Lyceum “PROSVITA” in Brovary: the way from EIT courses to own school

Brovary has long established itself as a city that actively supports business development. Thanks to the favorable climate for entrepreneurship and the initiatives of the local authorities, all conditions have been created here for starting and expanding your own business. Particular attention is paid to supporting young businesses and entrepreneurs. Thanks to the U&We Hub, women can get business advice, present their ideas, and even find financial support for their projects. One of those who took advantage of the opportunities offered by the city is Olesia Taran, founder of the PROSVITA lyceum and ZNO: BROVARY. Her story is an example of how perseverance, community support, and your own initiative can turn an idea into a successful business, UNN writes.

From EIT courses to private lyceum

The history of the lyceum "PROSVITA" began long before its official opening in September 2024. Olesia Taran first founded the External Independent Testing (EIT) preparation courses, which were created to improve the quality of education for high school students. For five years, the courses prepared students for admission to the best universities in Ukraine, and they were successful.

 "My son was preparing to enter the university, and I realized that standard schooling did not provide the required level of knowledge. Additional tutors were not only financially expensive but also time-consuming. Then, during the quarantine (due to the coronavirus - ed.), I decided to create courses that would meet all these needs," she says.

The courses quickly became popular among high school students. Every year, up to 120 students joined the courses. However, as demand grew and she realized how difficult it was for children to keep up with the double workload of school classes during the day and courses in the evening, Olesya  Taran realized that a new approach was needed. "We saw how overwhelmed the children were and how they didn't have time to learn the material effectively. Then I decided that the best way out was to create a lyceum that would combine quality school education with preparation for university," the entrepreneur adds.

Lyceum education: efficient, modern, innovative

PROSVITA Lyceum is a modern approach to education. Currently, there are three classes for 9-11th graders with 23 students. The lyceum's curriculum covers the mandatory standards of the Ministry of Education of Ukraine, but with an additional emphasis on in-depth study of the exact sciences, exam preparation, and the development of project-based thinking.

"Mathematics and other exact sciences are a sore spot in modern Ukrainian education. We try to pay more attention to them by adding hours and building a solid knowledge base. In addition, our students are engaged in project work, which includes financial literacy, marketing, and even creating their own business models," says Olesya Taran.

The lyceum also has a course of lectures with interesting guests. Students are introduced to various areas of life, from historical events to modern technology and business. Children create their own projects, which they present in a defense format.

"And this is a very practical thing, when each of them has to create their own model of a small enterprise, which even teenagers could start. To do this, we provide them with the following basic key skills: how to do it, how to write a business plan, how to choose their business idea - we had such lectures, how to make their own website, Instagram for this project. We want our students not only to gain knowledge, but also to learn how to apply it in real life," says the lyceum's founder.

According to Olesya Taran, PROSVITA is a lyceum where you want to study.

"It is worth adding that we try to live up to our name and carry out educational activities among students, their parents and guests of the lyceum by organizing educational lectures. The history of Ukraine and world history occupy a particularly honorable place in the curriculum, taught by our young director Viacheslav, who has managed to interest the vast majority of students in the subject. They not only learn dates and events, but also learn to think and analyze processes, and look for cause-and-effect relationships and patterns," she said.

Importance of support and plans for the future

Despite the fact that the lyceum has been operating for only a few months, the demand for its services exceeds expectations. Olesya Taran is actively looking for opportunities to expand, including considering grant opportunities. "We are now at the stage where we see that next year we will need additional premises that will meet all safety and comfort requirements," she explains.

Olesya Taran's participation in the U&We Hub for Women helped her achieve today's results, where she gained the necessary knowledge, presented her idea and received support from the local community. "This is an extremely useful initiative that allows you to test ideas, get feedback, and realize that people need your business. In fact, I learned from them, presented my idea and I want to actually implement it , and learned how the women's community feels about it. So, I defended the project, won second place, and got the most important thing, perhaps, feedback from many women who said that this is very necessary in our place, we lack this ," the entrepreneur concludes.

PROSVITA Lyceum is not just an educational institution, but a place where children receive quality knowledge, support and motivation. It creates conditions for comprehensive development, helps to realize ambitions and prepares students for successful admission to higher education institutions.

Olesya Taran's story is an example of how perseverance and community support can become the foundation for implementing ideas that change the lives of not only one family but an entire generation. Brovary once again demonstrates that it is a city of opportunities for those who are ready to act and change the world around them.

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In Brovary, the City Council operates a  Business Support Center where entrepreneurs and people who are just planning to start their own business can get free advice on business registration, renting premises, and receiving grants. This year, about 150 people, mostly representatives of micro and small businesses, applied to the Center.

According to the mayor of Brovary, Ihor Sapozhko, Brovary managed to attract more than UAH 466 million in investments and create almost 600 new jobs during martial law as part of the implementation of [76] investment projects . He added that during the period of martial law, the number of various companies and individual entrepreneurs in the Brovary community has increased - currently there are more than 18 thousand of them. 

In addition to foreign funding, Brovary will also receive other assistance from the twin cities. For example, German partners have provided the local community with generators, medical equipment, special vehicles, and much more. In October, a representative of the municipality of the German twin city of Jena, City Councilor Matthias Mitt, arrived in Brovary to identify specific areas for further cooperation with his Ukrainian colleagues.

In general, as part of cooperation with the German cities of Jena and Erlangen, as well as the Lan Dill district, Brovary received three ambulances, four fire trucks, three units of public transport, one school bus, generators, and various equipment for community schools and the modular town where the IDPs live.