On July 7, Mylovanov delivered the lecture, “Growth Through Fire: Ukraine Is Building the Future Before the War Ends” at CEU’s Budapest site. On July 7, CEU’s 35th Anniversary Presidential Lecture Series featured Tymofiy Mylovanov, president of the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE), delivering the lecture, “Growth Through Fire: Ukraine Is Building the Future Before the War Ends” at CEU’s Budapest site. Hosted by Interim President and Rector Carsten Q. Schneider, the fifth event in the year-long series examined lessons from Ukraine on resilience, capacity-building, and the role of universities when inherited systems fail. Under Mylovanov’s leadership, KSE has grown into a full-fledged university, think tank, charity foundation, and business school. Prior to leading KSE, Mylovanov served as the Deputy Chairman of the Board of the National Bank of Ukraine and as the Minister of Economic Development, Trade, and Agriculture of Ukraine. In response to the war in Ukraine, he helped to establish the Defense Development Fund, a nonprofit organization supporting Ukraine’s military and defense efforts. Recognized as one of Ukraine’s top economists by Forbes in 2014 and 2015, Mylovanov continues to play a vital role in shaping the nation’s academic, economic, and defense sectors.

The 35th Anniversary Presidential Lecture Series   

Introducing the 35th anniversary lecture at CEU’s Budapest site, Schneider said: “The spirit of CEU has lived on within these walls, which became home to such wonderful new initiatives, such as the Invisible University for Ukraine (IUFU).” He welcomed the IUFU students in attendance as they participate in their Budapest summer school, as well as CEU employees, community, and supporters from the city.

The Role of Universities as Builders

Mylovanov’s lecture presented a vision of the university that is deeply engaged with society, committed to producing new knowledge, resilient under crisis, and willing to embrace AI without surrendering human judgment.

Tracing his experience in developing KSE, which was founded as a Western-backed project to build market-economy expertise, he argued that the defining task of universities is no longer simply to educate students, but to develop people who can continually build, innovate, and create knowledge, even amid uncertainty and conflict.

“The university exists for these two objectives: To produce new knowledge…but it’s not the only thing…We want to carry knowledge into society,” said Mylovanov. “People say that a lot of knowledge has been produced in companies because they have wealth to produce. They are better than universities in accumulating wealth to be able to run labs or train AI data centers. Maybe universities have to adapt in some way, but what these companies do not do is turn this discovery into shared human capability.”

He contended that universities become museums if they stop actively generating and transmitting knowledge and that they should help society build capabilities, especially during crises. Rather than remaining detached from society, Mylovanov argued that higher education institutions should actively solve real-world problems, citing examples from Ukraine.

He discussed cases of wartime research that identify Russian shadow fleet tankers for sanctions, apply AI to defense problems, support government decision-making and direct societal impact.

Regarding AI, he argued that future graduates should be builders who coordinate machines rather than passive users of them. For Mylovanov, the concern is not AI itself, but the possibility that people stop thinking independently.

In developing builders, he distinguished between two very different uses of AI:

· “Cognitive capitulation” or poor use: outsourcing thinking, copying AI-generated answers, and reducing genuine learning

· Productive use: using AI to generate hypotheses, challenging assumptions, accelerate experimentation, and deepen reasoning

He said rather than banning AI or ignoring it, universities should train students to direct AI systems, build projects with AI, and remain intellectually responsible for outcomes.

How Crisis Can Accelerate Learning and Innovation

Another theme of the lecture was that Ukraine’s wartime conditions have forced organizations, including KSE, to learn faster, rapidly rebuilding operations after missile attacks, shortening innovation cycles, quickly testing and iterating ideas, and creating new educational programs in weeks rather than months.

He proposed that urgency produces faster feedback and better adaptation. Mylovanov also asserted that standards should rise and not fall in difficult times, sharing KSE’s maintained academic rigor during the war.

“We do not stop after bombings… We do not stop after yesterday’s attack… We have to learn how not to stop,” said Mylovanov. “The secret is you do not stop to learn from your failure, and you just keep moving on.”

In addition, Mylovanov portrayed purpose as the foundation of resilience and as a competitive advantage that helps KSE operate under extreme uncertainty, rebuilding while destruction is ongoing, innovating continuously, and sustaining motivation despite hardship.

He discussed principles of KSE’s culture, which included understanding strengths clearly and pivoting quickly even in opening and closing programs; pursuing opportunities rather than waiting for them; and welcoming intellectual conflict and science advances that emerge through debate. Mylovanov concluded that the role of modern universities is to cultivate people who continue building regardless of circumstances.

Opening the conversation to the audience, Schneider moderated discussion on topics ranging from CEU and KSE’s shared roots as Western educational projectsto AI and debates around the value of data and the humanities.

The evening concluded with an MOU signing between CEU and KSE introduced by CEU’s Pro-Rector of External Relations Mathias Moschel, paving the way for an enhanced institutional relationship and future collaborations.

Sourse: https://www.ceu.edu/news/2026-07/tymofiy-mylovanov-discusses-resilience-and-role-universities-ceus-35th-anniversary