— Here's what I have, — shows a pencil with the kmbs logo to the camera, a participant of EMBA-37.

— And I have one, — her classmate shows our gray pen.

— And here's what I found in my emergency bag, — a notebook from the last offsite module appears on the screen.

— I also have one, but I can't show it, — says a voice behind a black window. It belongs to the head of a large state enterprise who joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

This is how another session at kmbs begins. This is how our participants and lecturers, scattered across different corners of Ukraine and the world — from strangers' homes, cars, random cafes, from the front — gather several times a week in the evening, after completing their main tasks, to communicate.

Leaders of MBA programs prepare extracurricular sessions for each group on topics relevant to the current situation. Together with Yevhen Pentsak, participants discussed the new world map, Oleksandr Savruk suggested a discussion on leadership approaches in a crisis situation and in a development situation, and with Marina Starodubska, they practiced cross-cultural communications.

"After the cessation of hostilities, after victory, we have a lot of work ahead of us, — says Executive MBA leader Olena Zhiltsova. — It's not just about rebuilding what was destroyed, but about qualitative changes. The words of Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky from the work 'How to Build the Native House', dated 1941, come to mind. 'We must begin, as God allows, to build our national monolith, and for such an important matter, we must approach it armed with sufficient knowledge and all necessary qualities.' Therefore, we continue this 'arming' with the participants of the Executive MBA program, despite all the current limitations."

The EDP team met with all current groups of medium-term programs to clarify participants' requests and determine their readiness to continue their studies. The range of issues currently concerning managers turned out to be extremely broad: from restructuring the company's business model and providing psychological support to the team to fundamental humanitarian questions about identity. Therefore, there is painstaking work ahead to adjust the program products in this direction. Several groups will resume their studies soon.

"We have always realized that it is not enough just to get out of the crisis, — said kmbs dean Oleksandr Savruk in his address to the community immediately after the full-scale invasion. — Ultimately, it is necessary to go further, to another level of development, creating visions of those systems that will multiply people's creative efforts in global contexts, demonstrating to the world that Ukrainians have not only courage and leadership in times of military crisis but also leadership in prospective development."

In fact, with the aim of comprehending the processes currently taking place, kmbs initiated evening events, with speakers being school lecturers and invited guests. In various formats, we publicly reflect on our history, present, and future.

A month ago, kmbs launched the #everyone column on its resources, where we talk about how members of our community — people and companies — are doing an incredible number of useful things for our common cause. We have already told 30 such stories, and the material for them is only increasing. And we are not the same as we were two months ago: shocked, confused, scared. We have recovered from the shock, overcome anxiety, we are united, we understand each other better, we have mobilized all our managerial capabilities and are ready to work together for our victory and for the future of our strong, technological, economically and politically independent country.

How kmbs Operates During the War