INTERVIEW: Dr. Bohdan Budzan notes progress at IMI-Kyiv (07/29/01)

INTERVIEW: Dr. Bohdan Budzan notes progress at IMI-Kyiv

Since January 1997 Dr. Bohdan Budzan has served as director general of the International Management Institute in Kyiv (IMI-Kyiv), where he is also a senior lecturer teaching upper-level management courses. He consults on strategic management issues for the top management of companies operating in Ukraine.

He is an adviser to the government of Ukraine, and a member of the boards of Central and East European Management Development Association (CEEMAN), Societe Generale Ladenburg Thalmann Ukraine Fund Limited and Academy of Sciences of National Progress of Ukraine.

Dr Budzan has completed the International Senior Manager's Program at Harvard University and Certificate Course of Management at London Business School. From April 1993 to December 1996 Dr. Budzan was executive director of the International Renaissance Foundation (the Soros Foundation in Ukraine). He has written more than 75 scholarly articles in the area of economics and has conducted extensive research in management fields.

Dr. Budzan gave the following interview to The Ukrainian Weekly staff during his most recent trip to the United States.

Q: The U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Carlos Pascual, has most recently voiced discouragement as to the development of Ukraine's market economy, largely due to the political situation. Would you comment on this?

A: While many variations on aid programs can be formulated, true market reforms and business development in Ukraine can only emerge when forged from within. The International Management Institute of Kyiv has set out for precisely this task: to train a new generation of Ukrainian managers who are "capable, confident and ethical leaders equipped for productive contributions to business and society."

This mission began in 1989, under the leadership of a visionary Ukrainian Canadian, Bohdan Hawrylyshyn. Today, it has become the product of many individuals and groups throughout the world who believe in the necessity of building Ukraine's business skills.

IMI-Kyiv has been diligently implementing a strategy to strengthen IMI and its graduates. We envision IMI-Kyiv as becoming Ukraine's leading business education institution and see its role as a key in forging a new role for Ukrainian businesses in domestic and global markets.

Q: Dr. Budzan, how do you feel that your background has prepared you for leading a Western-style institution in Ukraine?

A: My greatest strengths come from various experiences in education, management, administration and leadership roles. I have worked with the government as head of the Department of Relations with International Financial Organizations of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. Here I helped structure Ukraine's first institutional loan. My experience with international organizations grew as I was the liaison officer with the World Bank, EBRD, IMF, USAID and others. I became closely linked to Ukraine's business-economic reforms in its early independence, heading the ministerial department on Privatization and Entrepreneurial Development. Later, I headed the Soros Foundation in Ukraine, where education was a strong priority.

My beliefs have strongly influenced my education. Having received a Ph.D., I became a member of the Academy of Sciences of National Progress of Ukraine. But most formative in my understanding of Western-style management and business education was the special management program at the London Business School and the International Senior Manager's Program at Harvard Business School. I am excited to meet my friends, classmates and professors from HBS once again at the annual alumni meeting in Cleveland. My relationships there are so dear to me that I have not yet missed an alumni gathering.

Q: Is the Harvard Business School alumni meeting your main purpose for visiting the United States?

A: It is an important reason, but as the director of a business school, business is never far from my agenda, and neither is IMI-Kyiv. I have also come to the United States on a fund-raising mission.

Shortly after my interview with The Ukrainian Weekly last June, we began construction on our new academic and administrative facility. This became one of our top priorities for several reasons. First, we are currently renting our premises. Not only does our lease end in 2001, but also our community at IMI-Kyiv is growing. We need a permanent home. Secondly, business education demands technology, auditoriums, computer centers and other elements so that our students have the best possible training. This requires a new design, as Soviet-style buildings did not foresee such needs.

In order for our new facility to be ready for the beginning of 2002, we need to raise $1.5 million in the next few months. This is a small amount for the positive contribution IMI-Kyiv will continue to make in Ukraine. Imagine building a business school in the U.S. for this amount. We are hoping that donors will appreciate the importance of their contribution, as well as understand the direct impact each dollar will make in developing Ukraine's business.

An additional role of this visit is to refresh and initiate contact with businesses, academic institutions, public officials and, of course, the Ukrainian diaspora - all of which have been instrumental in developing IMI-Kyiv. We are continually growing as an international institution and have partnerships with six American institutions, including Carnegie Mellon University, Harvard Business School, Loyola College of Baltimore and DePaul University. Our other educational partners are located in Canada, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Belgium and Poland.

Q: It seems that IMI-Kyiv is creating a positive image for Ukraine. How have you managed this in the face of the skepticism expressed by the press and politicians?

A: You know, in Ukraine they often joke that a pessimist is a well-informed optimist. My experience proves otherwise. Before 1991 I was indeed an optimist. Yet, despite being well-informed on transformations in Ukraine, I have resisted pessimism. My main inspiration - and the reason for retaining my optimism - has been the new generation of Ukrainians in independent Ukraine, and especially those who have passed through the walls of IMI-Kyiv. I am convinced they will never revert to the paths of the old regime. IMI-Kyiv graduates have the necessary knowledge, contemporary vision of the world, a sense of their own mission in this world, self-confidence and the readiness to bear responsibility for their companies. Having already educated 820 M.B.A. students, and with a current enrollment of 266 students, we are slowly educating Ukraine's business elite.

Q: This number may be impressive for the business school, but how does it meet the growing business demands in Ukraine? Will IMI-Kyiv increase its enrollment?

A: Clearly, 160 graduates a year will not be able to meet Ukraine's management demands. Compare Ukraine to the United States, where there are some 1 million M.B.A. graduates averaging one M.B.A. diploma per 250-280 citizens. In Ukraine there is one true, Western-style M.B.A. graduate for every 50,000 citizens. No doubt this is far too low, and we need more M.B.A.s - at least twice as many. But it takes time for the business education sector to evolve in Ukraine. IMI-Kyiv students study at their own cost or are sponsored by their companies.

However, since this is a private institution, we need to develop scholarship programs to attract more of the qualified managers throughout Ukraine. This has immediate positive effects: of our graduates, 95 percent remain in Ukraine, 40 percent of whom are already top managers. They are already in all of Ukraine's major cities.

As for increasing our enrollment, there are several obstacles. First, we need our own premises. Second, we would become understaffed, lacking sufficient professors of the necessary level. Our faculty at IMI-Kyiv is an exceptional team, and we must support its quality. We already train new professors in our Ph.D. programs, arrange faculty visitation in partner institutions such as Carnegie Mellon University, the Institute for Management Development in Lausanne, Switzerland, and others, and stimulate exchanges with other international professors. We are always looking for highly qualified visiting professors or fellows from the United States who would like to join the IMI-Kyiv faculty. A third obstacle to increasing enrollment is legislation restricting the development of business education institutions and of NGOs (which includes us) on a large scale. While we have been struggling to overcome these obstacles, we have achieved significant positive developments.

Finally, IMI-Kyiv will not substitute quality for quantity. Our students are the best Ukraine has to offer, and we want to offer them the best possible education. They have international internships, high-level team projects and consulting opportunities, and are ultimately placed with Ukraine's leading domestic and international firms. We will only increase our enrollment when we know we can extend our high level of services to each student.

Q: It is clear that fund-raising has become crucial in developing IMI-Kyiv. Would you say that you have been successful on your U.S. trips?

A: Last May I described to The Ukrainian Weekly readers our construction plans and development intentions. Indeed, much has been accomplished. We have raised roughly half a million U.S. dollars, constructed a building frame with roof and windows, and received City Council approval for a 50-year land lease. Much of this became possible with the support we received from our IMI board members (Dr. Hawrylyshyn, A. Lundin, R. Mueller, Dr. George Chopivsky, D. Pineau-Valencienne, Bo Hjelt), friends and donors in Europe and the United States, both Ukrainians and non-Ukrainians.

Most importantly, the Free Enterprise Foundation for Eastern Europe (FEFEE) was established, which is a tax-exempt U.S. foundation able to raise funds. This foundation will be able to support the immediate completion of IMI-Kyiv's construction. This was an outstanding effort by David Carter, Walter Nazarewicz, Nestor Nynka, Orest Fedash, Bohdan Kekish, Ihor Kotliarchuk, George Powch, John Costello, Roderick and Carla Hills and many more IMI-Kyiv friends. The Soros Foundation provided desperately needed legal support, which played a crucial role in the successful establishment of the foundation. IMI-Kyiv is deeply grateful to the support emanating from the United States.

Q: What are your future plans and objectives?

A: IMI-Kyiv will continue to grow and become a stronger organization. Our 2001-2003 strategy includes: further enhancement of teaching quality, the strengthening of our business education leadership position, and a twofold increase of the student body; continuous improvement of faculty skills and knowledge, introduction of leading-edge teaching technologies and methods; extension and intensification of interaction with the global and Ukrainian business environment; increased attraction of funds and resources for IMI-Kyiv's growth, and diversification of funding sources; development of academic partnerships and successful accreditation through the European accreditation system for business schools (EQUIS).

We believe that with the continued support and trust of the international and Ukrainian communities, we will fulfill our goal for Ukrainian business development. Many thanks to The Ukrainian Weekly, which has once again given us a forum and given our cause an audience. We wish you continued success.

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