About UKRIC
Ukraine Invention Convention — empowering the next generation of Ukrainian changemakers through applied innovation.
How It Started
In early 2026, Program Director Ben Kochenburger and NextMinds CEO Nicholas Briere launched a pilot program from Kramatorsk, Donetsk Oblast — funded almost entirely from their own pockets. 24 high-achieving students, many internally displaced by the full-scale invasion, completed a rigorous 9-week virtual curriculum in applied innovation. Five of the top finalists traveled to Connecticut, where they presented their inventions at the CIC State Finals at UConn, met Governor Ned Lamont, Congressmen Joe Courtney and Rosa DeLauro, and appeared on FOX 61, NBC Connecticut, and WFSB 3 News.
The NextMinds Method
Every UKRIC student masters a proven 7-step framework for applied innovation.
Identify
Spot a real problem in your community
Understand
Research existing solutions and gaps
Ideate
Brainstorm with frugal innovation constraints
Design
Sketch and model with CAD tools
Build
Prototype using available materials
Test
Validate with real users in your community
Communicate
Pitch your invention to the world
Project Leadership
A cross-border team uniting Ukrainian educators and frontline organizers with four decades of US innovation-education experience — building the program in-country, by Ukrainians, for Ukraine.
Ben Kochenburger
Founder, Ukraine Invention Convention · KramatorskA humanitarian-law J.D. who served as a legal fellow with Ukraine's Human Rights Commissioner in Kyiv and aided ICC atrocity-documentation efforts. Since 2022 he has funded and run civilian evacuations on the Donetsk frontline; in 2026 he launched UKRIC with Nick and NextMinds.
Varvara Skrypnyk
Co-Founder, Invention Academy Ukraine · KramatorskLead instructor for the first-year Donetsk deployment, she coordinated five Ukrainian inventors' travel to the US to meet Connecticut's Governor. At just twenty, Varvara already brings extensive experience from the Ukrainian military and from youth-focused causes.
Nick Briere
CEO, NextMindsBegan as a Connecticut Invention Convention student inventor in 1999, then launched the National Invention Convention in 2015 — growing it past 100,000 students. Named Executive Director in 2021, he led the 2024 rebrand to NextMinds and personally instructed Ukraine's first cohort.
Vitalii Svichynskyi
CEO, Next Ukraine FoundationAn operations executive who served as COO of Razom for Ukraine during the full-scale invasion, designing and scaling the organisation's end-to-end operational systems. He leads Next Ukraine Foundation, connecting Ukrainian and international talent with Ukraine's reconstruction, where UKRIC is the first programme.
Helen Charov
Director Emeritus, NextMindsA nonprofit leader and author who served as Executive Director of the Connecticut Invention Convention, advancing student creativity and STEM learning across decades. Her 2024 book Tatyana's War preserves her mother's WWII experiences in Donetsk.
Bri Livingood
Director of Invention AcademyA middle-school teacher with 15+ years in the classroom and a former private-school principal. She launched NextMinds' digital-learning initiatives in 2022 and founded Invention Academy in 2025 to house the organization's fast-growing virtual programs.
Ihor Protsenko
Co-Instructor, Invention Academy UkraineAn aerospace-engineering student at Kyiv Polytechnic who mentors grades 7–11 in mechanisms, electronics, and CAD at Maibutni school. He previously engineered autonomous UAV systems at Valkyrie Dynamics, pairing technical depth with hands-on STEM teaching.
Stuart Heggie
Media Producer & EditorA Sydney-based volunteer who spent months across 2022–2024 in Kharkiv repairing cars, trucks, and motorcycles damaged by Russia's invasion. In Kyiv he volunteers with Brave to Rebuild, clearing rubble and restoring apartments hit by missile and drone strikes. Now based in Kyiv, he produces and edits media for UKRIC.
Leonid Oliinyk
FundraisingA logistics and operations professional based in Kyiv. For the past year and a half, he led the supply chain direction at Razom for Ukraine, coordinating humanitarian aid flows during active wartime. He brings hands-on experience managing complex cross-border logistics under pressure — and a personal commitment to building Ukraine's future through education and innovation.
Oleksii Zakharchenko
CEO, Mas AgencyA communications, marketing, and online reputation management expert with more than 20 years of experience working with civil society organizations, charitable foundations, political leaders and businesses. His expertise includes developing and implementing communication strategies, launching startups, and leading advocacy campaigns.
Roadmap to 10,000 Students
Donetsk Oblast virtual pilot
Lviv & Kyiv expansion, hybrid format
4 regional hubs across Ukraine
National rollout across all oblasts
Fully integrated national model
