Education Can't Wait: How savED and EPAM Together Created an Underground School

Step 1. IT business and school education: where did the match happen?

The savED Foundation implements social projects for children, such as the UActive program for teenagers from small communities, and also implements educational and infrastructure solutions. The complex of the last two is the arrangement of shelters, educational centers «Vuliki», the restoration of damaged school premises, the arrangement of modular temporary educational spaces, as well as the implementation of Ketchup programs to overcome educational losses in communities. The geography of the projects extended from Chernihiv and Kyiv regions to the front-line Mykolaiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv and Zaporizhia regions. «Our partners, in particular the IT business, are involved in educational solutions in various ways: they purchase school supplies and power banks, equipment and furniture for classrooms, create DIY laboratories for children with us, or immediately take on the largest infrastructure projects. «It’s not just us who are proud of the results: last year, two of our partners were awarded IT awards on the market for valuable educational initiatives,» says Oleksandra Shevchenko, Head of Partnerships and Communications at the savED Foundation .

You can also start supporting education by volunteering. This is how EPAM Ukraine first participated in savED projects. In 2022, the team created a website for the foundation from scratch, with which savED still continues to raise funds for educational assistance in communities.

«Designers, engineers, solution architects, and other specialists created a fundraising platform. The product was built entirely for the needs of the foundation, without using any ready-made templates, and deployed in the AWS cloud environment,» recalls Yevhen Gritskov, head of ERAM offices in eastern Ukraine .

Later, EPAM Ukraine wanted to continue the «educational movement» — this is what savED’s initiatives are called. The company supported the furnishing of six «Vulikiv» educational centers in Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovsk region, with furniture and equipment. And in 2024, savED and EPAM Ukraine launched the first joint infrastructure project: the renovation of a shelter in the Pecheneg community’s flagship lyceum in the Kharkiv region. The goal of the initiative was to actually create an underground school.

«We appreciate the shared vision that EPAM and savED have regarding approaches to work and synergy between the state, public sector, and business for the sake of a common goal and optimization of resources. It is important for us to provide children with safe spaces for offline meetings, interaction, communication, learning, and development. After all, children’s education cannot wait until the war is over. Lost moments of childhood and communication with peers cannot be brought back,» says Yevhen Gritskov.

Step 2. Cooperation with the frontline community

Before the full-scale invasion, there were 4 secondary education institutions in the Pecheneg community in the Kharkiv region. In 2022, Pecheneg found itself in the line of fire, the village suffered from the consequences of hostilities: the main lyceum was hit by shelling, but survived. Several neighboring villages were occupied until September 2022, two schools there were destroyed. First, due to the conditions of the pandemic, and now the war, local children have been studying online for 4 years in a row.

«It’s hardest for the younger grades. These children have never had real lessons at school. We can only start their socialization and quality first steps in learning if we have an offline space,» says Oksana Pomyliayko, director of the Pecheneg Lyceum.

In the fall of 2023, the savED Foundation created the Vulyk educational center in the shelter of the Pecheneg Lyceum, which became the first safe center for holding clubs and extracurricular activities for students in the community. However, there was only enough space in the space for two or three dozen local children. In contrast, more than 700 schoolchildren continue to study in the war-torn community. Therefore, for full-fledged lessons, including with modern gadgets and equipment, a larger space was needed, and again underground.

«Underground space is the only optimal solution for restoring access to education in the Kharkiv region, as well as in other front-line regions. The tense security situation does not allow for the full resumption of offline education. The arrangement of shelters, in fact, underground schools, is an important priority of the fund’s work now and in the future,» says savED co-founder Anna Putsova .

The history of the Pecheneg community and its students inspired EPAM to take part in the savED project and join the creation of an underground school. Despite the company’s experience in supporting the construction of shelters in higher education institutions in Kharkiv, the school space in Pecheneg was the first of its kind for the company. The systematic support of education, which EPAM takes care of, gives the brand a wide influence that goes beyond the IT market, says Yevhen Gritskov: «I am convinced that future Ukrainian writers, scientists, and engineers will gather, study, and communicate in such spaces. That is why we consider such projects to be an important contribution to the future of Ukraine.»

Step 3. From idea to finish line — a few months

Since September 2024, work has literally been buzzing in the shelter of the Pecheneg Lyceum. While children’s classes continued in the «Hive», repairs began in another part of the underground space — worth over 3.4 million hryvnias. The old Soviet building was completely re-equipped with new communications: a new electrical network and ventilation, water supply, sewage and heating systems were installed. Partners from the non-profit international organization GlobalGiving joined the finalization of the project in terms of furnishing. Already in December 2024, 5 full-fledged classrooms appeared underground, equipped with technology, didactics and a mini-library. One of the rooms is intended for art therapy with children.

«In matters of arranging a safe space to compensate for educational losses, ERAM mostly relied on the expertise of savED. At the same time, for us, the availability of high-quality Internet and technical infrastructure in the center was of fundamental importance. Access to the global network and modern technology can significantly improve the quality of STEM education,» says Yevhen Gritskov from ERAM Ukraine.

Providing school space with modern devices, says Oleksandra Shevchenko, head of the partnerships and communications department, is already a must-have in the work of the savED foundation, in particular with sponsors representing technological spheres. «Two months ago, we and our other partners installed several iMacs in the shelter of the village of Tsentralne in the Mykolaiv region, and the computer class was like a sensation for this underground school. It was a „wow“ for both children and adults, who did not even expect something like this in the former Soviet basement. And in fact, computers and a good projector are basic necessary things in a classroom today,» Oleksandra recalls.

Step 4. Result and scaling

On January 22, 2025, children first came to the underground classrooms in Pechenegy. Both younger and older schoolchildren immediately came to the first classes and master classes. From now on, students will be able to visit the learning space not only from Pechenegy, but also from nearby villages. On certain days, they plan to hold activities here for preschool children.

«The history of cooperation with business, particularly in the IT sector, in the work of savED demonstrates how communities and education can be comprehensively supported with flexible and comprehensive solutions. In three months, we managed to create a space where 150 children can study at the same time, and if in several shifts, then even more. And not only teachers, but also tutors from our foundation will continue to work with them to overcome educational losses,» says savED co-founder Anna Putsova.

The creation of underground educational spaces in cooperation with business in savED is called one of the most effective solutions for frontline communities. Thanks to the speed and quality of such projects, it is possible to effectively return the opportunity for offline classes to schoolchildren. Partnerships with tech companies in the foundation are also used for initiatives on the content of education, i.e. educational programs and activities at equipped locations. In 2025, the benefactors want to develop STEM education opportunities in frontline communities, in particular through the creation of DIY laboratories. These are innovative spaces for developing creativity, strengthening STEM skills and helping young people realize their potential in science and developing their own research projects. Socially responsible business is also willing to work with this direction, according to EPAM Ukraine. The company is interested in developing digital literacy, strengthening the IT industry and compensating for educational losses in the deoccupied and frontline territories of Ukraine.

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