MIM Business School awarded 5 Eduniversal Palmes of Excellence: a milestone for Ukrainian business education

MIM Business School, founded in Kyiv in 1989, has been upgraded to 5 Palmes of Excellence in the Eduniversal Official Selection of the Best Business Schools worldwide. It becomes the first and only institution in Ukraine to join the league of Universal Business Schools with strong global influence.

Approved by the Eduniversal International Scientific Committee following an institutional reevaluation, this distinction marks a significant milestone in MIM’s international development.

For MIM, the achievement comes during a period in which management education has an immediate practical purpose: helping Ukrainian organisations sustain their activities, adapt to disruption and prepare for recovery.

More than 35 years developing Ukrainian business leaders

Since its establishment in 1989, MIM has accompanied generations of Ukrainian managers, executives and entrepreneurs through profound economic and organisational change.

Today, the School combines that experience with a growing international role. Its programmes and partnerships connect the needs of Ukrainian businesses with global management knowledge, while bringing Ukrainian perspectives into international discussions on leadership and resilience.

This exchange gives particular relevance to MIM’s work. The challenges faced by its community inform how leaders make decisions, support their teams and maintain organisations under exceptional pressure.

International partnerships with a practical purpose

MIM’s international network includes IMD in Lausanne, Switzerland, and Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business in the United States. These relationships connect the School with international academic expertise and approaches to management education.

Its cooperation with IMD has also produced practical educational initiatives. An Innovation Management programme for Ukrainian startup teams combined business strategy, innovation management and investor relations with mentoring and project development. The programme helped participants translate technical ideas into business propositions and prepare to engage with investors.

Such initiatives demonstrate how international cooperation can respond to specific local needs, supporting entrepreneurship while strengthening connections beyond Ukraine.

ReInforceUA: maintaining access to global knowledge

Launched in June 2022, ReInforceUA was created to give the Ukrainian business community access to international intellectual resources during wartime.

The educational initiative has brought together partners including Thinkers50, the Bohdan Hawrylyshyn Family Foundation, and the international business education associations AACSB, AMBA & BGA, and EFMD.

By maintaining opportunities for learning and exchange, ReInforceUA supports leaders whose organisations must respond to immediate operational challenges while continuing to plan for the future. It also provides a channel through which the international management community can engage with Ukrainian business.

Women’s leadership and responsible reconstruction

MIM’s Women Leadership Program, developed with IMD, supports women’s leadership in the context of war and Ukraine’s future reconstruction. The programme connects leadership development with the responsibilities participants carry in their organisations and communities.

This collaboration also features within the education and leadership activities of IMD’s Accelerating Responsible Reconstruction Initiative (ARRI).

With Ukraine as its initial focus, ARRI combines research, executive education and engagement with businesses and policymakers to examine how recovery can be commercially viable, responsible and inclusive. MIM’s involvement contributes an educational dimension grounded in the needs of Ukrainian leaders.

Together, these activities illustrate the School’s contribution to recovery through people: developing the knowledge, judgement and management capabilities that organisations will need to rebuild.

A new chapter in MIM’s international development

MIM’s stated 2026 - 2030 strategy focuses on strengthening its international voice in management education, promoting Ukrainian business abroad and bringing international management practices into the Ukrainian business environment.

The award of 5 Palmes of Excellence, recognising a Universal Business School with strong global influence, provides a significant milestone as MIM pursues these ambitions.

Its approved classification will be incorporated into the 19th edition of the Eduniversal Best Business Schools Ranking, scheduled for publication in November 2026. The forthcoming Eduniversal World Convention, held in Biarritz, France, from 16 to 20 November 2026, will bring the international business education community together to celebrate institutional achievements and discuss shared challenges.

Eduniversal warmly congratulates Iryna Tykhomyrova, Oleksii Vynogradov and the entire MIM community on this achievement and their continued commitment to Ukrainian business education and international cooperation.