This year the Russian military invasion of Ukraine has upended our lives and challenged our right for existence. Despite this barbaric and inhumane war, we are proud that the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE) has embraced the power of university to instill hope and provide a future for the country through defense, education, and rebuilding efforts.
Beyond its own community of students and alumni, KSE has actively supported humanitarian and educational initiatives throughout Ukraine. KSE students, faculty, leadership, researchers, and alumni have taken a proactive role in these efforts, and KSE’s charitable foundation has raised over 40 million USD to fund a range of initiatives, including talent incubation, bomb shelters in schools, innovation programs during the war, scholarships for veterans and IDPs, and support for graduate and undergraduate students. In addition, the foundation has provided assistance to non-residential fellows and students outside of KSE in Ukraine. As an example of KSE’s efforts to move beyond its immediate needs, the university founded the Ukrainian Global University project, which placed 55 talented displaced Ukrainian students in leading international universities.
Despite the challenges posed by the ongoing war in Ukraine, KSE University’s admission numbers remained relatively stable, with a decrease of about 10% compared to the previous year. This is in contrast to other Ukrainian universities, which saw drops of up to 50% in admission numbers. KSE welcomed 170 new students, bringing the total number of students enrolled in degree programs to 300. KSE was also recognized as one of the top 50 charitable organizations in Ukraine, receiving the prestigious “Golden Heart” award from the President of Ukraine. KSE leadership, faculty, researchers, and students participated in 120 international events discussing Ukraine and Russian aggression on multiple forums, and contributed to discussions organized by leading universities around the world.
Despite the difficult circumstances, KSE students remained committed to their studies and were supported by the university through the provision of resources such as certified bomb shelters, Starlink and new generators, and water and food supplies.
KSE University has continued to develop partnerships and initiatives to support the education and professional development of Ukrainian talent during the war. In 2022, KSE established a new joint Master’s program in Public Policy with the University of Toronto, and expanded its partnership with the University of Houston to offer both graduate and undergraduate students the opportunity to receive a joint degree.
In collaboration with the Charitable Foundation, KSE has also worked on a project to identify talented entrepreneurs, academics, and volunteers, distributing 5,000 USD each to support Ukrainian talents during the war. In addition, KSE has received funding from a variety of sources to support scholars and students in Ukraine through virtual fellowships and scholarships. Since the beginning of the war, KSE has accumulated approximately 200,000 USD through the Ukrainian Global University (UGU) project, which identifies talented displaced Ukrainian students and provides them with placements in the best international universities. UGU received 3,000 applications, selected 270 finalists, and placed 55 students in 14 leading international universities. KSE signed more than 60 new MoUs with international universities in the EU, US, UK, Canada, and Mexico as part of this project.
George Washington University provided 115,000 USD to support 12 scholars in Ukraine, University of Massachusetts Amherst provided 75,000 USD to support 15 scholars. European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder) supported thirteen KSE teachers and nine students with 32,000 EUR.
Furthermore, within the Ukrainian Global University project, we also received 40,000 USD from the Center of Governance and Markets, University of Pittsburgh, to support research activities of our staff. In partnership with RESTUD we allocate scholarships to students and early career researchers.
KSE has also contributed to regular discussions organized by the Munk School at the University of Toronto, Viadrina University, Buffett Institute at Northwestern, LSE, University of Pittsburgh, and initiated a call for #No Ukrainian panels without Ukrainian voices. George Washington University provided 115,000 USD to support 12 scholars in Ukraine, while the University of Massachusetts Amherst provided 75,000 USD to support 15 scholars. The European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder) supported 13 KSE teachers and 9 undergraduate students with 32,000 EUR. KSE has also received funding from the Center of Governance and Markets at the University of Pittsburgh and RESTUD to support research and scholarship for Ukrainian students and early career researchers in economics. Additionally, Emergent Ventures, a fellowship and grant program from the Mercatus Center, provided 1,000,000 USD to support Ukrainian talents.
In the summer of 2022, during the war, KSE organized five summer schools that attracted a total of 652 applications and 450 participants. The summer school topics included Data-driven Publishing, Memory and Conflict Studies, Artificial Intelligence and Business Applications, Urban Studies and Disaster Management, and Urban Development. The summer schools featured lecturers and instructors from institutions such as the University of Virginia, Duke University, and Groningen University, as well as industry experts such as the Chief Science Officer at Aktana. KSE also organized an Urban Summer School in partnership with Method Büro, CEDOS, Groningen University, Tilburg University, Borodyanka Territorial Community, and Kyiv Regional Military Administration, and a series of Urban Development Talks featuring lecturers such as Donald Shoup and Michael Batty.
In the face of air attacks, KSE hosted in-person lectures by top scholars in their fields, including Sir Geoffrey Nice, a British lawyer and judge who worked at the International Criminal Tribunal; Balint Magyar, a Hungarian liberal politician and sociologist; and Luis Garicano Gabilondo, a Spanish economist and politician. KSE staff also received various fellowships at institutions such as UMass, LSE, Northwestern, AAUBS, George Mason, Princeton, IAMO, Hitotsubashi, George Mason, University of South Denmark, University of Iowa, and Pittsburgh University. KSE President Dr. Tymofiy Mylovanov has made multiple appearances on major international media platforms such as CNN, Washington Post, NPR, and others, and has published extensively on rebuilding principles for Ukraine, sanctions on Russia, and international security and the global economy. He has also given numerous public lectures and talks at top international business schools and universities addressing the Russian aggression.
KSE faculty and researchers have also been involved in programing for international universities. For example, Dr. Anton Liagusha, Dean of Social and Humanities, taught a 10-week online seminar at the New School in New York on Media and Policy in the Era of Fake News. Dr. Ivan Gomza, Academic Director, developed a course on Ukrainian Politics and Society for Virginia Commonwealth University for the spring of 2023. Dr. Tymofii Brik, Rector, has been invited to teach a course on Ukrainian society at the sociology department at Northwestern University in the spring of 2023.
KSE’s Business School has renewed its MBA programs in partnership with POLIMI GSoM, and has also become a member of three major international organizations – AACSB, BGA (AMBA) and EFMD (EQUIS) – during the invasion.
KSE faculty members and academic community have contributed to various international conferences, missions, and publications in order to influence global agendas. Dr. Yurii Gorodnichenko edited a volume on rebuilding Ukraine and published several essays on the subject. Nataliia Shapoval, Chair of KSE, has published policy papers and white papers on the impacts of the war in Ukraine and sanctions on Russia.
Dr. Oleg Nivievskyi, Dean of KSE, participated in conferences on the consequences of the war on Ukraine and its agriculture and was invited to give a lecture on the effects of the invasion on Ukraine’s agriculture and global food security at the University of Goettingen. Rector Tymofii Brik has published his research on the war in the Washington Post and Foreign Affairs, and Yegor Stadnyi has contributed a chapter on education reforms during and after the war to a CEPR volume. Maksym Obrizan contributed to policy briefs and insights by the WHO Council on the Economics of Health for All. KSE faculty members have also joined an international project on reconfiguring EU democracy support and Tymofii Brik was appointed national coordinator of the European Social Survey in Ukraine.
The International Academic Board of KSE has launched the project ‘Teach for Ukraine’, which invites international scholars to donate their time to teach and grade Ukrainian graduate and undergraduate students. KSE has hosted several international scholars for this project, including Daniel Kolář, who co-taught a course in macroeconomics; Dr. Artur Doshchyn, who co-taught a course in macroeconomics; Dr. Edouard Challe, who will co-teach a course in advanced macroeconomics in Spring 2023; Dr. Thorsten Drautzburg, who will co-teach a course in econometrics in Spring 2023; Dr. Vincenzo Pezone, who will co-teach a course in advanced econometrics in Spring 2023; Dr. Serhiy Kandul, who will teach and coordinate a course on behavioral economics in Spring 2023; and Dr. Sinan Ertemel, who will co-teach a course in math and game theory in Fall 2023. In addition, KSE has hosted Emma L. Briant and Dr. Ceyhun Elgin as fellows for the Open Society University Network’s “Teach for Ukraine” program.
KSE University launched #GlobalMinds4Ukraine, a series of public lectures featuring world-renowned intellectuals who demonstrated solidarity with Ukraine. This initiative, which was launched in the first days of the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine, brought together academic leaders, economists, political scientists, and public intellectuals from around the world to support Ukraine. Some of the notable speakers included Nobel Prize winners Esther Duflo and Paul Krugman, historians Timothy Snyder and Anne Applebaum, and Nassim Nicholas Taleb, the author of “The Black Swan.” Other speakers included former United States Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul and many others. The lectures were made available to a wide audience through KSE’s YouTube channel. KSE Friends Mallesh Pai from Rice University and Colin Rowat from the University of Birmingham organized a series of rigorous academic seminars “KSE economic frontiers” inviting top academics such as Daron Acemoglu and Jean Tirole.
Nassim Nicholas Talleb
Paul Krugman
Timothy Snyder
Anne Applebaum
Michael McFaul
General Petreaus
We are also grateful to our fantastic International academic board!
We are also grateful to our fantastic International Academic Board members, who have demonstrated their support for Ukraine and KSE through their involvement in our initiatives. The International Academic Board, which is chaired by Nobel Laureate in Economics 2007 Professor Roger Myerson of the University of Chicago, includes Associate Dean at the Stony Brook College of Business at New York State University Dmytro Holod (KSE’2000), Associate Chair of Duke University’s Economics Department Charles Becker, Professor at School of Business and Economics Humboldt University of Berlin Michael Burda, Quantedge Presidential Professor of Economics at University of California, Berkeley Yuriy Gorodnichenko (KSE’2001), Professor at the University of Houston Paul Gregory, Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver Viktoria Hnatkovska (KSE’2000), KSE President and Associate Professor of the University of Pittsburgh Tymofiy Mylovanov (KSE’1999 and former Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture of Ukraine), Eugene M. Isenberg Chair in Integrative Studies at Isenberg School of Management, University of Massachusetts Amherst Anna Nagurney, Professor at Yale University Larry Samuelson, and Professor at the University of Chicago Konstantin Sonin.
Highlights:
• KSE’s Charitable Foundation has raised over 40 million USD for various humanitarian efforts in Ukraine, including incubating talent, building bomb shelters in schools, providing scholarships and support for students and fellows, and supporting innovation programs during the war.
• KSE launched the Ukrainian Global University project to provide displaced Ukrainian students with places in top international universities, receiving more than 60 new MoUs with universities in the EU, US, UK, Canada, and Mexico.
• KSE faculty and leadership, including President Dr. Tymofiy Mylovanov, have made appearances on major international media platforms and published research on rebuilding principles for Ukraine, sanctions on Russia, and the impacts of the war on Ukraine’s economy and society.
• KSE’s Business School has become a member of three major international organizations – AACSB, BGA (AMBA), and EFMD (EQUIS) – and renewed MBA programs in collaboration with POLIMI GSoM.
• KSE launched the #GlobalMinds4Ukraine series of public lectures with top intellectuals, including Nobel Prize winners and notable academics, who demonstrated solidarity with Ukraine during the invasion.
• KSE faculty have contributed to international research projects, such as REDEMOS, and have been invited to teach at top universities around the world.
• KSE has organized various summer schools and lectures with notable scholars, including those from Duke University and the University of Virginia.
• KSE has launched the “Teach for Ukraine” project, inviting international scholars to donate their time to teach and grade Ukrainian graduate and undergraduate students.
• KSE has held a series of rigorous academic seminars, “KSE economic frontiers,” inviting top academics such as Daron Acemoglu and Jean Tirole.
• KSE faculty and staff have received various fellowships at leading international universities and have contributed to policy briefs, white papers, and other publications on issues related to the war and Ukraine’s development.