KYIV The International Christian University in Kyiv held its first graduation ceremony on Saturday June 28, sending 28 students armed with business diplomas off to meet eager Western employers.
While their peers graduating from Ukrainian universities lined up in offices for official stamps, ICU students had a Western-style ceremony, complete with caps, gowns and speeches.
For graduate Alexander Zhuravlyov, however, there wasnt much time to enjoy his freedom. Nine oclock Tuesday morning he was to report for his first day at work at an international accounting firm.
The immediate prospects for most of his classmates were sunny as well. Roman Makukhin, a second-year student and president of the universitys business club, estimated that only a fifth of this years graduates had yet to find a job with a Western company or joint venture. Bursting with self-confidence, these graduates of one of the few institutions in Ukraine to offer a Western-style business education in English feel eminently qualified to fill desirable positions in the international business community.
Were not better than the rest, were just more prepared, said 21-year-old graduate Helena Radchanko. Fellow student Sergei Chervachidze corrected her. I know were better.
Preparation includes classes with members of the international business community, a comprehensive arts program, and, say some students, downright democratic relationships with the American, Canadian and Ukrainian faculty members that contrast starkly with the more authoritarian teaching style they associate with Ukrainian universities.
It teaches you to have the right attitude. … You get proactive instead of reactive, said Zhuravlyov.
ICU-Kyiv, linked to the American Church of Christ, is a cooperative venture between the Kyiv State Economics University and ICUVienna.
The universitys church affiliation affects its curriculum. Although ICU accepts students of any religious background, all are required to pass four Bible courses and attend a specified number of the daily chapel services.
Dean Joseph Stephenson stressed that education came before evangelism, however. The Bible is studied as a historical and literary text rather than a basis for fundamental belief, and chapel serves a community- building function, he said.
The primary focus is on building careers. ICU students hope to exploit the widening gap they see developing between themselves and students from Ukraines impoverished state-run educational institutions. Makukhin, for example, wants to encourage Western businesses to recruit directly from ICU.
Ukrainian universities, in turn, do not recognize the business administration diplomas awarded by ICU, although the latter are recognized by American universities and welcomed by most international firms. ICU graduates are therefore not qualified to work for the Ukrainian government.
Some students said their parents were concerned by this. But few, if any, of the graduates themselves are interested in working for the government or for Ukrainian companies.
Why bother with it? said Radchanko
The university is funded by tuition fees, which range from $2,000 a year for foreign students to $200 a year for Ukrainians who pass the entrance exam with the highest marks. Acceptance at ICU depends mainly on students proficiency in English. Many freshmen are veterans of U.S. exchange programs, while others attended special English-language schools in Ukraine.
Most members of the 20-strong teaching staff are short- or longterm volunteers drawn from the Church of Christ, the Peace Corps, and the expatriate community in Kyiv. Some students said this sort of recruitment hurt the quality of their education.
Still, attending ICU is a good way to succeed in international business, students agreed. Zhuravlyov, secure in his new job, was typical when he that his education had opened the doors he wanted to walk through.
