This year, 42 graduates of the UCU Business School master’s programs visited Plavya in the Boikivshchyna region at the beginning of the year, together with their families and partners, in particular the “Plai” ski resort. This is where the annual Alumni Winter Trip event took place, an event where graduates gather together in the Carpathians and share their success stories and the impact of their businesses on the development of the region and beyond. This year marked the 10th anniversary of the event.
The trip included many different activities, including climbing Mount Pikui. The route for the traditional winter mountain hike was suggested by Andriy Bandrivsky, co-founder of Gorgany and Turbat, graduate of the Key Executive MBA program and the UCU Business School mentoring program. The route was first conducted by two graduates of the Key Executive MBA program, Roman Petryliak and Ihor Popovich. Interestingly, it was during one of these joint trips to the mountains that Roman and Andriy began their business partnership, which strengthened the production capacity of the Ukrainian brand of high-quality tourist equipment Turbat.
We are pleased to share the results of the Alumni Winter Trip 2026:
- The 10th anniversary winter trip for graduates of the UCU Business School took place on January 9-11 at the Play ski resort and brought together 120 participants (42 graduates and their families). Both adults and children networked.
- The program included: networking and getting to know the participants, joint dinners, caroling with the band “Drig Lviv,” learning about Boiko traditions and more, hiking in the winter mountains, skiing, and a workshop on traditional Ukrainian embroidery from the “Motanka UCU” creative association.
- Excursion to the Plai eco-farm, meeting with the managers and co-owner of the Plai Ski Resort, tour of the hotel complex, and Sunday Liturgy at the local church.
- Meeting with the leaders of the Play Group: CEO Andriy Mysiv and co-owner and investor Oleg Denis, member of the Supervisory Board of the UCU Business School. They discussed the prospects and development plans for the resort.
- The participants also climbed Mount Pikui (1,405 m). Roman Petryliak and Igor Popovich, graduates of the Key Executive MBA program at UCU Business School and active members of the alumni community, served as guides for the mountain trip.
- A traditional element of the program was a festive dinner in embroidered shirts. The highlight of the dinner was musical accompaniment by the band Dryg. Participants sang old Christmas carols from different regions of Ukraine together with the band and had the opportunity to learn more about Ukrainian traditions.
Participants made vybiikas. Vybiika is a traditional Ukrainian technique of hand-decorating fabric, which involves applying patterns to canvas using wooden carved stamps (vybiikas) coated with paint, creating unique designs. The workshop was conducted by the student organization “Motanka” of the Ukrainian Catholic University.
We share the participants’ feedback from the event: Olena Sozanska added: “It is a joy to be among friends. The 10th anniversary Alumni Winter Trip of the UCU Business School brought together over 100 people — graduates of the business school, each of whom is a bright and interesting personality, and my only regret is that three days is not enough time to talk to everyone, and there were so many interesting activities: joint dinners, a closed meeting with Oleg Denis about the challenges and development of the Plai ski resort, the opening of the Gorgany store, skiing, a spa, a master class in woodblock printing, and caroling together! And a winter hike to Pikui (only the bravest went, accompanied by Roman Petryliak and Igor Popovych. I still didn’t dare). What can I say — a trip to remember”.
Graduates can learn more about how winter trips are organized. This information is available in the closed Facebook group for UCU Business School alumni, UCU Business School Alumni Association, or from the UCU Business School alumni department: director Tetiana Novolodska, +38 (063) 861 93 92, tnovolodska@ucu.edu.ua and coordinator Khristina Pestova: kpestova@ucu.edu.ua
