Please join us at the inaugural MIT Ukraine Innovation Hub event, featuring two visiting speakers, Hanna Montavon and Ian Miller, who will present on Sustainable Innovation in Ukraine and Helping Ukrainians Survive via Exponential Programs in Defense Tech and Fundraising. Light refreshments will be served.

3-4 pm   Hanna Montavon:  Sustainable Innovation in Ukraine

 Hanna Montavon is the Founder and CEO of Mykolaiv Water Hub - a German-Ukrainian Initiative focused on water, energy and agrifood innovation, human capital and critical infrastructure development for the South of Ukraine.  Hanna did her Bachelor in International Law at Kyiv International University and LL.M. at Humboldt University of Berlin. Since 2012, Hanna has been working as an institutional and legal consultant in the field of water infrastructure development in Eastern Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa for the German Development Bank (KfW).  Hear the story of how her team at Mykolaiv Water Hub, mostly expat Ukrainians, are accumulating their knowledge and energy to rebuild the City of Mykolaiv in the midst of the war.

4-5 pm   Ian Miller: Helping Ukrainians Survive via Exponential Programs in Defense Tech and Fundraising

Before the full invasion, Ian trained in Chemical Engineering at MIT and managed an energy systems software team. On the third day of the invasion, he flew to east Poland and began delivering front-line aid with a group of Ukrainians, Americans, and other Europeans, including US military veterans and fellow MIT alum. This work grew into Zero Line, a 501(c)(3) non-profit provider of research and aid to front-line Ukrainians. Zero Line supports Ukrainian programs that excel in both saving lives directly and in making systemic improvements within Ukraine's military in information sharing and technology. On Zero Line's latest aid convoy in September, ~50 volunteers from ~10 countries, including 4 MIT alum, flew into Finland and Poland and drove 25 vehicles containing ~1 million USD in aid to programs across Ukraine. Zero Line is scaling up convoys, seeking new volunteers, and hiring to support an over 10x rise in monthly aid delivered within 6 months. To learn more, visit zeroline.org/convoy, Time Magazine, or MIT News.