Nataliya Shakhovska, Rector of Lviv Polytechnic National University, Doctor of Sciences, Professor
When we talk about Ukraine's future, we usually think about rebuilding cities, attracting investment, developing new technologies, or modernizing the economy. Yet all these ambitions depend on one essential factor: the people who will make them happen. That is why, for me, the most important question of this year's university admissions campaign is whether Ukraine can retain its brightest young people.
Today, the world is engaged in a global competition for talent. Universities no longer compete only within national borders. A Ukrainian high school graduate is choosing not only between universities in Lviv or Kyiv, but also in Warsaw, Munich, London, or Toronto. Consequently, Ukrainian universities are no longer competing with one another—they are competing with some of the world's leading institutions.
This competition is not won through rankings alone. Young people choose an environment where they can develop their potential. They seek outstanding professors, modern laboratories, opportunities to participate in international research, create innovative projects, and build careers where their knowledge will matter. Above all, they are looking for a future.
That is why telling young people simply to "stay in Ukraine" is no longer enough. We must answer a much more difficult question: why should they build their future here? The answer lies in combining three essential elements: high-quality education, international opportunities, and meaningful support for talented students.
Encouragingly, this model is beginning to emerge. An important step forward is the UK–UA Visiting Professors Programme (EDU CONNECT), launched by the President's Fund of Ukraine for Education, Science and Sports in partnership with the UK–Ukraine Academic Diaspora Network. The programme enables Ukrainian universities to collaborate with academics from leading British universities ranked among the world's top 250 institutions.
What makes this initiative particularly valuable is its depth. It goes far beyond guest lectures. It supports joint research, the development of new academic courses, practical teaching, mentoring, and direct collaboration between British professors and Ukrainian students, doctoral candidates, and faculty members. Such partnerships transform not just individual courses or departments, but entire academic environments.
For Ukrainian higher education, this represents a fundamental shift. We no longer have to choose between studying at a Ukrainian university and gaining international experience. Increasingly, international experience is coming to Ukraine.
Equally significant is the programme's focus on STEM disciplines—the fields that will determine Ukraine's technological competitiveness, economic resilience, defence capabilities, and post-war recovery. Education is no longer merely an educational issue; it has become a matter of national resilience.
Yet international opportunities alone are not enough if talented young people do not feel that their success is valued by their own country.
This is why Lviv Polytechnic National University has expanded its Talent Boost: Future Makers scholarship programme. Only a few weeks after launching the initiative, and having analysed the growing number of applicants who achieved a perfect score of 200 in at least one subject of Ukraine's National Multi-Subject Test (NMT), we decided to increase the number of scholarships from 20 to 100.
For me, this programme is not primarily about providing UAH 5,000 per month. It is about demonstrating how the university, society, and the state value talent. We must learn to recognise exceptional young people at the very beginning of their journey—not only after they have already become successful abroad.
Importantly, this scholarship complements other forms of support available to students. They may receive state academic scholarships, apply for scholarships from the President's Fund of Ukraine, and participate in numerous international programmes. The more opportunities we create simultaneously, the stronger young people's confidence will be in the Ukrainian higher education system.
Business and philanthropy also have a crucial role to play. The world's leading universities have long relied on partnerships between governments, alumni, and industry. Supporting higher education is not viewed as charity but as a strategic investment. Universities educate the people who will soon become researchers, entrepreneurs, engineers, innovators, and leaders shaping entire industries.
This philosophy lies at the heart of the Lviv Polytechnic: Future Foundation, through which our scholarship programme is implemented. Our ambition is to make supporting talented students a shared responsibility of universities, government, business, alumni, and society as a whole.
This year's admissions campaign has once again demonstrated that Ukraine has extraordinary young people worth investing in.
Lviv Polytechnic has already received more than 37,000 applications. Among our applicants is one student who achieved the maximum score of 200 in all four NMT subjects, while six others achieved 600 points across three subjects. Overall, more than 280 applications include at least one perfect score of 200.
Behind these figures, I do not see statistics. I see the generation that will rebuild Ukraine, establish new industries, develop breakthrough technologies, advance medicine, engineering, artificial intelligence, energy, and science. These are the people who will determine what Ukraine looks like twenty years from now.
For this reason, we must stop treating education merely as a component of social policy.Education is a matter of economic competitiveness, technological development, national security, and Ukraine's place in the world.Ukraine should not export its brightest minds. It should export their ideas, innovations, startups, scientific discoveries, and technologies.
I want Ukrainian graduates to stay in Ukraine not because they have no alternative, but because they see here world-class universities, research laboratories, international partnerships, and professional opportunities capable of fulfilling their greatest ambitions. If we learn to compete for our talent today, tomorrow we will not have to compete to bring it back.
