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The Internship Program is a new stage for Teach For Ukraine alumni. It helps them develop leadership skills and apply their classroom experience in a broader context — within government institutions, civil society organizations, and educational initiatives. This way, alumni contribute to education reform and recovery during wartime, expand their professional networks, and strengthen their impact within the education community.

Every year, Ukrainian children spend hundreds of hours in shelters. They study by flashlight, help clear debris, and mourn their deceased teachers and classmates. Yet in every region, children continue to laugh, dream, and make plans for the future.

Teach For Ukraine fellows spend one or two years teaching in schools in small communities, becoming role models and a source of support for children. To strengthen their further growth as young leaders, the Teach For Ukraine team created the Professional Mentorship Program.

«The war has changed the children, they’ve grown older than their years. We try to get them to focus on ordinary things to remember life beyond the conflict.»

According to Ukraine’s Ministry of Education, as of February 2025, there are 600,000 Ukrainian children living in temporarily occupied territories. Only 7% of them are still studying within Ukraine’s education system. But occupation has impacted more than just students. Even after liberation, teachers are still adjusting to a new version of normal.

We’re not just teaching kids subjects — we’re teaching them how to learn. One of the core messages is that making mistakes is okay. That success comes from effort, not perfection. That asking for help is a strength, not a weakness. And when a child raises their hand for the first time, when they start asking questions, when a teacher sees that spark in their eyes — that’s when we truly understand why this project matters.

In times of crisis, it’s easy to lose sight of long-term goals — like access to quality education. Yet by helping children catch up on missed learning, we are investing in Ukraine’s sustainable and peaceful future.

Real change is impossible without young people. The experience of university students is much closer to that of school students and can serve as a powerful example for them, says Iryna Kopaigorodska, coordinator of the "StudMentor" program. "A mentor is someone who has recently gone through a similar experience—taking standardized tests like the NMT (or previously the EIT) and applying to universities."