Through Talents for Ukraine, KSE Foundation supports talented Ukrainians and provides them with additional opportunities for further growth. The programme helps them fulfil their potential, while their knowledge and experience contribute to meaningful change in science, education, culture, and other areas that underpin the country’s development.
This week, we introduce three winners: a conservationist working to protect rare species, a STEM education and robotics specialist, and a bioinformatician developing new approaches to drug discovery.
Mykhailo Rusin is a zoologist and conservationist specializing in the study and conservation of rare and endangered small mammal species. He is a member of the IUCN Small Mammal Specialist Group and was one of five European experts involved in preparing the new European Red List. At Kyiv Zoo, he launched a project to breed rare species and also contributed to Ukraine’s National Biodiversity Strategy. He founded the NGO Center for the Study and Restoration of Small Mammals. His work has been featured by National Geographic.
“New ideas often come from my own experience. Sometimes, during a conversation, I pick up on a particular phrase and develop it into a concept of my own,” Mykhailo explains.
Yurii Matviienko is an educator and specialist in STEM education and robotics. He founded the STEAM Education Center and, at the Poltava University of Economics and Trade, launched a master’s program in Educational Robotics to train robotics teachers and established the STEAM Hub, a research and education center with nine specialized laboratories. He also founded the Robotics Academy, the Aerial Robotics Festival, and the TETRIX Games for school students. Yurii coached a team that won gold medals at the 2023 Genius Olympiad finals in the United States. He also developed the educational project Drone Quidditch, which combines engineering, programming, drone piloting, and team competition.
“For me, inspiration is a burst of focus when fatigue disappears and time seems to stop,” Yurii notes.
Yehor Franchuk is a bioinformatician and structural biologist who studies the molecular mechanisms of diseases and develops new approaches to drug discovery. At the Institute of Molecular Biology and Genetics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, he studied long non-coding RNAs as therapeutic targets for prostate cancer. He co-founded FAZENA, where he developed AI-powered platforms for identifying therapeutic targets and designing drugs. In 2025, he won the Neuro Impact Challenge and began collaborating with YURiA-PHARM. He has also co-authored studies on tissue regeneration and post-COVID syndrome.
“It is important to me to create something new, go beyond the ordinary, and change the world rather than simply go with the flow,” Yehor reflects.
More about the Talents for Ukraine winners
