Charla 'The academic entrepreneur: Lessons from combining research and practice'

Mykhailo Makhno is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Computer Science and Cybernetics at Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv (Ukraine). He combines academic and business experience. He started programming in high school and worked on geo-information systems while studying at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. He used his university knowledge to move into a leadership role in e-commerce before founding his software company, Ensocore. He has also worked on digital transformation projects and developed AI-based software products. Alongside his business activities, Mykhailo earned a PhD and now teaches at the university, working on research projects, international collaborations and student initiatives, including internships and coding competitions. His work often involves applying academic methods to practical business problems, especially in software development and process optimisation, while adapting to challenges such as the ongoing war.

He is also involved in Karma Digital, the official distributor of JBL, Harman Kardon and other major audio/video brands, helping them with their digital transformation.

He has experience as a team coach for his engineering students in several hackathons, most recently in the International Collegiate Programing Contest (ICPC Europe Championship) semi-finals in Porto, Portugal.