Understand business to manage it: How Pivdenny Bank prepares future economists at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv

200+ student applications to take the course for academic credit, UAH 800,000 in scholarships, and the opportunity to learn from business experts – this is how Pivdenny Bank helps prepare future top managers while they are still at university.

On Tuesday, September 3, a new semester of the certified course “Key Elements of Business Management” started at the Faculty of Economics of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. This is the third year that Pivdenny Bank has been delivering the course as part of Academic Hub Pivdenny, the flagship project of its CSR strategy.

The opening session was originally planned to take place offline at the university, as all previous sessions had. However, due to an air-raid alert, the event had to move online. Just five minutes before the introductory lecture, the all-clear signal was announced. “I think this is a good sign,” one of the speakers remarked hopefully.

Education is a good investment

The introductory lecture of the new semester was attended by Anzhela Ihnatiuk, Dean of the Faculty of Economics; Andrii Bukin, Deputy Chairperson of the Management Board of Pivdenny Bank; and Vitalii Hahauz, Director of the Bank’s Valuation and Collateral Operations Department and the person directly responsible for the Academic Hub Pivdenny project. “Let me thank Pivdenny Bank for providing this opportunity to our students. Without your inexhaustible energy, none of this – at this scale and in this format – would probably have been possible,” said Anzhela Ihnatiuk.

Vitalii Hahauz explained the main goal of Academic Hub Pivdenny to the students. “We combine students’ academic training with real business experience, thereby responding to the market’s demand for practical training of young professionals,” the top manager emphasised.

Over the two and a half years of the project’s work – five academic semesters – more than 1,000 students from six specialties at the Faculty of Economics have attended Academic Hub Pivdenny events. 69 students have received scholarships from Pivdenny Bank worth a total of approximately UAH 800,000. In addition to scholarships, the best participants received certificates upon completion of the courses.

“This is a unique opportunity for students to gain knowledge beyond textbooks and learn about the realities of business from professionals with outstanding expertise,” explains Vitalii Hahauz.

The Hub hosted 35 events: 27 workshops and two special formats – round tables and panel discussions. The Bank involved 15 of its own executives in teaching and discussions – from the Chairperson of the Management Board and her three deputies to heads of departments and divisions.

Among the invited speakers were executives and CFOs of leading Ukrainian companies that are Bank’s clients, as well as representatives of the National Bank of Ukraine and international financial institutions, including the European Investment Bank.

One event from the last year particularly stands out to the organisers: a personal meeting between the project’s top-performing students and the Bank’s chairperson of the management board. “To be honest, we planned for the meeting to last about an hour, but it lasted three hours – and even that was not enough,” recalls Vitalii Hahauz.

Numbers speak louder than words

At the beginning of the introductory lecture, Andrii Bukin took the floor. In just ten minutes, he gave the students a concise yet vivid picture of the Bank they would be working with throughout the semester: its scale, market position, reliability, and growth rate.

Pivdenny Bank is one of the oldest and largest banks in Ukraine. We have survived every major crisis in the country’s banking system – from devaluations of the 90s to the global financial crisis of 2008-2009, from the Maidan and annexation of Crimea to the full-scale war we are facing today. Yet, despite everything, Pivdenny Bank remains one of Ukraine’s 16 systemically important banks,” said Andrii Bukin. He also added: “Everything that students will hear throughout the semester from Pivdenny Bank’s experts or invited speakers will be highly practical knowledge that enables any commercial organisation to survive in the unprecedentedly challenging conditions faced by Ukraine today.”

The first workshop of the semester is scheduled on September 10 and will focus on the client market and business models. The learning format remains practical: first a workshop, and then a homework assignment; and a week later – a seminar to analyse what has been done and explore the topic in greater depth. The materials and schedule will be published in the project’s Telegram channel and Google Classroom.

The scholarship support terms are also changing this semester. Previously, attendance and assignment requirements were more flexible, but now the scholarship and certificate have been combined into a single set of requirements. 15 scholarships are planned for the semester. The ranking used to allocate them will be calculated according to the following formula: 50% – a student’s academic performance at the university, 50% – learning activity at Academic Hub Pivdenny (attending workshops and seminars, completion of homework assignments, active participation in classes, etc.).

Why is this important for the Bank?

At Pivdenny Bank, they explain that supporting children and youth is one of the key areas of the Bank’s corporate social responsibility, alongside support for the Armed Forces of Ukraine and veterans.

However, Academic Hub Pivdenny is not only about charity. It is also a long-term investment in economic education and in the professionals who will drive the development of Ukrainian business. The Bank is already exploring the idea of an internship programme that would allow students to complete an internship and immediately start working. According to preliminary plans, the programme could be launched next spring.

“Motivating you, our students, to stay, live and build your careers in Ukraine is one of the project’s main goals. I understand that this may sound difficult right now, especially under the current circumstances, but we believe in the future and work every day to build it together,” Vitalii Hahauz concluded.