From earning his Ph.D. at Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv to leading the very department where he once studied, Taras Panchenko’s journey as a computer scientist has come full circle—and yet, he has much further to go. Driven by ambitions for his academic field, university, and country, he was thrilled to be one of four Ukrainian scholars chosen for the BridgeUSA Ukrainian Academic Fellow Program hosted at Florida State University (FSU) this summer.
“FSU professors, FSU academicians are just brilliant,” stated Dr. Panchenko. “Everyone we met was a strong professional with deep knowledge. All were with open hearts, and it was obvious they truly like to help and answer all our questions.”
Dr. Panchenko described how coming to an esteemed American university like FSU has simply been a dream come true. He had always intended to study in the United States through an exchange program but had never taken the leap due to juggling multiple leadership roles.