Year in Review: 2024 at the Center for Leadership of UCU
2024 has been an exceptionally active year for the Center for Leadership of UCU. Through our projects, we tackled a wide range of areas – from educational programs and corporate training to international conferences and research.
Educational Programs
One of our priorities remains fostering Leadership and team potential through training programs. In 2024, we conducted:
- Online course “Leadership During Tectonic Changes: Leadership, Team, Business” (x2);
- “Effective Manager: Leadership Skills” (x3);
- “Stratagems in Business”;
- “Leadership: Management Transformation Intensive”;
- “Leadership for Leaders” (x2);
- “Transformational Leadership in Uncertainty”;
- “Leadership for Educators”.
Each of these programs was designed to develop resilient and adaptive leaders capable of navigating change.
Corporate Programs
In collaboration with the UCU Business School, Andrew Rozhdestvensky implemented a series of corporate programs, including:
- “Transformational Leadership” for Teva Ukraine LLC;
- “Leadership VS. Management” for Intelliarts;
- “Management and Leadership in Rehabilitation Medicine” for Recovery;
- “Transformational Leadership” for Tascombank JSC;
- “Crisis VS. Strategic Leadership” for Vodafone.
These programs served as platforms for implementing modern management practices in Ukrainian companies.
International Activities
The Center for Leadership of UCU also worked actively on the international stage. A key achievement was organizing the international Well-Being Leadership Conference – 2024, focusing on Leadership and mental health. The conference featured an official compilation of materials highlighting the contributions of its speakers.
Additionally, a series of events with Gerard Seijts took place:
- “Leadership Crisis in Times of Global Challenges” (Lviv, Kyiv, Odesa);
- “Leadership: Management Transformation Intensive” (Kyiv).
Faculty members from the Center for Leadership of UCU participated in a live stream at the Ivey Academy titled “Purposeful Leadership During Crisis: The War in Ukraine”.
Sophia Opatska delivered keynotes at numerous international events, including:
- “The Future of the War in Ukraine: Two Years and Counting” at Perry World House, University of Pennsylvania;
- “The Role of Education and Innovation During Wartime” at Villanova University;
- “A Wartime Education: Sustaining Business, Business Schools, and Universities in Ukraine” at Seton Hall University;
- “Keeping Businesses and Business Schools Alive in Ukraine During Wartime” at the William Davidson Institute, University of Michigan;
- “Running a University in a War Zone” on Wharton Business Daily;
- “Asymmetric Approaches to Development During Wartime” at Brave Summit;
- “Impact of Geopolitical Tensions on International Scientific Cooperation” at IFCU Round Tables;
- “Business Resilience in Times of Conflict: Perspectives and Lessons from Ukraine” at the Lauder Institute;
- “Preserving Human and Social Capital Through Global Partnerships During Wartime and Crisis” at the CBIE 2024 Conference.
Andrew Rozhdestvensky’s Contributions to Global Leadership:
- Working visits to Stanford and Harvard universities to engage with faculty;
- Co-organizing a meeting with the Ukrainian Embassy in Italy on “Countering Propaganda as a Global Challenge”;
- Participation in Harvard’s “Building Organizational Culture: Foundations for Leaders” program;
- Attendance at the Character Leadership Conference “Cultivating Hope for a Flourishing World” at the Ian O. Ihnatowycz Institute for Leadership, Ivey Business School.
Special Events and Partnerships
In 2024, we successfully implemented:
- “Alumni Leadership Day – 2024: Managing Teams in Crisis Situations”;
- The Leadership School for heads of prosecutor offices, in partnership with the UCU Business School and the Prosecutor’s Training Center.
These initiatives were aimed at supporting Ukrainian leaders during challenging times.
Military Programs
In the context of war, the Leadership Center has prioritized supporting service members. This year, we conducted:
- Basic course “Instructor Training in Leadership”;
- Basic course “Leadership Training” (x2);
- Basic course “Leadership and Management”;
- Veteran Leadership Program.
Education and Workshops
Olha Ursol facilitated a series of workshops for students, educators, and teachers:
- At the Ian O. Ihnatowycz Scholarship Award Ceremony for UCU students;
- For the Center for Professional Development of Educators;
- For the Catholic School of St. Basil the Great;
- For Leadership and Business School in Chervonohrad;
- Leadership workshops for UCU students;
- For teachers in Lviv;
- For the “Summer School for High School Students” (x2).
An elective course at UCU, “Leadership in Volunteering”, was another step toward nurturing the next generation of leaders.
Research and Publications
We continue to explore pressing Leadership topics. In 2024, the following articles were published:
- «1000 Days of Existential Purpose» (by Andrew Rozhdestvensky, Sophia Opatska, and Gerard Seijts);
- “Bad Barrels Turn Good Apples Bad: An Online Experiment” (by Lucas Monzani, Andrew Rozhdestvensky, Ana Ruiz Pardo, and Taras Oleksyn);
- “The Character of Military Leaders, Subjective Well-Being, and Work in Adverse Contexts: Lessons for Ukraine in a War of Attrition” (by Andrew Rozhdestvensky and Taras Oleksyn).
Ongoing projects include:
- The Character of a Leader: An Online Experiment”;
- “Studying Leadership Virtues Among Business Leaders”.
Other Projects
- YouTube project “Dialogues with Leaders”.
- Interview article: “Leadership in the Public Sector: Oleksandr Liemenov”.
- Book publication: “Living Victoriously: The School of Patriarch Josyf Slipyj” (supported by the Center for Leadership of UCU).
Educational Contributions
The faculty of the Center for Leadership of UCU also taught in UCU Business School’s Master’s programs:
- Key Executive MBA;
- MSc in Innovations and Entrepreneurship.
Methodological Work:
- Development of a new program: “Character Leader Development Toolkit”.
- Creation of the basic course “Instructor Training in Leadership” for military university faculty.
- Gradual redesign of Master’s Leadership programs at the UCU Business School.
Year-End Reflections
We sincerely thank everyone for a collaborative year! We are confident that 2025 will bring even greater achievements in academic and research work, as well as practical activities with all those ready to advance Ukrainian Leadership alongside us.
Special thanks to the family of Ian O. Ihnatowycz and Marta Viter, whose unwavering support has propelled our initiatives!
Looking ahead, we embrace new challenges, confident that 2025 will be an even more productive year for developing Leadership in Ukraine.
