Five finalists of the 2025 BridgeUSA Ukraine Program for Resilience and Reconstruction (UPRR) took part in the Pre-Departure Orientation (PDO) on August 26, 2025 at American Councils office in Kyiv, which concluded a month-long preparation for the fellowship.
American Councils and the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv anticipate five Ukrainian university faculty members will spend one month in their U.S. hosting universities where they will learn about teaching methodologies, professional development opportunities, research methods, classroom lecturing and pedagogy, university administrative processes and procedures, and will collaborate with a U.S. faculty mentor to excel at their teaching and research and educate and train professionals critical to the country’s recovery and reconstruction.
The Program would not be possible without the generous support of the U.S. hosting universities. This year the BridgeUSA team was able to secure $33,185 in cost-share from four U.S. universities – Florida State University, University of New Haven, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and University at Buffalo. They are looking forward to hosting Ukrainian fellows despite the ongoing budget cuts and overall uncertainty.
The BridgeUSA UPRR Pre-Departure Orientation aimed to reinforce the goals, objectives, and terms & conditions of the program prior to participants’ departure to the United States. Fellows learnt more about their university placement, life and culture in the United States, rules, 
regulations, and policies of the U.S., as well as alumni and follow-on activities when they return to Ukraine.
Prior to the in-person PDO, fellows engaged in a 3-week virtual component, which included self-access materials, recorded lectures, readings on the topics of U.S. culture, U.S. Higher Education Institutions and Creating Sustainable Partnerships. The fellows participated in online meetings with BridgeUSA Ukrainian Academic Fellows Program (UAFP) alumni and took part in the Action Plan session with the Program Manager Ksenia Ivanenko. 
During the in-person PDO the fellows underwent the U.S. visa interview, discussed their plans and ideas for short-term and long-term collaboration with the host-universities, what they are bringing 
as exchange fellows and how they would like to impact their Ukrainian institutions. Matthew Wilson, Assistant Cultural Affairs Officer, U.S. Embassy Kyiv, Viktoria Mikhailenko, Education Projects Coordinator, U.S. Embassy Kyiv, Yarema Bachynsky, Ukraine Country Director congratulated the participants on their achievement and joined the sessions. Three BridgeUSA UAFP alumni shared their experience on the program and gave tips to the new finalists.
BridgeUSA UPRR Program is funded by the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv with additional funding provided by U.S. host institutions and administered by American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS.