Design, Entrepreneurship and Rebuilding Seminar Series ends with student pitch contest at Kryvyi Rih National University, Ukraine

The series ran as three 60-minute virtual sessions from 23 September to 7 October 2026, led by Bob Eckhart for Professors Without Borders. Students learnt Design Thinking in the first session and Social Entrepreneurship in the second. They then used both to develop a social enterprise idea for rebuilding communities in Ukraine devastated by the Russian invasion.

90 seconds to pitch

In the final session on 7 October, students pitched alone or in pairs. Each pitch was judged on its innovation, the viability of its business model and its social impact.

The ideas ranged from placing educational hubs in bomb shelters to reverse vending machines that turn plastic waste into money. Each pitch was only 90 seconds, and the students took it very seriously.

Everything ran so smooth throughout the entire three-week programme. We had more students at each session, which was quite surprising. I’d never been part of an online pitch contest that ran like this. It was amazing!

Bob Eckhart, Co-Head of Programmes

The students’ ideas are what make him so excited, and he wants to see them come to life.

Good ideas start with the people affected designing what they need themselves, not people from outside their communities, and the students are already putting that into practice.