Month: February 2024

Coinciding with the second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the UMass INFORMS Student Chapter had the honor of hosting Dr. Ina Ganguli, an esteemed Professor of Economics in the departments of Economics and Management at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, as a guest speaker on February 23rd. Dr. Ganguli delivered a compelling presentation titled “Scientists in the Crosshairs: Impacts of War, Crisis, and Conflict on Ukrainian Science.”

Our president, Dana Hassani, introduced Dr. Ganguli and enumerated a few of her many achievements and prestigious positions, such as Director of the UMass Computational Social Science Institute (CSSI), Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), Research Fellow at the Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Affiliated Researcher at the Stockholm Institute of Transition Economics (SITE), Faculty Associate at the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies and the Laboratory for Innovation Science (LISH) at Harvard University, Fulbright scholar in Ukraine in 2004, and U.S. Embassy Policy Specialist Fellow in Russia, Azerbaijan, and Tajikistan.

Our faculty advisor, Professor Anna Nagurney, also took a minute to remind everyone of the second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, compliment Professor Ganguli on her many academic contributions, and appreciate her for accepting our invitation as a guest speaker.

During her presentation, Professor Ganguli emphasized specific channels, such as the loss of human and physical capital due to the ongoing war, as well as disruptions to international collaborations, through which Ukrainian science and scholars have been adversely affected. Furthermore, she underscored the contrasting impacts observed in war-affected regions such as Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine compared to Crimea, which was forcefully annexed by Russia in 2014. She noted that the disruptions to Ukrainian science did not solely emerge in 2022 but rather originated during the post-Soviet era, with further exacerbation occurring during the 2014 conflict in the Donbas region and the annexation of Crimea. Moreover, she highlighted that amidst these challenging circumstances, international collaborations have had a positive effect on scientific contributions from Ukrainian scholars and academic institutions by mitigating the decline in publications.

After the presentation, we, along with our advisor, Professor Anna Nagurney, hosted Dr. Ganguli for lunch at the Commonwealth Restaurant at UMass Amherst. The food was delightful, and the desserts were enticing; however, what made it most memorable was the excellent company. After lunch, we had the pleasure of recording an interview with Dr. Ganguli for UMass INFORMS’ YouTube Channel, which will soon be available.

Once again, we would like to express our gratitude to Dr. Ganguli for graciously accepting our invitation and delivering an insightful talk. We also extend our thanks to all faculty and members who attended this event, to our officers for all their facilitating efforts, and to Professor Nagurney for her ever-present support.

As always, please stay updated on our social media and blog posts as we continue to organize many more exciting events here at UMass Amherst throughout the Spring 2024 semester.

[Below you can find Isenberg School of Management’s news coverage of Dr. Tymofiy Mylovanov’s talk hosted by UMass INFORMS. You can also read the original article on the Isenberg School of Management’s website.]

“In crisis, it’s important that humans do what they agreed to do,” said Tymofiy Mylovanov, president of the Kyiv School of Economics and associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh when he visited the Isenberg School of Management on February 12, 2024.

The former minister of economic development, trade, and agriculture of Ukraine gave a presentation to the UMass INFORMS student chapter on his experience leading the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE) during wartime in Ukraine, alongside his experience in higher education in Ukraine and the partnership between UMass Amherst and KSE. Mylovanov highlighted the struggles that KSE faculty and students are facing—a 20-minute drive on a highway could take as long as five hours.

What Does It Mean To Be A University During War?

“There is light, there is food, there is shelter, kids are studying,” Mylovanov said. “If we don’t create such an environment, kids will leave. And we can win the war, but we won’t have people. We have to prepare for people leaving Ukraine, trauma, and conflict.” He discussed how funding, donor priorities, government and stakeholder objectives, migration, mobilization, and student body all play a more prominent role in higher education amid war. Yet KSE continues to aim to recruit top talent and pilot rapidly with stronger team alignment and motivation, market-driven products, and quality in everything done by the university. The designation of a CEO, the pushing of payroll, the encouragement to get students to safety outside of the school and communicate how this was done. Some students left the country and university, some people reached out for jobs after finding safety, and some joined the military.

“Your principles have to be very, very agile,” noted Mylovanov, thinking about the impact of war on university life. Basic needs, such as toilets, need to be considered. “The thing that scared me the most on the first day of the war is that I ran out of gas,” he said. “The gas stations are overwhelmed. I still have nightmares about it.” However, amid everything, KSE has seen enrollment triple, as the school opted for offline learning throughout the war. KSE also has recently added eight new majors, including psychology, due to the impact of war on Ukrainians’ mental health.

KSE’s Impacts On The War

KSE has played a prominent role in the support of Ukraine in the current war, with more than 10,000 donors donating over $87 million dollars to war efforts in 2022-2023. Mylovanov emphasized the role the school will take once the war is over as well, highlighting Ukraine’s goals of maintaining democratic practices, a resilient and recovering economy, and national defense and high-tech manufacturing support.

Isenberg and UMass Amherst have partnered with KSE since March 2022 through a program assisting scholars and students affected by the ongoing war on Ukraine. The partnership resulted in a virtual scholar program, hosting 15 Ukrainian researchers, and an on-campus residency program, hosting four.

[Below is the blog post Professor Anna Nagurney, the faculty advisor of the UMass Amherst INFORMS Student Chapter, has written on Dr. Tymofiy Mylovanov’s visit to UMass Amherst. You can also read the original post on Professor Nagurney’s blog.]

This past Monday, we had the honor and pleasure of hosting Dr. Tymofiy Mylovanov, the President of the Kyiv School of Economics in Ukraine, at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. This was his second visit to UMass Amherst – his first was on February 22, 2023.

His visit was very timely, as was his lecture, since we are approaching the second anniversary of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia.

Mylovanov had sent me a message just a few days before his arrival saying that he would like to visit and speak and, despite multiple logistical hurdles and scheduling issues, we made it work.

Leading a university is extremely challenging and leading one in wartime, with success, is extraordinary.

I have had the great honor of serving as a Co-Chair of the KSE Board of Directors, having been elected shortly after the full-scale invasion. But my relationship with KSE has been over half a decade, since I also serve on its International Academic Board and its Board of Directors. Also, back in March 2022, UMass Amherst and KSE established a partnership, which has further synergized our connections, and is now supporting both exchange students from KSE as well as Virtual Scholars in Ukraine (we will be starting the second round soon) to reduce brain drain.

The leadership exhibited by KSE President Mylovanov is one characterized by: immense care for the safety of his students, faculty, and staff; agility in creating new degree programs at KSE; talent in connecting with thought leaders and disseminating the needs and accomplishments of KSE to donors, stakeholders, and the world at large; expanding KSE to include a business school, and supporting the outstanding KSE Institute, which produces many white papers and studies of relevance in wartime that are regularly cited by international media,  plus growing the KSE Charitable Foundation to assist in the financing of humanitarian endeavors in Ukraine. Such important activities require steadfastness, great intelligence, resilience, and the ability to get data and information quickly. It also requires innovation and associated thinking under immense pressures and even danger.

What also truly inspires me is his understanding of the importance of not only face to face education but also visiting supporters and donors and advocating for KSE and Ukraine in person.

Below is a photo of Dr. Mylovanov presenting at the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst this past Monday.

UMass Amherst issued this nice press release announcing his talk. The UMass Amherst INFORMS Student Chapter, in turn, prepared this nice poster, and the students, along with the International Programs Office at UMass and the Isenberg School helped with the logistics.

During his visit, Dr. Mylovanov met with top university administrators, faculty, and students, and also had a chance to chat with guests. At the meeting with the Provost, the VCRE, and the Director of our International Programs Office, Dr. Mylovanov made a statement that I found very moving and, also, informative. He said that we all will die, so we need to identify what will be our legacy. His, he believes, is building up the Kyiv School of Economics and that is “his mile.” He also, when asked, responded to the challenges of being a public persona. He is, above his educational leadership role, also a frequent guest on CNN, BBC, and other media and news platforms. He said that he plays a public role because he believes that there are positives and, I believe, his sharing of information and commentary is beneficial not only to KSE but also to those interested in Ukraine around the globe.

I was thrilled to have him emphasize the importance of the partnership between UMass Amherst and KSE and its highly original model of supporting both students, through the exchange program, and also research since Virtual Scholars in Ukraine are partnered with Faculty Hosts at UMass Amherst. Last year, for example, there were 9 Virtual Scholars in Ukraine working with faculty at the Isenberg School, and 15 Scholars in total placed with UMass faculty. We have organized joint symposia, and have published terrific journal articles and have also had multiple conference presentations based on the collaborations across the miles. The friendships that have been made support the researchers in Ukraine and are enriching to those of us who have the honor of working with them. Some additional information on the partnership can be found here.

Below is a photo of KSE President Mylovanov with two of our KSE exchange students after the lunch on Monday.

The attendance at his presentation at the Isenberg School was excellent, despite a short notice, and also a last minute room change.

The UMass Amherst INFORMS Student Chapter conducted an interview with Dr. Mylovanov and a gift was presented to him.

You can watch the interview below, and also on Chapter’s YouTube Channel.

It was wonderful to have discussions with him over lunch and dinner and I am very grateful to all the administrators who made time in their very busy schedules to meet with us.

We have now posted a video recording of Dr. Mylovanov’s presentation and it, along with his slide deck, can be found and viewed by clicking here.

There will be additional media coverage, but many thanks to Daniella Pikman for her article on Dr. Mylovanov’s presentation published already in the Daily Collegian.

Below is a collage of photos capturing the highlights of Mylovanov’s visit. Thanks to all who took part. And, with a pending snowstorm, we managed to find him a hotel next to Bradley Airport and he caught a 6 AM flight to DC on Tuesday morning (his 10 AM flight had been cancelled) and made his meetings there in time. Quite a few neighboring universities were closed on Tuesday but not UMass Amherst.

Thanks to KSE President Tymofiy Mylovanov for the extraordinary leadership of KSE in Ukraine! Information on KSE is here.

[As always, please stay tuned for more coverage as we continue to highlight all our Spring 2024 activities and events.]