Mykhailo's story

Hello everyone!  

My name is Mykhailo Pimkin, I was born in the industrial city of Krivyi Rih in eastern Ukraine, but I spent most of my life in the capital city, Kyiv. I came to the University of Birmingham to pursue International Business with Marketing as my Bachelor's degree. 

The early years 

Since my school years, I always aimed to create projects that bring value to society and contributed to industry development. Since the age of 13, I attended weekend courses at the MBA Kids International School, which broadened my horizons in the world of business and developed an early understanding of entrepreneurship. Through this experience, I also realised my interest in cross-cultural interactions and that there are so many businesses which source internationally and their marketing influences globally. 

This early exposure sparked my interest in the international dimension of business and played a key role in my decision to pursue this specific degree abroad, here at Birmingham. 

I left Ukraine at the age of 17, full of hope but also somewhat anxious. There was a fear of the unknown: “Can I do it on my own at such a young age?”. I was also leaving my family, not fully prepared for the reality of only seeing them a few times a year. Still, I wanted to make change, and my curiosity took over. It was challenging at first, as it would be for anyone, but I made a consistent effort to adapt quickly and take full control of my studies. During my first year of university, I met a lot of Ukrainians who were just as anxious yet motived just as I was, and they made my journey significantly easier. 

The war in Ukraine 

The full-scale invasion of Ukraine hit me like a ton of bricks. My family had already been forced to leave Luhansk in 2014 – where we had lived for several years due to my father’s work – as the city was close to the active combat zone. Yet again, I realised that my family had to escape, this time from Kyiv where they’d rebuilt their lives after Luhansk. And I was not even near them.  

The first few months were sleepless: I was constantly on my phone, checking the news and calling my parents, asking if they were safe as the city was being bombed. They were fortunate to flee the city, and eventually they left Ukraine – the country where they had hoped to build their future. But they cannot now. They are still abroad, trying to rebuild their lives once again, in the environment they did not expect to ever be, an environment to which they are strangers. 

I still check my phone every morning, hoping for fewer alerts and fewer headlines about bombs and drones hitting the cities where my grandparents, relatives, and friends live. Over the four years that constant background worry never fully disappeared.  

At the same time, it made me realise how important it is for other Ukrainian students abroad to find, meet, and support one another, as well as to share our culture and raise awareness about Ukraine. 

Building a Ukrainian student society  

That desire to bring Ukrainian students together is what drove me to start the Ukrainian Society at the University of Birmingham. I founded it and served as its President for two years, creating a space for Ukrainian students at UoB to stay connected with each other. As a committee, we made sure that our society was open to the wider university community through inclusive events and collaborations, so other students could learn more about Ukraine and engage with its culture. During those two years, we hosted the Annual Ukrainian Student Summit in 2023, bringing together over 100 participants from 40 UK universities to UoB, welcomed high-profile speakers on campus, and helped raise over £20,000 for humanitarian aid through a charity auction in Coventry. 

Four years on, I still want people to remember that Ukraine is not at peace, because it’s not something that’s “over” for a lot of families. Studying in Birmingham during this time taught me how to keep going even when my thoughts were somewhere else, and how to stay consistent with my studies and everyday life. I came here to learn international business, and I’m leaving with more confidence in myself, real leadership experience, and a stronger sense of responsibility. This whole journey has shaped me into someone who can organise things, support others, and keep moving forward.