In November 2025, as part of the BRIDGE project, a series of educational webinars took place, dedicated to the interaction between artificial intelligence, Big Data, and public data: “AI, the ecosystem of big and public data — how it all works together”.

Kyiv School of Economics (KSE) instructors — Mykhailo Vidyakin, Angelina Shynkarenko, and Oleh Omelchenko, who earlier this spring completed a course developed by specialists from the University of Tartu (Estonia), shared the knowledge they gained with colleagues from the KSE community and the Universities Alliance, of which the Kyiv School of Economics is also a member.

On November 15, 22, and 29, online meetings were held discussing how innovation is transforming society, public administration, and education. Participants explored the responsible use of AI, the building of transparent systems, and the preparation of professionals to work with modern data technologies.

“AI and society: what are the prospects?”

On November 15, Mykhailo Vidyakin, instructor at the Kyiv School of Economics, entrepreneur, and strategist, opened the series with the first webinar titled “AI and society: what are the prospects?”. 

Drawing on his experience in developing courses on AI governance and use, he highlighted the societal challenges associated with rapid technological growth. Mykhailo discussed the legal and ethical dimensions of technology and examined in detail the key provisions of the EU AI Act, a European law that evaluates artificial intelligence through a risk-based framework. The discussion also touched on the delicate balance governments must strike — acting both as regulators who set the rules and as facilitators who create favorable conditions for technological innovation.

The session also explored how quickly AI is entering our daily lives: from public services and education to everyday business operations. Mykhailo emphasized AI’s potential to improve decision-making, automate routine tasks, and tailor services to individual needs. At the same time, he stressed that AI cannot operate without oversight — human supervision and ethical considerations are essential.

A particularly engaging part of the discussion focused on the Ukrainian context. Statistics show that 96% of Ukrainians possess digital skills, and more than half have skills at a basic level or higher. This provides a strong foundation for further innovation (for example, monitoring public procurement). However, it also requires heightened attention to privacy and trust between citizens and the government.

“Automating data pipelines with modern data processing tools”

The second webinar, held on November 22, took a completely different direction. This time, participants dove into specific tools and examined how these systems work from the inside. Angelina Shynkarenko, Data Engineer at Uklon and lecturer of Databases and Data Engineering at KSE, led a practical session titled “Automating data pipelines with modern data processing tools”. 

Angelina explained how modern data systems are built. A key idea was how to configure automated processes (pipelines) so that everything runs reliably and without failures — even when the amount of information grows dramatically. The group also discussed the vast volumes of data generated by humanity and the historical and technological factors that led to this. Participants learned about various units of data measurement (from bits to zettabytes) and about how data storage is becoming cheaper and simpler every year.

Special attention was given to Big Data challenges. Angelina explained why working with massive datasets requires not more powerful computers, but entirely different approaches and architectures. She demonstrated how data is collected, cleaned, and transformed into useful analytics, as well as how these tools have evolved over the past 13 years.

“Public data ecosystems: effective use and responsible AI integration”

The final webinar of the series took place on November 29 and was dedicated to the topic: “Public data ecosystems: effective use and responsible AI integration.” Oleh Omelchenko, instructor in data processing and visualization at KSE and Senior Product Analyst at MacPaw, focused on public data ecosystems, data quality management, and responsible integration of AI into organizational processes.

Oleh began by explaining what public data is and how it differs from government information. He highlighted Ukraine’s achievements in public data access, comparing the country with European states. Ukraine is among the leaders in the European Union in terms of open data maturity, despite the challenges posed by the full-scale invasion.

The instructor detailed the requirements that open data must meet. They should be complete, up-to-date, accessible to everyone without restrictions, and sourced from primary data providers. He explained different levels of data accessibility — from simply uploading files online to complex formats — referencing Tim Berners-Lee’s star rating system. Oleh emphasized the importance of public data for strengthening awareness and enabling a broad range of services, including business opportunities.

An especially interesting part of the webinar focused on the evolution of public data ecosystems (from the 1980s to today), in which artificial intelligence and machine learning now play leading roles. At the same time, Oleh highlighted risks, ethical concerns, and responsibility for algorithmic errors. He compared the approaches to AI oversight in the United States — which allows greater experimentation — and in the European Union, which is more cautious and strict. He stressed that technological development must remain transparent and understandable, reminding participants that data is a valuable resource that must be managed wisely and responsibly.

This webinar series is a great example of effective collaboration. Each such activity brings us closer to our main goal — developing a strong academic community.

We express our gratitude to our instructors and our partner — the University of Tartu — for the opportunity to learn and grow together!