy (autonomous and non-autonomous), internalization (international programmes). These aspects have been silent in previous studies of HEIs in Vietnam.

ФОРСАЙТ ПІДВИЩЕННЯ ЕНЕРГОЕФЕКТИВНОСТІ БУДІВЕЛЬ НА БАЗІ ЕНЕРГОХАБА УНІВЕРСИТЕТУ

The article reveals the essence of the key motivation drivers to save energy and increase the energy efficiency in higher education institutions. In particular, a low level of interest of higher education institutions in the implementation of strategies to reduce energy consumption has been observed. The findings suggest that the lack of interest in energy saving is primarily affected by budget legislation since the energy cost calculation was based on the consumption norms for a particular budgetary institution and the current (planned) electricity and heat tariffs. Recently, it has been decided that from now on universities will not obtain budget funding to cover utility costs; the amount of subsidies from the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine for the implementation of the government objectives will comprise regulatory costs for public service provision according to the student contingent. Standard property maintenance costs will not be covered by the Ministry anymore which will impose the burden of paying the utility bills upon the University’s gross income. Hence, there is a need to take efforts to enhance energy efficiency and energy saving in higher education institutions which was implemented using a foresight methodology. Within the scope of this study, the foresight project to improve the energy efficiency of buildings in the frameworks of the University energy hub is based on the following calculations: thermal energy consumption for heating public buildings, estimated hourly heating load to ensure heating in the building, verifying the feasibility of heating standby regulation, measuring energy savings through the creation of an automated heat supply station, as well as annual savings in monetary terms. In order to save resources and boost energy efficiency based on the University energy hub using an automated heat supply station, the study offers a mathematical toolkit to justify the choice of minimum and maximum values of optimal microclimate parameters; reduce infiltration, increase the efficiency of indoor air distribution; optimal modes of local air conditioning, preheating and cooling; utilizing of "waste" and natural heat and cold; "combining" microclimate systems with other systems; improving automation devices in technical systems. It is argued that increasing the energy efficiency of heating systems in University buildings on the basis of its own energy hub will contribute to gaining significant savings in thermal energy for heating and significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions into the environment. In addition, the study reveals that the cost of thermal energy for heating depends upon a building design, modernization quality, reconstruction and insulation, applied building materials, spatial planning solutions, the presence or absence of control and automated systems, maintenance systems and attitude of owner’s attitude to innovations. The conclusions summarize that the cost of thermal energy can vary significantly in buildings of the same type.

Using budgets to measure the financial efficiency of higher education institutions: a case study of Tikrit University

Using budgets to measure the financial efficiency of higher education institutions: a case study of Tikrit University

СТРАТЕГІЯ РОЗВИТКУ ЯК КЛЮЧОВИЙ ФАКТОР ПІДВИЩЕННЯ ЕФЕКТИВНОСТІ ДІЯЛЬНОСТІ УНІВЕРСИТЕТУ

The article seeks to search for new pathways to increase the performance efficiency of higher education institutions. In particular, it is argued that the key point in shaping a new role of universities in society, which assumes building a development strategy, is the idea of a "technological mode". The social innovation process paradigm is being realized through technological change accompanied by the emergence of products with new functional properties to meet new demands. The role of higher education institutions within a certain technological mode is not limited to traditional issues of workforce training for the economy, it should be also focused towards developing organizational and economic innovations to reduce the implementation cycle and building an innovation-driven management system in an organization. Modern universities not only maintain but also expand their role in the transition to the sixth technological mode of the economy, as they are viewed as the few institutional societal structures that are capable to build relevant competencies for a successive technological mode in the process of their educational, research and innovative activities. The paradigm to enhance the research potential of universities should rely upon a fundamentally new development strategy for higher education institutions which can ensure their active participation in the new technological mode on a regular, sustainable basis and thus realize the new role of universities in society. Insights into development strategies of domestic universities have revealed that on the whole they are quite typical consisting of following sections: general provisions, mission, strategic goal and objectives of university development, program activities and stages of their implementation, financial support for the program; expected outcomes and program implementation risks. The research findings on higher education practices in Ukraine demonstrate that they are based on competitive strategies which are viewed as a set of actions to meet the overall goals of HEIs with due regard to education and labour market demands. It is argued that a robust development strategy and its consistent implementation might become a driving factor to boost the efficiency of higher education institutions.

СТРАТЕГІЯ РОЗВИТКУ ЯК КЛЮЧОВИЙ ФАКТОР ПІДВИЩЕННЯ ЕФЕКТИВНОСТІ ДІЯЛЬНОСТІ УНІВЕРСИТЕТУ

The article seeks to search for new pathways to increase the performance efficiency of higher education institutions. In particular, it is argued that the key point in shaping a new role of universities in society, which assumes building a development strategy, is the idea of a "technological mode". The social innovation process paradigm is being realized through technological change accompanied by the emergence of products with new functional properties to meet new demands. The role of higher education institutions within a certain technological mode is not limited to traditional issues of workforce training for the economy, it should be also focused towards developing organizational and economic innovations to reduce the implementation cycle and building an innovation-driven management system in an organization. Modern universities not only maintain but also expand their role in the transition to the sixth technological mode of the economy, as they are viewed as the few institutional societal structures that are capable to build relevant competencies for a successive technological mode in the process of their educational, research and innovative activities. The paradigm to enhance the research potential of universities should rely upon a fundamentally new development strategy for higher education institutions which can ensure their active participation in the new technological mode on a regular, sustainable basis and thus realize the new role of universities in society. Insights into development strategies of domestic universities have revealed that on the whole they are quite typical consisting of following sections: general provisions, mission, strategic goal and objectives of university development, program activities and stages of their implementation, financial support for the program; expected outcomes and program implementation risks. The research findings on higher education practices in Ukraine demonstrate that they are based on competitive strategies which are viewed as a set of actions to meet the overall goals of HEIs with due regard to education and labour market demands. It is argued that a robust development strategy and its consistent implementation might become a driving factor to boost the efficiency of higher education institutions.

Determination Of The Main Ways To Improve The Efficiency Of Higher Education Institutions In A Post-Pandemic Context

The article highlights the problem of the effectiveness of the learning process in higher education institutions in the post-pandemic. Today there are changes in the labor market, and more and more professions need to be updated. This affects the quality of higher education both in Europe and elsewhere, so many higher educational institutions (national, public, private) have appeared, which primarily care about the number of students, and not about quality. In an environment where the pandemic has significantly changed the learning process, it is very important to find new ways to improve its effectiveness. Now there is a transition from an industrial society to a society of obtaining knowledge in conditions of post-pandemic development; This means that there is a transition to mass education, and then to general higher education (coverage of more than 70% of young people) and the need to train a large number of people with average abilities. In addition, in higher educational institutions, in particular in universities, there are still imperfect academic programs in the basics of science, compiled by teachers with different levels of training in the context of post-pandemic development.

Optimizing the energy efficiency of higher education institutions

The article presents the results of research conducted at the St. Petersburg Polytechnic University within the framework of the innovative business incubator and aimed at forming a cross-system approach to energy consumption management. The authors consider the features being typical for most educational institutions, regardless of the profile and specifics. Constant components of energy consumption are taken into account, such as outdoor lighting, scientific equipment, security systems, fire extinguishing systems, equipment of the dining room and buffet, and engineering services. The basis is a mathematical model that allows not only to describe the processes, but also to apply the methods of optimization theory and develop software for effective management of engineering equipment. The authors have used a search method based on the analysis of nonlinear functions. With the purpose of the research, an application with an extension for finding solutions to optimization problems was used in the free software package with the Linux kernel.