GLOBAL TEACHER PRIZE UKRAINE 2025

Selecting the best teacher of Ukraine in the Choice of the Ukrainians nomination

Finalists 2025

Yuliia Ometiukh

An art teacher and mother of four, she creates a space where every child can be themselves. Through theater and singing, she helps children find their voices, discover their talents, and take part in meaningful causes — including charity projects in support of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Yurii Pakhomov

Chemistry teacher Yurii Pakhomov speaks openly about his own dyslexia and proves to his students that challenges do not limit opportunities. His lessons turn science into action — from AR experiments to projects that raise hundreds of thousands of hryvnias for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Ruslan Shalamov

Ruslan Shalamov is a biology teacher and Honored Educator of Ukraine. One of his students won silver at the International Biology Olympiad, dozens of his graduates now work at leading universities worldwide, and he himself creates textbooks and trains teachers across the country.

Liudmyla Sakovych

Ms. Liudmyla is a teacher who turned Polish into one of the most popular languages in Lviv. Her students create projects and volunteer initiatives, while she shares her experience with colleagues and makes school a space of trust and resilience, even in times of war.

Kateryna Robotnytska

Kateryna Robotnytska turns Ukrainian language lessons into TED talks, quests, and podcasts. She created an online guidebook for children from occupied territories and The Nightingale Show, watched by millions. Her proudest achievement is what her students say: “Thanks to you, I fell in love with Ukrainian”.

Nataliia Vlasova

Nataliia Vlasova is a history teacher and principal of a lyceum in Dnipro, as well as an author of New Ukrainian School textbooks. During the war, she teaches even in bomb shelters, shares her experience through her blog, and hosts a “history segment” on DniproTV.

Kostiantyn Kravchuk

Kostiantyn Kravchuk left the university to be closer to schoolchildren during the war. He combines watercolor and graphic art with digital tools, teaching kids to work with Photopea, Inkscape, and AI. For him, the main thing is that students believe in their own talent.

Andrii Stetsiuk

Andrii Stetsiuk’s students model the Cherkasy Castle on 3D printers, sew Slavic costumes, and create cartoons. His robotics team KiborgsUA wins international competitions, while student research projects often become the first step toward future careers.

Oleksandr Tarasiuk

Mr. Oleksandr has been in the classroom for more than 30 years. His students win Olympiads and competitions, launch social projects, and even start their own businesses. For him, the main achievement is not titles, but a team of young people who believe in change and act here and now.

Yevhenii Atamasenko

Yevhenii Atamasenko has been teaching chemistry for more than 30 years, making it come alive: with students he researches the Dnipro River, creates eco-friendly products, and builds 3D molecular models. His projects have reached the international level, while his graduates go on to become doctors, ecologists, and scientists.

Highlights from 2024

Purpose of the award

🙋‍♀️
To attract the attention of society

To draw society's attention to the importance of education and the role of teachers. This is not only about encouraging teachers, but also an important social event that draws the public's attention to the key issues in the field of education.

🏆
Providing more opportunities for teachers

Provide teachers with more opportunities for professional development: tools to implement their own projects; meetings with their partners and peers for collaboration and inspiration; participation in the leading educational events and new career opportunities; and a platform to talk about their own ideas and contribute to education.

🤩
Raising the prestige of the teaching profession

To raise the prestige and popularity of the teaching profession in Ukraine. Discovering the significant contribution of teachers to the formation of the future society and emphasising the importance of their profession for the development of the country.

⭐️
Telling true stories

Telling and preserving the stories of teachers to highlight their contribution. Every teacher has their own story of success and impact on the lives of their students. The award was created to give everyone the chance to learn about these extraordinary and inspiring true stories.

🤝
Expanding the community

Engaging Ukrainian teachers in the global education community. Participating in the Global Teacher Prize Ukraine is an opportunity to join the large community of educators united by the common goal of supporting and celebrating teachers who make lives better.

Methodology

The selection of the TOP 10 Teachers was conducted transparently and openly, through several stages of independent evaluation. Learn more about how this process works by reviewing the methodology.

Read more

Questions and answers

The national award for outstanding teachers, the Global Teacher Prize Ukraine, is organised by Osvitoria. This public association has been working systematically for more than 10 years on the development and reform of education in Ukraine, creating innovative educational products, providing children with access to quality education, and training and supporting teachers. In 2017, Osvitoria signed a memorandum of understanding with the Varkey GEMS Foundation, the organiser of the global Global Teacher Prize, to establish the prize in Ukraine. Since then, the Global Teacher Prize Ukraine has annually honoured teachers who have made a significant impact on their students and society.

"Choice of Ukrainians" is one of the categories of the Global Teacher Prize Ukraine, where the winner is determined through a public vote on the Diia.Education platform. In addition to the main winner, the prize annually recognizes teachers in various categories, such as Young Teacher or Innovative Teacher. This approach allows for a greater number of talented educators to be recognized and motivated, highlighting their unique skills. The "Choice of Ukrainians" category aims to engage a broad audience in discovering progressive teachers, giving educators the opportunity to share their stories with a wider public and break out of the school bubble, as education impacts everyone!

In the "Choice of Ukrainians" category, 10 finalists of the Global Teacher Prize Ukraine 2025 participate. To reach this stage, they went through a rigorous selection process: 903 educators submitted their applications on the website globalteacherprize.org.ua, and another 2300 teachers were nominated by the public. After a technical review, around 90% of the applications proceeded to the evaluation stage by independent teams at five volunteer offices in Kyiv, Dnipro, Ivano-Frankivsk, Odesa, Lviv, and online. The teams included dedicated teachers, students, pupils, parents and representatives of educational organisations. At this stage, 50 semi-finalists were selected. In the second stage, each of them underwent an in-depth interview with representatives of independent educational organisations and previous years' finalists, resulting in the selection of the top 10 finalists. Each of these 10 finalists has a chance to compete for the Global Teacher Prize Ukraine 2025 title, as well as in specific categories, one of which is the "Choice of Ukrainians." Learn more about the process and selection criteria in the Methodology section.

No. The main winner will be determined by a competent jury during a two-day assessment center. However, anyone can cast their vote for the winner in the "Choice of Ukrainians" category, and we invite you to do so!

To do this, familiarize yourself with the profiles of the 10 nominees, choose the teacher whose professional story and approach resonate with you the most, and click the "Cast your vote" button under the corresponding profile. To be able to vote, please ensure you are logged in on the Diia.Education platform.

The voting results will be announced on October 4th during the Global Teacher Prize Ukraine awards ceremony, dedicated to World Teachers' Day. The winner of the "Choice of Ukrainians" category, along with the main winner, will be awarded on stage, and the event will be broadcast on the national TV marathon "United News" and on Osvitoria's YouTube channel.