During the regular academic semesters, MIT-Ukraine initiates and coordinates faculty-student projects on critical infrastructure, economic development, housing, logistics, and other relevant topics.
Students can work on a wide range of projects: from designing power grids and water distribution systems to creating online platforms of support, and planning sustainable housing for the internally displaced.
Featured Project
Innovative Energy Solutions for Ukraine's Reconstruction
Ukraine's energy infrastructure has been severely damaged, with over 50% destruction. While short-term solutions rely on fossil fuels, Ukraine’s long-term reconstruction should align with decarbonization goals. Thus, Ukraine needs innovative, future-proof solutions and can serve as a testing ground for emerging technologies. Dr. Olena Pavlenko, president of DiXi Group, is joining MIT-Ukraine as are search affiliate to conduct a collaborative research project to identify cutting-edge energy solutions for Ukraine's post-war reconstruction. With this work, she aims to bridge MIT's innovative research with Ukraine's urgent need for a sustainable, efficient energy system.The project aims to:
- Explore MIT's latest energy research and innovations which can serve Ukraine’s “green” recovery
- Assess the applicability of these solutions to Ukraine's energy system based on the interviews with the Ukrainian companies and government representatives
- Identify potential long-term collaborations for implementing promising technologies as a potential for the next stage of the project.
Dr. Olena Pavlenko
Featured Project
Circular Recovery Strategies of Wartime Ukraine: History and Urban Planning for a Ukrainian City (21H.S03)
In spring 2024, fifteen graduate and undergraduate students participated in hands-on projects through a newly launched course focused on developing circular recovery strategies for Ukraine. The course introduced students to digital approaches for material flow determination and resilient urban recovery, with particular attention to on-site solutions and local capacity building. Under the guidance of MIT faculty and in collaboration with Ukrainian experts, the students developed solutions for remote damage assessment for cities that have suffered from Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine after February 2022.
The course used digital tools (image segmentation), GIS analysis, and ahistorical overview of the local nature, ecology, culture, and architecture to develop plans for reusing available materials from destroyed, damaged, and abandoned buildings, preserving heritage and architectural code. Importantly, the course also examined the effects of Soviet and Russian colonial rule on Ukrainian city development, exploring decolonization strategies to address these historical impacts.
This practical, hands-on course used the Sviatohirsk municipality and the context of the broader Donetsk Region as a case study.
Other Past Projects
MIT-Ukraine has identified multiple applied courses and labs that could potentially produce meaningful contributions to the ongoing global efforts towards Ukraine's preservation and recovery.
Please email us if you have project ideas or would like to share information about a class you are taking/teaching at MIT with which we could collaborate. These projects can be completed for course credit or through a UROP stipend.
We also welcome inquiries from Ukrainian organizations and institutions about projects that potentially can be completed by MIT students and faculty.
Other examples of past projects involving MIT students and faculty in consultation with Ukrainian partners:
Circular Recovery. Over several semesters starting in spring 2024, students worked on developing solutions for remote damage assessment and recovery of cities damaged as a result of Russia’s full-scale invasion. In spring 2024, the project was part of the US State Department's Diplomacy Lab and entailed research and 3D modeling of the Ukrainian city of Sviatohirsk.
Digital Humanities. Over the spring and summer 2023 semesters, Digital Humanities students created a communication and support platform for the Ukrainian scientists across the world. The platform bolsters Ukraine’s Ministry of Sciences’ efforts in supporting Ukrainian scientists displaced as a result of Russia’s military invasion.
Water and Sanitation. Over several semesters starting in spring 2023, D-lab students, under the guidance of MIT faculty and Ukrainian water and sanitation experts, worked on researching Ukraine’s need for the redevelopment of water distribution systems and proposing new, efficient and carbon-neutral concepts.
