“What we need to do is to make sure that Ukrainian victory is as complete as possible”, Kurt Volker at AUK Talks

On September 10th, in Kyiv, there was an exclusive AUK Talks event for the first cohort of AUK students with Kurt D. Volker, AUK co-Founder, AUK Supervisory Board member and a U.S. representative to Ukraine's negotiation (2017-2019). 

While addressing the students with his speech, Mr. Volker shared his vision on the importance of the American University Kyiv and its role in growing the future professional and societal leaders of Ukraine as well as with his story how he joined the project team of the university. 

"During all my trips to Ukraine, I was incredibly impressed with the quality of the people, with the human capital, by everything from the education, the talent to the character, strengths, determination and courage. Thus, I was always convinced that we need to invest in education. As these people will lead Ukraine into the future. When the project establishing AUK came along, I thought that this is exactly what we need to do", he said.

During the meeting, the students discussed a number of political and economic challenges which Ukraine is currently facing due to russian aggression. At the same time, Kurt Volker gave very optimistic and positive outlook for Ukraine's future motivating AUK students to gain new knowledge, skills and experiences to rebuild the country and turn it into a global leader. 

Finalizing his speech, Kurt Volker outlined: "Ukrainians know who they are, they know that they are Europeans, they believe in democracy, they want to be connected to the world. There is nothing putin can do to take that away from Ukrainians. By definition, Ukraine wins. What we need to do is to make sure that Ukrainian victory is as complete as possible". 

American University Kyiv (www.auk.edu.ua) – is a private university offering a U.S. higher education standard in Ukraine through its partnership with Arizona State University (ASU), one of the largest universities in the U.S. and ranked by U.S. News & World Report as the most innovative university in the U.S. In Ukraine, its founding partners include: EPAM Systems, BGV Group Management, Academy DTEK, Brain, Channel Georgian Consulting, Georgian American University.