Build for Ukraine: MIT Innovators Tackle Misinformation, Education, and Infrastructure Challenges
From fighting disinformation to constructing new polymers, participants worked together to solve problems for Ukraine
In MIT’s Suffolk Building, a group of innovators sit around a projector, listening to a team of speakers address misinformation associated with Ukrainian subjects on Wikipedia. According to the group, the limitations of the Russian language create a systematic bias in English-language descriptions of Ukrainian subjects, leading to incorrect narratives and perspectives on already heavily-monitored Ukrainian heritage pages. The rest of the innovators ask for clarification, suggest new methods for gathering and flagging misinformation, and offer their services to help with the project.
This is not a research conference or lab meeting. This is Build for Ukraine.
Build for Ukraine was started by Ford International Professor of History Elizabeth Wood, MIT-Ukraine Program Manager Dr. Svitlana Krasynska, Research Scientist Dr. Phil Tinn PhD ‘16, and Dr. Ho Chit Siu '14, SM '15, PhD '18. The goal of the program was to bring together people at MIT and the Kyiv School of Economics to address some of the biggest humanitarian problems caused by Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. As a result of the class’s unique undertaking, Build for Ukraine was designed to be a project-focused class similar to a hackathon. Its focuses include constructing online infrastructure to detect misleading narratives, inventing and testing of materials as alternatives for HVAC systems, and streamlining innovations in the demining of Ukraine. For three-and-a-half weeks, the teams worked to create initiatives for resolving the shortcomings in their respective fields, culminating in the highlight of the class: a hackathon-style presentation that allows for both fellow classmates and professors to share their input.
For Catherine Tang ’25, a senior at MIT working on improving STEM education for children in Ukraine, collaboration was the most valuable part of this experience. Tang originally planned to focus on fighting disinformation, but decided to switch her focus to education due to her interactions with a classmate.
“When Nazar, a first year at Tufts and participant in this program, presented on his experience with the Ukraine Leadership & Technology Academy program (ULTA) and how it lead to Khan Academy for Ukraine, I was struck by how he described education as the means by which we could empower the next generation of Ukrainians students to help their country,” Tang said. “This made me certain that this is the area I wanted to address.”
According to Tang, average math and science scores have decreased over the course of the war, with dangerous conditions impacting learning for many Ukrainian children. In addition, Ukraine’s current educational infrastructure cannot adequately teach the science and math concepts that are necessary for Ukraine’s future. Tang’s group drew inspiration from ULTA, an educational program that bridges MIT education and the perspectives of Ukrainian high school students. Tang’s group introduced an initiative that would bring Beaver Works — an MIT summer program designed to give high school students hands-on STEM experience — to Ukraine. Instead of structuring content into long, monotonous flows of information, Tang’s initiative would use shorter, feedback-centered, and project-based teaching approaches for explaining material. As a result, Ukrainian students would be more excited to learn and build the hard skills necessary to succeed in the future and close the education gap created by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Initiatives from other teams also sought to revolutionize existing systems. One group showcased improved polymer filaments that reduce the energy cost of heating. Because of the material’s novel braiding patterns, these new polymer filaments reduce heat loss and energy needs in the winter, protecting Ukrainian civilians during frequent blackouts.
Another group proposed protocols for streamlining demining innovations to improve safety for civilians. They argue that lack of communication and technology in place makes Ukraine especially dangerous and susceptible to mining. The group proposed new protocols that not only allowed for better communication with civilians but also updated maps and charts to help educate and protect the public.
Tang’s group, like many others in the class, has already begun taking the next steps for their future plans. From contacting potential sponsors and securing funding to interviewing potential teachers and contacts in Ukraine, Tang and her team are aiming to get their project from Boston to Ukraine by June or July, in order for Ukrainian teachers to teach the summer program. “I see this project and the larger problem in education we’re trying to address as a lack of people rather than a lack of technical resources,” Tang said.
Through collaboration, innovation, and determination, Build for Ukraine is not just about generating ideas for the members—it is about actively shaping solutions that empower Ukrainians to rebuild, educate, and strengthen their country for the future.