BEST IN UKRAINE, BEST AT HARVARD
The future of any country depends on the progress of its younger generation. But the youth of Ukraine has much more to think about than the choice between Pepsi and Coca-Cola. It has to decide whether to forge its own destiny, or merely be engulfed in the tide of history.
Whatever we may feel about the American dream, if younger Ukrainians were as career- and self-improvement-oriented as their counterparts across the ocean, it could only help the current situation over here. The younger generation is aware of the real advantages it has over the older one. They are more flexible, energetic, employable and outward-looking. Individually, this awareness can have a great influence on their lives. Collectively, it can have a great impact on the Ukrainian economy.
The Day interviewed a young Ukrainian currently enrolled at Harvard. Kyrylo Dmytriev of Kyiv. This June he will receive a bachelor’s degree at the University’s Business School, becoming the first Ukrainian to graduate from this elite institution of learning). He is also a graduate from Foothill College, California, and Stanford, and has worked for the consultancy firm McKinsey & Co.
The Day: What do you think can step up economic reform in Ukraine?
K.D.: Ukraine’s problems stem from a system that does not allow people who are eager to work to fulfill their potential. Providing the conditions for economic growth calls for better legislation, along with a liberalized economy and legalization of all shadow business. The fundamental sciences should be supported, because they are an investment in the future. New technological companies starting in Ukraine have what I believe is great potential in improving the economic process, producing a healthier economy. I look forward to the day when Ukraine will secure conditions which allow people to trust their potential and feel assured that they will be duly rewarded for their efforts. I chose Stanford as one of the most prestigious American institutions of learning.
The Day: How would you describe the US system of education? What horizons does it open before the student?
K.D.: This system envisages many stages of freedom in the course of study. Most importantly, it allows one to implement oneself as an individuality. The schooling process in the United States fully justifies the adage about one lying on the bed one has made. Hard-working students showing good progress stand a fair chance of embarking on spectacular careers. Of course, students are different and so is their financial status, but many are offered practically equal opportunities. One of the younger Rockefellers studied in the same class with me and I never noticed any of the professors treat him any different from the rest of the students. The US system of education strives to prove to young people that their success depends on themselves, rather than their families or connections upstairs.
In addition, this system characteristically provides conditions for the student’s comprehensive and harmonious development, instead of focusing on his major. At Stanford, I majored in economics, but I was interested to attend classes in mathematics, informatics, history, art, and political studies. Actually, taking up different subjects is encouraged in every way. American higher schools want their students to graduate not only as specialists in certain fields, but also as personalities.
The Day: What made you quit Harvard postgraduate courses?
K.D.: I had to choose between another five years of study (after four years at Foothill and Stanford), to get an economics doctorate at Harvard, and a job with McKinsey, one of the world’s leading consulting companies. I chose McKinsey, because one’s knowledge after the university is always a bit “bookish.” I was interested in acquiring practical experience and giving myself a try in the US business environs. I was always attracted by the possibility of helping American and Ukrainian companies do business together. But to do so I had to know exactly how US companies operate at home. It was a chance I did not want to lose. Receiving an invitation from McKinsey in my graduation year was not easy, but I was lucky. I found myself among Stanford’s seven graduates with McKinsey invitations.
The Day: What kind of experience did you get at McKinsey?
K.D.: An insight into the US business environment and consulting practice, including the determination of a given business’s main problems and an active search for solutions. After two years of work at its Los Angeles office I applied for transfer to the Eastern European sector and spent another six months working with major Russian and Czech firms. There I put my Stanford training and the experience of work with US companies to good use. A consultant operates on a vast scope. I had to analyze business performance and work out development strategies for a variety of businesses, ranging from steelworks and factories producing electronic equipment to insurance companies and banks.
The Day: What about your plans? Do they have to do with Ukraine?
K.D.: I am interested in exploring possibilities of expanding the Internet in Ukraine and Russia. I would like to work with Russian, Ukrainian, and US companies to step up the development and introduction of progressive technologies in Eastern European countries. Regrettably, there is a huge barrier of distrust and lack of understanding between Eastern European and Western companies and investors. This barrier impedes foreign inland investment and joint technological development projects. Overcoming it is extremely important and I would like to be most actively involved.
The Day: What do you think can step up economic reform in Ukraine?
K.D.: Ukraine’s problems are based on the system that does not allow people who are eager to work to fully reveal their potential. Providing the required conditions calls for better legislation in the first place, along with a liberalized economy and legalization of all shadow businesses. The fundamental sciences should be supported, because they are known to serve as investment in the future. New technological companies starting in Ukraine have what I believe is great potential in improving the economic process, producing a healthier economy. I look forward to the day when Ukraine secures conditions allowing people to trust their potentialities and feel sure that they will be duly rewarded for their efforts.
