The opening event for the Berkeley Ukraine Innovation Hub – a joint initiative of the University of California, Berkeley, the AI for Good Foundation, and the community of Ukrainian academics at Berkeley was established to develop and support innovation and economics in Ukraine, transforming the country into a global innovation center.
Serhiy Kvit, president of the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy participated in the opening meetings and discussions. Within the framework of the program, Dr. Kvit described the startups and research achievements focused on fighting the challenges of full-scale war developed by the KMA Departments of Computer Science, Natural Sciences, of Economics, and the Kyiv-Mohyla Business School.
Richard Lyons, former dean of the Haas School of Business and Berkeley’s current leader for innovation and entrepreneurship, who will become the next chancellor at the University of California, Berkeley, took part as a moderator of the event. As a supporter of Ukraine, he played a key role in developing the Ukraine Innovation program.
Guests had an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of the unique Bakar Bio-Ingenuity Hub. The program includes the participation of Ukrainian universities. A representative of the Kyiv School of Economics was also present at the opening ceremony. The opening was also attended by representatives of sponsors and major organizations, including Jaroslawa Z. Johnson, president of the Ukraine Moldova American Enterprise Fund, and board member of Kyiv-Mohyla Foundation of America.
Yuriy Gorodnichenko, a graduate of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy and the University of Michigan, who is a renowned American economist and professor of economics at the University of California, Berkeley, and author of many publications, has played a significant role in the establishment of the Berkeley Ukraine Innovation Hubs initiative. Dr. Gorodnichenko is also one of the leaders of consolidation of the American academic community around various humanitarian and volunteer projects aimed at helping Ukraine. He is chairman of the Board of Directors of the Kyiv-Mohyla Foundation of America,
Thanks to the efforts of Dr. Gorodnichenko, the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy signed a cooperation agreement with the University of California, Berkeley in 2023. We are proud to share that the first joint projects have already been launched at the Department of Economics and KMBS. This year, the universities initiated the opening of a joint startup hub at the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.
