Education in Ukraine as a profitable project
21.02.2025
I keep wondering—what can Ukraine offer the world today? What projects, requiring minimal investment, could attract global attention?
One such project, in my view, is higher education. The rigid state system prevents Ukrainian higher education from becoming more modern and relevant. This is further confirmed by the fact that the government shows no interest in transformation.
Over the past 100 years, Ukraine’s educational infrastructure has produced many outstanding scientists and specialists. However, since independence, it has not improved—instead, it has significantly degraded. Every new minister only deepens the crisis in higher education.
What is higher education in Ukraine today?
- Every year, the government allocates 18 billion UAH ($500 million) to support 170 state universities.
- Assets include university buildings, millions of square meters of dormitories, swimming pools, sports fields, and thousands of hectares of well-maintained land—parks, squares, and student campuses worth tens of billions of euros.
- Around 200,000 graduates annually.
However, the real issue is that most of these graduates will never work in their fields. Their professions are outdated and irrelevant to both the Ukrainian and global labor markets. Ukrainian diplomas hold little international value, and 99% of state universities are not included in any global rankings. Moreover, the higher education system is riddled with corruption and scandals.
This means the government is spending billions on students who will not contribute to the economy because their skills are not in demand.
Another fact: Ukrainian universities employ about 100,000 professors, with an average salary of just $400. Meanwhile, the total number of students is only about 1 million. Due to the war, the number of applicants has halved and will continue to decline over the next 3–5 years. If this trend continues, by 2027, only 300,000–400,000 students will remain in Ukraine.
The key question:
Do we need such a massive educational system if it caters only to the domestic market?
We do not. But we have a unique opportunity to transform Ukrainian higher education and make it attractive to international students.
Our proposal:
Create a national program: Ukraine Smart State.
Why is this possible?
- 250 million students worldwide.
- The premium and mid-tier education markets are already saturated, but the budget segment has room for growth.
- If Ukraine offers education at half or a third of the price of Western competitors, aligning with budget expectations, it can capture a share of this market.
- Few countries offer both affordable and high-quality higher education.
- Ukraine can attract students from India, Arab countries, Africa, and Asia, where high birth rates and low incomes make it difficult to build large-scale educational systems.
How to achieve this?
- Find strategic partners in the US or Europe—universities and colleges eager to expand their educational reach.
- Lease universities to them for $1 for 100 years, with no right to change the institution’s profile or sell assets.
- These partners will establish European-standard education and issue internationally recognized diplomas.
- They will invest in curriculum updates and teaching quality improvements.
If we fail to act now, the entire university infrastructure will be divided among rectors and politicians, leaving Ukraine with nothing.
What will this bring?
- 150+ strategic partners—leading universities and colleges from Europe and the US.
- Access to modern educational trends, research, and data analysis.
- Greater competition among universities, leading to higher-quality education.
- Significant salary increases for professors.
- A new wave of talented graduates, some of whom will stay in Ukraine.
- Economic growth through the export of educational services—a market worth €10–20 billion per year.
- International certification for students.
- Establishing Ukraine’s reputation as a global education hub—a Smart State.
Conclusion
We have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to make a strategic decision that will shape Ukraine’s future. Those who think beyond the short term will see this project as an opportunity to turn Ukraine into a global intellectual center—one that trains not just service workers but scientists, engineers, doctors, creative professionals, and innovators.
If we miss this chance, we risk losing our position in education and science forever. But if we seize it, we can elevate Ukraine to a new level and make it a magnet for talent from around the world.
Read the article on NV.