University reclaims a space once reserved for the corrupt

Once the playground of disgraced Ukrainian politicians, a golf club in Kyiv’s Soviet-era Obolon neighbourhood is now set to become the new campus of the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE), which last month bought the site for US$18 million as part of a US$40 million investment – the largest private investment in education in Ukraine’s independent history, writes Liliane Bivings for the Kyiv Independent.

At the opening picnic on the grounds last week, over 2,000 students, alumni and locals gathered on a territory once reserved for political elites, including scandal-ridden ex-president Viktor Yanukovych and other similarly shameless officials of his time. After the 2014 revolution ousted those officials and Ukraine has seen a broader shift towards Europe, the early 2000s golf club – always more about status than love of sport – languished for years.

Starting next year, KSE, one of Ukraine’s top private universities, will reopen the site as a new campus focused on expanding its STEM programmes to train engineers, mathematicians and tech professionals needed for the country’s defence, recovery and economy. KSE says it has already hired four mathematics professors from abroad to staff the math degree. The campus will also be open to the public.
Full report on the Kyiv Independent site