Through the Talents for Ukraine grant program by KSE Foundation, we highlight those who are creating something new for science, education, and culture. This week’s winners include a lexicographer transforming the Ukrainian language into digital tools, a mathematician combining fundamental research with artificial intelligence, and a 14-year-old student who brings historical stories to life through LEGO animation.
Vasyl Starko is a linguist and lexicographer who has combined language with technology. He is a co-author and developer of VESUM — the largest electronic dictionary of the Ukrainian language, which has become a foundation for NLP solutions. Vasyl works in corpus linguistics and computational language processing. His work encompasses hundreds of thousands of lemmas, structure, precision, and living language in digital form. He teaches at the Ukrainian Catholic University and works at the intersection where words become data and language becomes a tool for science, education, and modern services.
“My small superpower is intuition, which is sometimes as crucial in science as it is in everyday life, and which I fully rely on when needed,” emphasizes Vasyl.
Oleksandr Pokutnyi is a Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences who has bridged fundamental mathematics with artificial intelligence. He studies nonlinear differential equations using Lyapunov–Poincaré methods and Moore–Penrose operators, and became one of the winners of the international Scale AI competition in Silicon Valley among more than 1,200 scientists worldwide. He is the author of over 50 research papers, two monographs, and a publication in the world’s most prestigious scientific journal — Nature. He is also a lecturer at the KSE, a mentor to young researchers, and a promoter of STEM.
“Work while you can, and accumulate knowledge — it will never hurt,” Oleksandr advises.
Oles Vorona is a 14-year-old student from Lviv who combines history and cinema through LEGO. He created the English-language stop-motion film Human.STUS about Vasyl Stus, using over 4,000 frames and AI-assisted voiceovers. Previously, he produced the animation Carol of the Bells based on «Shchedryk.» Oles is passionate about animation, photography, and karate, blending self-discipline, creativity, and learning. He constantly experiments with cinematic techniques, refines scripts, and strives to make his work inspire others and reach audiences worldwide.
“The more effort you put into something, the higher the chances it will succeed,” Oles comments.
More about the Talents For Ukraine winners
