Three mathematics teachers—participants in the Global Teacher Prize Ukraine 2026—will realize their educational dreams thanks to a grant from the Educational Initiatives Foundation. On October 3, in keeping with tradition for Teacher’s Day, the winners of the Global Teacher Prize Ukraine 2026 were honored in Kyiv.
This year’s top teachers in specific categories are:
“Preschool Education” — Vira Berezhok from Vinnytsia, Preschool Educational Institution No. 21.
“Mathematics Teacher” — Yuliia Zubareva from Zaporizhzhia, Zaporizhzhia Regional Academic Lyceum “Kozatskyi.”
“Chemistry Teacher” — Olena Trubchanina, Lyceum No. 2 of the Pokrovsk City Council, Donetsk Region.
“Ukrainians’ Choice” — Davyd Kuzmych, a Technology and Informatics teacher from Boryslav, Boryslav Lyceum (Boryslav City Council, Lviv Region).
“Financial Education Teacher” — Serhii Bychenko, a teacher of Financial Literacy, Informatics, Technology, and STEM at the Kharkiv Academic Lyceum “Intel 13” and the Ivan Ohiienko Vynnyky Scientific Lyceum.
“Teacher-Defender” — Oleksandr Chuchaiev (call sign “Tuman”), a History and Law teacher from the Kirovohrad region and an officer in a mechanized battalion of the 41st Separate Mechanized Brigade.
“Teacher of Integrity,” “Choice of the Heart,” and the special category “Inclusion” — Tetiana Hlebova, a Ukrainian Language and Literature teacher from Mariupol, currently at Zaporizhzhia Academic Lyceum No. 23.
The winner of the Global Teacher Prize Ukraine 2026 is Svitlana Merkulova, a foreign language teacher from Irpin, who received the grand prize — 1 …one million hryvnias.
Meanwhile, during a partner breakfast, the “Educational Initiatives Foundation” —which has been supporting the development of STEM education in Ukraine for 14 years—recognized three mathematics teachers from the award’s “Top 50” list. These educators are already incorporating STEM approaches into their teaching, though they do not yet teach an integrated STEM course at their respective institutions.
Congratulations to our grant recipients:
Yuliia Zubareva, from the “Kozatskyi” Zaporizhzhia Regional Academic Lyceum (Zaporizhzhia Regional Council)
Yuliia Rudnytska, from the “Uspikh” Smila Arts Lyceum (Cherkasy Regional Council)
Roman Chernov, from the “Obdarovanist” Kharkiv Scientific Lyceum (Kharkiv Regional Council)
We will be sharing updates on our pages soon regarding how they are bringing their educational dreams to life.
Thank you to the award team, Osvitoria, and the Global Teacher Prize for supporting teachers in Ukraine!
