On November 17, 45 brave people joined the kmbs community. Brave people because you need a lot of courage to get an MBA during the war. After all, this two-year journey requires maximum involvement in the process and certain financial investments.

However, almost all new participants explained their decision to join kmbs quite rationally: with the conviction that right now is the best time to study because, after our victory, when the rapid development of the country begins, it will be necessary to have a reliable foundation in the form of knowledge.

So, secretly, in the spirit of our time, three programs were launched: Presidents' MBA, Executive MBA, and MBAF (Master in Business Analytics and Finance) — for company owners and C-level managers who seek to acquire the ability to create and manage large-scale social systems.

Among the participants are seven scholarship holders — managers from the sphere of public administration, the third sector, and social entrepreneurs. After all, we are convinced that the joint training of entrepreneurs and managers of various sectors is essential now more than ever before, as it allows us to join forces to repel the enemy and post-war development of the country.

Every year the age of the participants decreases, and in this set, we have two 23-year-old listeners of the programs. They are the same age as the school because kmbs was founded precisely twenty-three years ago.

Traditionally, the geography of the participating cities covers the whole of Ukraine. But this time, presenting themselves, some participants said: "I'm from Donetsk (Kharkiv/Sum...), and this is part of my identity. And this is also a sign of the times — Russia's aggressive offensive has prompted many compatriots to rethink their identity.

"Do you know of a business school whose member would win a Nobel Prize while studying?" — this is how Oleksandr Savruk, dean of the Kyiv-Mohyla Business School, began his greetings to the new participants of the MBA programs. Several people in the audience knew what the dean was talking about: a few months ago, the Center for Civil Liberties, headed by our participant and scholar Oleksandra Matviychuk, won the Nobel Peace Prize.

The dean touched on the topic of leadership in his welcome speech. Leadership is a dimension that can and should be worked on at different levels: personal, institutional, and national. Today, Ukraine has declared its right to have a respected voice in the context of the civilized world thanks to its courage and ability to fight in a critical situation. And now Ukraine has to export leadership.

"Did you choose Mohylyanka, or did Mohylyanka choose you?" Oleksandr Savruk asked our neophytes. — In fact, it may seem that you have chosen her, but it is not. Mohylianka chooses those capable of changes in themselves, society, and the world. However, a Mogilian is not a status. It is a process. I need to confirm this title with every action, every step," the dean emphasized.

Start of MBA programs in the conditions of war