“Wherever I’ve worked, there’s always been someone from UCU,” said Andriy Kusyy, a graduate of the Master’s Program in Data Science of UCU’s Applied Sciences Faculty. Recently, Kusyy, together with his colleague Ksenia Iliuk, made it to the Forbes Ukraine list “30 under 30.” They are co-founders of the company LetsData, a system for monitoring the informational space which specializes in the fight with information operations.
Kusyy has experience working with Ukraine’s most successful startup, Grammarly, and victory in the SelectUSA Investment Summit 2023. You can read in the following interview from the UCU Alumni Association about his studies at UCU and his teaching experience, career challenges, and advice for students.
Andriy Kusyy, UCU graduate
– Tell us about successes in your studies at Ukrainian Catholic University.
– I studied in the Data Science program during the second year of its existence at UCU, when expertise in this field was actively forming in Ukraine. At that time, the community of those interested in the field of Data Science was not large and was focused around UCU, which became an important mover in the development of the field. This environment has since grown significantly.
I combined study at the master’s program with work. It was a busy and very active period. I was glad that that educational program at UCU didn’t focus only on hard skills. I remember well the first module, when they divided us into groups and gave an assignment to create a project for a Canadian innovation competition. We knew almost nothing about artificial intelligence, but looked for information, learned how to build a team, create a product, etc. Then I understood that, for good results, it’s not enough to know how to write code: it’s necessary to master soft skills. And, of course, Ukrainian Catholic University gave me many opportunities for networking and attracted professors from the whole world for very interesting projects.
Andriy Kusyy among graduates of the Master’s Program in Data Science at UCU, 2019
– Do you keep in touch with your former classmates and/or professors?
– A lot of my current friends are people from UCU. For example, I recently travelled with a group of seven people, five of whom studied at the university. There are now working on my team three graduates of the Master’s Program in Data Science, and among prospective candidates are a large percentage of bachelor’s students from UCU. Wherever I work, there’s always someone from the university community.
– Tell us about your experience teaching at UCU. How did it begin?
– First, I taught a course at one of the schools of the Applied Sciences Faculty. For this experience, I thank Oleksii Molchanovskyi, head of the Master’s Program in Computer Sciences in Data Science, and Yaroslav Prytula, Senior Vice-Rector but then dean of the ASF, who invited me to tell the students about cloud-based machine learning services. That’s how I started teaching.
It was a very important experience for me because, through teaching, I can not only share my experience with others but also learn something myself. Also no less important is the exchange with students, which has positive practical consequences, contacts and social capital in the future.
Andriy’s startup was a winner at the SelectUSA 2023 Investment Summit. He holds the Ukrainian flag at the awards ceremony.
– What was most difficult in creating the company LetsData?
–Founding a company is a different level of challenge. Within the same day, you can think a number of times that the company is finally becoming a ‘unicorn,’ but also a few times think that it should have been closed a week ago.
The most difficult thing for me was to provide a large list of tasks that need to be done. Then I understood how important it is to learn to delegate matters and responsibility and to trust the team.
– How did you manage to get included on the Forbes Ukraine “30 under 30” list?
– This brought great influence. Our personnel director was surprised that we had such a strong brand as an employer without a large budget to create it. This was thanks to our team and a socially significant product. Recognition from Forbes will help build a positive brand and motivate people to work with us.
– What is your advice for Ukrainian students?
– Student years are a time for experiments and research, so don’t be afraid to take risks: the higher the risk, the higher the reward. To return to the trajectory of career advancement after studies is significantly easier than the other way around. So, I advise students to look for possibilities to take part in startups or found their own. It’s difficult, but it’s a very interesting opportunity to learn something.
