In response to the pressing needs of Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction, Harvard University recently hosted an inaugural, semester-long workshop series, “Leadership for Sustainable Reconstruction of Ukraine,” designed to support Ukrainian professionals as they navigate the complex challenges of rebuilding sustainably in their country. This online course was offered free of charge by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in collaboration with the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (ISI) and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

Two Harvard centers—the Ukrainian Research Institute and the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies—helped to promote the program. Their extensive outreach efforts involved targeting Ukrainian embassies across Europe, the World Bank, and the European Development Bank, among others, to ensure the course reached those who would benefit most. Around 300 applications were submitted for just 60 spots in the workshop series, and applicants were selected based on professional experience in relevant fields (like construction, engineering, architecture, real estate development, energy, finance, sustainability consulting, policymaking and legislation, urban planning, landscape design, public heath, etc.) and interest in delivering more sustainable projects through their country’s reconstruction.

Since 2022, thousands of structures in Ukraine—including buildings and infrastructure assets—have been devastated. The goal of this workshop was to provide both training and networking opportunities for Ukrainian professionals committed to the sustainable rebuilding of their country. The workshop series, taught by Harvard faculty and other experts, ran from September to December 2024 and equipped participants with knowledge and tools to lead their rebuilding efforts with sustainability as a guiding principle. The course provided interactive sessions and collaborative projects focused on sustainable rebuilding practices, including topics such as low-carbon infrastructure, renewable energy, resilience planning, and green building standards.

One session on “Sustainability in Infrastructure Redevelopment” was led by Anna Yurchenko, Ukraine’s former Deputy Minister for Reconstruction, and featured both Anthony Kane, ISI’s President & CEO, and Judith Rodriguez, ISI’s Senior Research Associate. The session explored how to define infrastructure problems and apply frameworks to create, design, and build appropriate solutions – using case studies to demonstrate ISI’s Envision Sustainable Infrastructure Framework as a leading industry tool. In addition to these technical aspects of rebuilding, the course also incorporated suggestions from participant feedback, touching on critical topics like financing strategies, public-private partnerships, reconciliation and nation-building, and the role of ethics and institutional integrity.

By leveraging Ukrainians’ existing expertise in building, infrastructure, project development, finance, and urban planning, the course helped to prepare this well-educated workforce to lead their country’s reconstruction efforts across various sectors while emphasizing sustainability and resilience. The course also provided an opportunity to explore research and international best practices in sustainability and urban development, as well as introduce existing sustainable city networks to deliver more authentic Ukrainian solutions appropriate to the country’s current needs.

Despite the course being offered via Zoom, workshop participants had an opportunity to gather in person in Kyiv at an event organized by the Ukraine Green Building Council and to celebrate the successes of the course. ISI is honored to have been included in this workshop series to support the long-term recovery of Ukraine. By providing professionals with the knowledge, skills, and resources to implement more sustainable and resilient infrastructure practices, the workshop has helped to pave the way for the country’s future. The enthusiasm for this inaugural course has sparked interest in offering similar opportunities to more Ukrainian professionals in the future as funding becomes available.

For additional information about the course: https://hsph.harvard.edu/news/sustainably-rebuilding-ukraine/