Goce Delcev' University - Stip

What Goce Delcev' University - Stip does

Goce Delcev University - Stip (UGD) is a public state university established in 2007 in Stip, Republic of North Macedonia. It operates 15 faculties and 3 academies delivering 70 study programs across three cycles of higher education (undergraduate, graduate, doctoral), supported by one Higher Medical School. Over 19 years the institution has produced more than 30,000 graduates and serves both domestic and international students, with active Erasmus+ mobility programs and bilateral agreements with European universities. It is governed by a Rector and a senate of Vice-Rectors covering teaching, science, investments/development, and international cooperation, with ownership retained by the state.

UGD's core technology is a digital infrastructure stack rather than a commercial product suite. It includes a Moodle-based learning management system (E-Learning), a digital library (E-Library) with 1,134+ e-books and over 633,000 downloads, an Open Journal Systems (OJS) publishing platform hosting 12+ international peer-reviewed journals, a scholarly repository (UGD Scholar), and student/faculty portals (E-Index, E-Schedule). Specialized extensions include the OERarD platform delivering an online fertilizer calculator and pesticide database for agricultural users, developed under an Erasmus+ KA2 grant of €146,173. The university maintains memberships in the European University Association (EUA), the European University Foundation (EUF), and holds ESCI Champion status for 2025-2027.

Revenue is not publicly disclosed. The university is funded through a combination of tuition fees (with scholarship exemptions for top-ranked candidates) and state government funding, supplemented by EU project grants such as the OERarD award. Distribution is primarily on-campus in Stip, with distance learning delivered via Moodle and international student exchange through Erasmus+ and the Erasmus Without Paper convention. Marketing channels include the official website, social media (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube), UGD FM campus radio, and academic conferences. Partnership network spans Macedonian universities, the National Bank of Macedonia, Alkaloid, Agricultural University Plovdiv, CIHEAM/MAICH Chania, and multiple European academic consortia.

Name

Goce Delcev' University - Stip

Legal name

Универзитет „Гоце Делчев" - Штип

Website

https://ugd.edu.mk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Goce Delcev University - Stip is a public state university in North Macedonia operating 15 faculties and 3 academies across 70 study programs, serving approximately 30,000+ alumni and current students via on-campus, distance, and Erasmus+ delivery.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Online Divisions of Traditional Universities (Hybrid/Extension) (EDAHALAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

MOOC & Open Course Platforms (EDAFAIAA)

Keywords

• Higher education services
• University degree programs
• Academic research services
• Distance learning platforms
• Open educational resources

Headquarters

HQ city

Štip

HQ country

North Macedonia

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Tuition and Fees: University charges tuition fees for various study programs. Traditional scholarships in the form of exemption from participation fees for top-ranked first-cycle candidates on each faculty.
2. Government Funding: Public university receiving state funding for operations, research, and student support

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Goce Delcev University - Stip is a public university that delivers higher education through 70 study programs spanning 15 faculties and 3 academies across the three Bologna cycles (undergraduate, master, and doctoral). It supplements classroom instruction with a fully digitized ecosystem — a Moodle e-learning platform, an OJS publishing system, an E-Library, E-Index services, research repositories, and OERarD open educational resources — to support student learning, academic publishing, and applied agricultural research.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• UGD FM: Campus radio station streaming at ugdfm-stream.ugd.edu.mk
• UGD Intranet
• UGD Scholar
• UGD Publishing System (js.ugd.edu.mk)
• Moodle E-Learning Platform
• E-Library (e-lib.ugd.edu.mk)
• OERarD

Products and services

• Undergraduate, Master, and Doctoral Study Programs Three-cycle higher education programs (undergraduate, master, doctoral) organized across 15 faculties and 3 academies, offering academic qualifications to domestic and international students. 15 of these programs are taught in English across 10 faculties.
• Moodle E-Learning Platform Moodle-based e-learning portal supporting distance learning, online courses, and e-exams for UGD students; also serves as an e-study portal.
• Open Journal Systems (OJS) Academic Publishing Open Journal Systems-based publishing service used to publish the university's collection of peer-reviewed academic journals in open-access format, including a Computer Science title.
• UGD E-Library Service Institutional digital library service aggregating over 4,118 journals and 251,339 e-books and providing access to EBSCO, SCOPUS, JSTOR, and ScienceDirect for UGD students and staff.
• UGD Scholar Research Repository Research repository exposing scholarly publications and outputs of UGD researchers to the broader academic community.
• E-Index Services for Students and Teachers Digital E-Index service for students and teaching staff, providing electronic access to academic records, grades, and study progress; first such service introduced by a Balkan university.
• OERarD Open Educational Resources Platform Web platform of open educational resources on plant protection and fertilizer application intended for farmers, farmer associations, agronomy consultants, and agricultural industry users in the Republic of North Macedonia.
• Online Pesticide Database Searchable online database of pesticide products for agriculture, allowing users to look up products by name, application date, and recommended dose.
• Online Fertilizer Calculator Online tool for calculating fertilizer requirements in crop production, supporting farmer decision-making on nutrient application.
• UGD FM Radio Streaming Service Campus FM radio station operated by the university, streaming content to local and online audiences.

Quantifiable outcome

• First university in RN Macedonia with high digital tool adoption

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• University "St. Cyril and Methodius" - SkopjecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor Macedonian university partnership for academic collaboration and joint initiatives
• University "Kliment Ohridski" - BitolacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Bitola university for academic cooperation
• National Bank of MacedoniaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with central bank for economics and finance programs
• AlkaloidminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with major Macedonian pharmaceutical company
• Agricultural University PlovdivcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOERarD Erasmus+ project partner for agriculture education and training
• CIHEAM/MAICH Chania (Greece)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMediterranean Agronomic Institute partner in OERarD project for blended courses and training
• National Extension Agency (North Macedonia)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAgricultural extension service partnership for OERarD project dissemination
• Federation of Organic ProducerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganic farming association partnership for agricultural training programs
• European University Association (EUA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMembership in EUA for European higher education collaboration
• Rectors' Forum of Southeast Europe and Western BalkanscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional rectors' forum for Southeast Europe and Western Balkans collaboration
• UNIADRIONminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdriatic-Ionian university network partnership
• ACE (EU)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerACE2EU project partnership for European community and multiculturalism promotion
• European University Foundation (EUF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociate membership for student exchange and mobility programs

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights10 records

Regional players

• University of Tirana: Flagship public university in Albania with comparable faculty breadth, three-cycle offerings, and state funding structure. Functions as a regional peer for benchmarking enrollment scale, digital infrastructure, and EU-alignment strategy.
• University of Pristina: Largest public university in Kosovo and a peer institution across the Western Balkans higher-education ecosystem. Comparable public funding model and multi-faculty structure; competes with UGD for Erasmus+ inbound mobility flows and EU capacity-building funding.
• University of Sarajevo: Largest public university in Bosnia and Herzegovina; comparable faculty mix, three-cycle structure, and Western Balkans Rectors' Forum membership. Serves as a regional peer for EU-funded mobility and digital-education transformation programs.

Direct peers

• Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania (CIHEAM/MAICH): Named OERarD Erasmus+ partner of UGD and a specialist postgraduate institution in agriculture. Highly comparable in applied agricultural OER development, blended learning delivery, and EU project execution in the agritech domain.
• Agricultural University Plovdiv: Bulgarian agricultural university and named OERarD Erasmus+ partner of UGD. Directly comparable in applied agricultural research, OER development, and Erasmus+ KA2 project execution, making it the most relevant peer for UGD's agritech specialization.
• South East European University (Tetovo): A major multi-faculty private university in North Macedonia with English-language instruction and strong EU ties. Comparable three-cycle offering across business, law, and technology faculties, and a direct competitor for internationally mobile students in the same domestic market.
• Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje: The largest and flagship public university in North Macedonia and UGD's primary national competitor. Both are public, multi-faculty institutions offering three-cycle study programs with shared national-government funding and student pool, making UKIM the closest direct peer for enrollment, faculty, and funding dynamics.
• St. Kliment Ohridski University – Bitola: The second major public university in North Macedonia and a stated UGD partner. Comparable scale and faculty mix, also operating outside the capital; serves as a natural regional peer for student recruitment, faculty competition, and government funding allocation.

Broad incumbents

• University of Belgrade: The largest traditional university in Southeast Europe with a much broader portfolio of faculties and research output. Functions as an aspirational/benchmark peer for UGD's digital ambitions, research infrastructure, and EU network positioning.
• University of Ljubljana: Slovenia's flagship public university and a leading Western Balkans higher-education actor. Functions as a broad-incumbent peer for UGD's EU membership positioning (EUA/EUF) and as a benchmark for digital-education maturity and research output.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/UGDSTIP
• Facebookfacebook.com/ugdstip
• Instagraminstagram.com/ugdstip

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries16 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Goce Delcev' University - Stip