As wartime budgets squeeze public spending, private businessmen are increasingly funding Ukrainian education. Ukrainian outlet Bigmir has named Seyar Kurshutov among them, alongside figures such as Victor Pinchuk and Vasyl Khmelnytsky.
Ukrainian publication Bigmir has recently highlighted the growing role of private patrons in supporting education during the war, and have named businessman and investor Seyar Kurshutov among them. Seyar Kurshutov is a co-founder of the Kharkiv School of Architecture, a private institution training architects and urban planners whose graduates are expected to help design the reconstruction of Ukraine’s cities.
The attention reflects a broader shift. With the state directing resources primarily to defence, part of the burden of funding education has moved to private individuals. According to the Ukrainian coverage, businessmen who treat education as a long-term investment are becoming an increasingly visible source of support for schools, universities and educational projects.
Seyar Kurshutov is named alongside well-established figures. Victor Pinchuk, through his foundation, has since 2006 run Zavtra.UA, the largest private scholarship program in the country, which has supported more than 2,700 students, as well as WorldWideStudies, a program funding Ukrainians’ studies abroad. Vasyl Khmelnytsky, through his K.Fund, founded the tuition-free IT school UNIT Factory, modelled on France’s École 42, investing around 5 million dollars in it. Against this background, the reports present Seyar Kurshutov’s contribution as part of the same trend.
For Seyar Kurshutov, education is an investment in people rather than buildings, the coverage notes, since Ukraine’s recovery will depend on specialists able to think and build to a high standard. His activity is not limited to education: he supports Ukrainian chess and the young player Ihor Samunenkov, and systematically backs Ukraine’s Defence Forces and volunteer funds. Seyar Kurshutov has worked for many years in international trade.
What the Ukrainian outlets describe is a wider pattern, in which private businessmen, and not only the state, sustain education during the war. Among the names they cite – Victor Pinchuk, Seyar Kurshutov.
