How a Seminar by the Aspen Institute Kyiv Helped Build the Law Faculty at UCU
“After each seminar, graduates say that their group was the best. So it’s not just about the influence of a particular group, but of the Institute as a whole,” shares Halyna Zahorodniuk, a graduate of two seminars by the Aspen Institute Kyiv. “The format, where people step away from their routines and find themselves in a different environment, a different atmosphere — it’s a real challenge for the mind, professionalism, and character. That’s incredibly valuable. And that’s exactly what I wanted to scale further.”
After attending her first seminar, “Justice, Law, and Society,” Halyna had no idea that this experience would open the door to a new life challenge — one that would eventually transform her career and inspire new approaches to teaching.
At the seminar, Halyna was in a group with Svitlana Khyliuk, who at that time was preparing to launch a new bachelor’s degree program in Law (School of Law) at the Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU). That school has since grown into a full-fledged faculty, and many of its instructors are now Aspen Institute Kyiv alums. Thanks to the seminar — with its dialogues, shared thinking, and interaction — Halyna and Svitlana discovered shared goals that became the foundation for further collaboration.
Read more below about how this partnership started and how the Aspen experience helped shape it.
How the Aspen Experience Unites and Helps Discover Common Ground
“The seminar came into my life at a very unexpected moment,” recalls Svitlana Khyliuk. “A week before, I had returned from the United States, where our team had received the UCU president’s blessing to launch the law program. My thoughts were entirely focused on that.”
Svitlana shared that she felt a strong sense of support at the seminar: “The dialogue-based format showed me that there are people who not only declare values but live by them. Lawyers who are ready to invest their time and resources in achieving justice in society.”
This became the catalyst for new partnerships. Svitlana says that among her seminar groupmates, she immediately saw potential future colleagues—lecturers who could help realize an ambitious dream: to create a space that would change legal education in Ukraine. And so, she soon reached out to Halyna Zahorodniuk with a proposal to teach.
Halyna agreed to teach a course in corporate law, which has since become one of the most popular choices among students.
“Just before that, I had a meeting about a potential teaching position at one of Kyiv’s universities. I was very hesitant about that offer. But that same evening, Svitlana called with a similar request — and I felt it was meant to be,” Halyna laughs.
“It felt like we were on the same wavelength,” says Svitlana.
“I think a few things matter here. First — the environment. The Aspen Institute Kyiv’s programs unite accomplished people looking for something deeper. It’s not just about work; it’s about an internal search for meaning. I’ve served on selection juries for other programs and have seen how serious the process is — identifying those ready to think, debate, and seek common ground. So when the opportunity to work at UCU came up, I knew: this is where that same intellectual dialogue could continue,” adds Halyna Zahorodniuk.
That was the first step in expanding UCU’s teaching team.
Aspen Alumni at UCU
Over time, more alums of the Aspen Institute Kyiv joined UCU’s faculty: Olena Volianska teaches Legal Regulation of Bankruptcy; Anna Horbenko leads the course on International Financial Investigations; Iryna Kushnir covers Council of Europe Law, among others. Aspen alums began to actively shape the program: assisting with course design, consulting on new initiatives like the anti-corruption specialization at the master’s level, and collaborating with the Supreme Court. Some even served as judges in student moot court competitions.
Now, UCU is approaching another key milestone—the School of Law is becoming a full faculty. This stage is the result of years of work. The Aspen spirit of mutual support among alum instructors has served as a fertile ground for this development.
“Beyond transferring knowledge, we’re creating an environment to develop lawyers who possess professional expertise and strong values,” explains Svitlana.
So it was that one seminar by the Aspen Institute Kyiv in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast became the first step toward forming a new generation of faculty and students at UCU. The Institute creates a space for genuine dialogue and connection among leaders. And while a seminar may last only a few days, its impact can be felt for years.
