On January 12, U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine’s Economic Recovery Penny Pritzker and U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget A. Brink visited KSE to talk to students about their vision of Ukraine’s future, the role of education, and the country’s economic recovery.

The visit also featured an esteemed group of guests, including Tyson Barker, the Deputy Special Representative for Ukraine’s Economic Recovery; Jeremy Bernton, Chief of Staff to the Special Representative; Juan Luciano, Chair of Board of Directors, President, and CEO of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company; Bernard Mensah, President of International for Bank of America and CEO of Merrill Lynch International; and Nick Studer, President and CEO of Oliver Wyman and Vice Chair of Marsh McLennan.

“The resilience and determination of the Ukrainian people in the face of today’s challenges is inspiring. In addition to security, reform, investment, and other important factors today, education will play a key role in economic recovery, empowering you, the next generation of leaders, to be at the forefront of this change tomorrow,” said Penny Pritzker, U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine’s Economic Recovery. 

KSE President Tymofiy Mylovanov emphasized that since the first days of the full-scale invasion, the Kyiv School of Economics has been working closely with the government, international donors and organizations to develop analytical products, scenarios and policy documents on the development and acceleration of Ukraine’s economic recovery. According to him, developing human capital, education, and science is also an equally important activity area. 

“First, to survive, win, and recover, Ukraine needs long-term and unprecedented support from its partners. Secondly, it needs people who will implement it. To achieve this, we are constantly working to expand students’ study areas. Today, future specialists in cybersecurity, urban studies, artificial intelligence, business economics, etc., are already studying at KSE. We are planning to open new promising programs, particularly in engineering” said Tymofiy Mylovanov.

During the meeting, the students asked questions about the possibility of maintaining bipartisan support for Ukraine in the U.S. Congress, the interest and willingness of U.S. companies to invest in Ukraine, particularly in the private sector, critical infrastructure, and defense industry, and the steps Ukraine should take to increase foreign aid and investment after the war.

The Kyiv School of Economics expresses its deep respect and gratitude to the distinguished guests for their visit and meeting with the students and all those involved for this opportunity.