Dear Alumni,

Over the last year, many of you have asked to establish a direct and regular communication with the leadership of the School. In response to this request, it is my privilege to welcome you to the first KSE Alumni Quarterly Newsletter.

As most of you know, the Kyiv School of Economics is governed by the Board of Directors, assisted by the International Advisory Board. The Board has recently elected as a new chair our graduate, Yegor Grygorenko (KSE Alumni 2001, Partner at Bain & Company). The International Advisory Board is chaired by Yuriy Gorodnichenko (KSE Alumni 2001, Associate Professor at the University of Berkeley). The Board of Directors has been recently joined by Slava Vakarchuk (social activist and most successful rock band's in Ukraine vocalist) and Oksana Strashna (Investor, former Partner at Horizon Capital). There are two new additions at the International Advisory Board: Dmytro Holod (KSE Alumni 2000, Associate Dean at the College of Business, SUNY-Stony Brook) and Viktoria Hnatkovska (KSE Alumni 2000, Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia).

The Kyiv School of Economics is managed by myself, the Interim President (KSE Alumni 1999 and tenured faculty at the University of Pittsburgh), and the Management Team. The Management Team has been recently strengthened by Natalia Shapoval, Director of Policy Projects (KSE Alumni 2013), and Ivan Kompan, Management Education Department Director (finance specialist with more than 20 years of professional experience). In addition, the team includes Ivanna Kurtyk (Vice-President for Finance and Administration), Olesia Verchenko (Academic Director, KSE Alumni 2000), Yulia Tychkivska (Vice-President for Management Education), and Tom Coupe (KSE Associate Professor, former KSE President and Academic Director). The School has recently recruited two new faculty members Olga Kupets (KSE Alumni 2000 and Consultant at the World Bank) and Viktor Khanzhyn (Ph.D. 2012 from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln). Since the beginning of the year, the operations at the School have been enhanced through recruitment of Anastasiia Ogorodnyk (Marketing Director) and Tetyana Tsilitskaya (Operations Manager). Natalia Zaika (former Marketing Specialist) has been promoted to lead the Academic Affairs Department. Finally, we have been extremely fortunate that Yaroslava Naimushyna, who stood at the roots of School's launching, has agreed to come back to the School to lead the alumni relations and fundraising.

Today, the management of the School is a team of experienced, committed and enthusiastic professionals. The core of the management team has guided the School through the turbulent times of the last academic year and has since engaged in transforming the School to make it a national role model of higher education. Our key priorities include:

1. Improving the quality of the programs and the pool of students. Substantively increasing enrollment numbers. Ensuring quality placement and career development of the graduates. (Re) engaging alumni.
2. Enhancing the quality of the faculty and their impact on students, policy analysis and research in Ukraine.
3. Developing and implementing a business model, with focus on national impact of the School and financial sustainability secured through diversified and stable revenue and fundraising base.

Although the School is just at the beginning of transformation, we see some early indication of success:

1. This September, we expect an incoming class of above 100 students (1 and 2-year MA Programs in Economics, MBA, MBA for state owned enterprises)
2. The Policy Department has just secured a major grant for development of the Centre of Excellence for training and monitoring for Prozorro.
3. The Management Education department has become profitable and has been growing at an amazing rate.
4. Raiffeisen Bank Aval has committed 50 K USD in core support. Plus we are engaging other potential core donors.

As a part of priority 3, we appeal to the alumni to support the School financially. We provide more details and offer some options about how to do it in the body of this newsletter.

Sincerely,
Tymofiy Mylovanov
Interim President

The leadership and oversight of the Kyiv School of Economics is provided by the Board of Directors, International Academic Boards for Economics and Management Education and the newly established Board of Advisors to the KSE President, which comprises many KSE top alumni and supporters. President and the KSE Management Team manage the operations of the School.

The previous president of KSE, George Logush, resigned in the fall of 2015. In March, the Board of Directors appointed a new Interim President, Tymofiy Mylovanov (KSE Alumni 1999) who now leads the management of the School. The transition period has been managed by the Former Chair of the Board of Directors, Irina Paliashvili jointly with the KSE Management Team.

As a part of transformation, KSE has also moved from Mazepy 1 to the comfortable and more suitable premises of a Business Center located in the center of Kyiv at Dmytrivska 92-94.

The Board of Directors has recently elected a new chair Yegor Grygorenko (KSE Alumni 2001). The International Academic Board is chaired by Yuriy Gorodnichenko (KSE Alumni 2001).

We are also pleased to welcome two more KSE alumni who recently joined the KSE International Academic Board – Viktoria Hnatkovska and Dmytro Holod.

This year the School reaches the 20th Anniversary. Founded on the principles of excellence, KSE opened in 1996 with only 22 students. In just 20 years we have become a visible leader in international education, research and policy advice in Ukraine and beyond, expanding in both scale and the number of successful alumni worldwide. The 20th Anniversary is a great opportunity to reflect on KSE successes and people who have made it possible. To celebrate the School's Anniversary, we will bring together the founders of the School, donors, partners, members of the Boards, as well as former KSE faculty members and alumni in a series of big events in Spring 2017. Please mark your calendar and we'll keep you posted about the details!

To ensure that the KSE alumni community, both in Ukraine and worldwide, enjoys a rewarding and enduring involvement with the School through networking opportunities, careers advice, life-long education, philanthropic support or just keeping in touch with friends, KSE has established the Alumni Relations and Development Office that is led by Yaroslava Naimushyna who re-joined our team in July.

We aim to ensure that alumni are kept fully informed about the development of the School, to offer a wide range of programmes, events and benefits which meet alumni needs and to foster links between alumni wherever they are in the world.

Contact our Alumni Relations and Development at ynaimushyna@kse.org.ua.

KSE Alumni Association – opportunities to mobilize joint efforts in the areas important to alumni, lobbying

Participation in Various KSE Programs and Events – first to know about interesting events and activities

Networking, Clubs and Reunions – opportunity to stay connected with the KSE community

Job Search or Career Assistance – career counseling and job placement support

Education – access to firsthand knowledge of exciting KSE new programs and courses

Discounts – special discounts for events and “second KSE degree” educational programs at the KSE

• Volunteerism and in-kind support to School's development (teaching, students/alumni counseling, research supervision, fundraising support and consulting)
• Word-of-mouth marketing
• Donations for School's core activities and ad-hoc projects

KSE is also delighted to inform that in February 2016 KSE alumni formed an Alumni Association that now has a full set of committees to serve major alumni needs. Please stay connected and join your Alumni Association as we embark on this exciting new chapter!

Many companies and individuals continuously help us achieve our mission goals by making donations and in-kind contributions, as they share our strong believe in the power of education to transform lives and communities. Only with the help of many caring friends, joining together, can the School achieve its mission of excellence.

As a non-profit organization, Kyiv School of Economics, to a large extent, relies on external funding that help it promote and maintain excellence in teaching and research, as well as support students from all educational backgrounds in getting access to the best educational opportunities. Therefore, the School actively strives to attract funds from a wide range of sources that are crucial for its development and mission implementation.

Currently, the main sources of KSE funding are donor grants, tuition fees, management education revenues, policy research contracts, business analytics, educational grants, alumni and other individual donations. Besides the core funding from SIDA, KSE has also made a conscious effort to diversify its funding base by introducing new-income generating corporate training programs, open courses and expanding policy contract research.

Since its first fundraising call, KSE alumni have made donations for the total amount of up to $100,000. These donations have helped us fund a full range of various projects and activities, including KSE general activity, student scholarships, Roy Gardner Award, Peter Kennedy Memorial Scholarship and many more other causes important for the School's mission implementation.

There are still a lot of ways you can support the Kyiv School of Economics in the future - from in-kind contributions in the form of teaching, students/alumni counseling, research supervision and consulting to donations for School's core activities and ad-hoc projects (KSE Development and Growth, Student Scholarships, Chaired Professorships, KSE Events and Initiatives).

By contributing, you will make a meaningful difference to the lives of the future generation of professionals who will very soon play leading roles in academia, business and government, both in Ukraine and internationally. Any amount is valuable, even small donations have a significant impact when added together.

Any amount is valuable, even small donations have a significant impact when added together.

Kyiv School of Economics continues to offer two full-time programs at the Master of Arts degree level in the framework of its Economics Education: two-year MA in Economic Analysis with profound economic preparation for positions that require a high level of analytical sophistication and a one-year MA Program in Business and Financial Economic with focus on fundamental economic and financial knowledge and skills essential for a successful career in a data-driven business analysis.

At the same time, KSE explores opportunities for launching various joint-degree programs with leading Ukrainian universities giving access to its educational programs to top full-time students from other Ukrainian educational institutions.

Student Enrollment

Despite the economic crisis and war in Ukraine, KSE was able to not only maintain its main student body with no loss in the quality of education, but even more, start its new academic year on a positive note - almost 70 new students will begin their studies at the KSE full-time programs this fall (37 at the MA in Economic Analysis and 28 at the MA in Business and Financial Economics). Plus 8 students will continue studies in the second year of the KSE MA Program in Economic Analysis. In 2016 KSE enrolls almost twice more students than in two previos years that shows a substantial positive dynamics in both application and enrollment rates.

Over the past two years, KSE Management Education, launched in 2013 in order to serve Ukraine's business community better by bringing KSE's educational quality and values to business education in Ukraine, demonstrated impressive growth despite the challenging environment. KSE now has its own Master of Business Administration Program (with 3 cohorts already being enrolled), has implemented various Corporate Programs and regularly organizes various intensive short-term courses and partner programs. KSE Management Education programs offer an outstanding background and the skills required for strategic business planning and for managing day-to-day business. Programs are targeted towards executives, consultants, analysts, other private and public sector practitioners. Among successfully implemented programs over the past period are:

"After only a month and a half of intensive training and learning at KSE I feel confident enough to be involved in the project of building a new brand identity and its promotion on the market. This is the best proof of KSE MBA quality of education – it is not merely a solid academic background and a knowledge but also an incredibly effective practical experience!"
I.Rusiecki (KSE MBA Student)

KSE has substantially increased its policy relevance and became a highly visible leader in policy discussion and debate. KSE has hosted dozens of policy events at its premises, has produced a multitude of columns in local press, has written a number of policy research papers, and has built working relations with central government agencies. Some of these activities were funded from core donor funding, but KSE also raised substantial amounts of project grant funding - USAID, GIZ, Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies, UNICEF, EU Commission, University of Kent, National Endowment for Democracy, SIDA, Kyivstar and many more.

Should also be noted KSE alumni growing impact on the national economic agenda through active participation in the KSE organized or co-organized events in partnership with leading government bodies, such as the National Bank of Ukraine and the Ministry of Economic Development & Trade that serve as best examples of the KSE policy involvement.

Lastly, it is hard to underestimate the role which is playing VoxUkraine in the KSE alumni and policy advice visibility. Starting from a blog set up in March 2014 to discuss economic and political developments, VoxUkraine now becomes a major voice in the Ukrainian policy debate.