Training for veterans and military personnel from the Nadiya Youth Initiative Charitable Foundation — defenders mastered modern IT professions

The Nadiya Youth Initiative Charitable Foundation, with the support of Valery Dubil, Vita Prysyazhnyuk, Artem Chaplygin, and Yevgen Dovbnya, has successfully completed the first stage of training for military personnel, veterans, and heroes who have returned from captivity. The course was organised in collaboration with ITpedia Group and the Rehabilitation Forces of Ukraine.

"Our defenders are protecting our sky and our land today. And we must do everything we can to ensure that after victory, they have new opportunities for a dignified life. The first training stream is only the first stage of a large programme that will help thousands of defenders find themselves in a new profession and feel confident about the future," emphasised Valery Dubil, chairman of the supervisory board of the Nadiya Foundation and first deputy chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Health of the Nation.

The training was attended by active military personnel undergoing rehabilitation, veterans, and heroes who returned from captivity. Programme participants mastered modern IT areas — website creation, graphic design, working with neural networks, and the basics of front-end development.

‘This is a new start for our students. We saw how people's eyes light up again when they create their first website or design project. It's about restoring faith in their own abilities, about returning to normal life,’ said Danil, head of ITpedia Group.

The best graduates of the course received gifts from the Nadiya Foundation and ITpedia Group — tactical backpacks, touchscreen gloves, and certificates for subscriptions to neural networks, which will allow them to continue their education and improve their skills.

One of the graduates, a veteran who spent three years in Russian captivity, said: "After captivity, it is very difficult to return to peaceful life — it seems that time has stopped there. But here, everything is moving, changing, developing. These courses helped me find myself and understand that I too can be part of the modern world by mastering a new profession. There was a lot of practical training, and it was really useful."

The training programme was a continuation of the approach implemented by the Nadiya Foundation together with its partners — comprehensive rehabilitation combining medical, social and professional recovery.

‘In 2026, we are planning a second, expanded training stream, which will include more specialities, practical classes and participants. New IT areas will be added to the programme so that even more veterans and military personnel can obtain a modern education,’ summarised Vita Prysyazhnyuk, co-founder of the Nadiya Foundation.

Despite actively working on programmes for the rehabilitation and professional adaptation of veterans, the Nadiya Foundation continues to support the military on the front lines. During the full-scale war, the Nadiya team has carried out more than 360 missions, assisting the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard, border guards, the National Police, and the Main Intelligence Directorate. Thousands of pieces of critical equipment have been delivered to the front lines, ranging from Starlink terminals and electronic warfare systems to drones, generators, charging stations, vehicles, and medical equipment.

In this way, the Nadiya Foundation, together with its partners, is carrying out two key missions: helping defenders on the front lines and creating opportunities for them to rebuild their lives after returning home.