Kyiv Business School Battles On

According to Financial Times, when Russia invaded Ukraine a year ago, two business school professors headed in opposite directions.  Tymofiy Mylovanov, president of the Kyiv School of Economics, quickly returned to his homeland from his other job as an associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh.  He was determined to stay in Ukraine, lead the Kyiv school, and craft a distinctive program he calls an “MBA on the frontline.”  On the opposite side, Konstantin Krotov, then head of the Graduate School of Management at St Petersburg State University but a quarter Ukrainian and repelled at the idea of paying taxes to fund the war, flew with his family to Istanbul. Financial Times relates that in Istanbul, Krotov contacted the dean of Skema Business School in France, which recruited him onto the faculty.

In Kyiv, many teachers from institutions abroad are supporting education at Ukraine’s premier business school by offering online classes and a number of Mylovanov’s own faculty are returning for in-person teaching.  The curriculum at the Kyiv business school has also been updated, with a renewed focus on entrepreneurship, financing and operating during and after conflict.  According to Mylovanov, “we are seeing game theory being applied in reality, and the discussion of mentorship in human resources becomes very real, very quickly.”  Mylovanov is concerned, however, that overseas universities, while helpfully offering positions for the best Ukrainian academics abroad, are contributing to a brain drain domestically.  He says, “they are depleting our faculty pool,” and has urged his peers to follow his example of staying in Kyiv and continuing onward towards the future.

For the full FT article, click here.  For a more in depth look at Mylovanov’s journey in Kyiv since the war started, click here for our blog posting.