The first multifunctional smart shelter for students CLUST SPACE opened in Ukraine at the KPI
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On January 25th, the smart shelter CLUST SPACE officially opened at the Central Library of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, marking the first multifunctional shelter for students in Ukraine. The government, education, business, and civil initiatives representatives attended the event.
CLUST SPACE is a unique project combining safe shelter and modern coworking facilities. It aims to ensure uninterrupted educational processes during wartime and to serve as a platform for connecting talented, creative youth with businesses, as this space will continue to operate even after the conflict ends.
Ruslan Tymofieiev, who is the initiator of the CLUST SPACE project, entrepreneur, founder of the venture builder CLUST, and CEO of the venture fund Adventures Lab, commented that CLUST SPACE is not just a temporary solution to the issue of education during wartime, but rather a systematic approach to student development. This project addresses a wide range of social needs and represents a unique security solution that can be replicated in other regions of Ukraine and beyond.
The first smart shelter, CLUST SPACE, was constructed in the Central Library of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute. Previously, this basement area was one of the library’s book depositories. Today, it is a 600 m2 modern multifunctional space that adapts to the needs of students. Here, lectures can be held, conferences conducted, presentations given, hackathons organized, or it can be used as a coworking space for studying or exams. In addition to the general open space, the area includes large meeting rooms and rooms for online meetings, reading rooms, cafeterias, a gaming zone, shower cabins, and inclusive restrooms.
The shelter space can accommodate approximately 500 people. All the infrastructure, including the ventilation system, is designed for long-term stays during times of danger.
Mykhailo Zgurovsky, the rector of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, commented that safety is a critical condition for ensuring educational and scientific processes during wartime. Therefore, establishing a safe and comfortable space, the smart shelter CLUST SPACE, at Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, where the creative community can create world-class innovations, is of great significance for the university and the country. The new innovative shelter based on our scientific and technical library will serve both the KPI community and be effectively utilized by participants of the All-Ukrainian innovation ecosystem Sikorsky Challenge Ukraine, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, the Ministry of Digital Transformation, and other scientific and educational institutions and departments for the development of innovation.
The construction of smart shelter CLUST SPACE took about five months and cost $400,000, as such a space entails many architectural requirements. This includes a ventilation system that had to be updated entirely, armored glass, acoustic panels, autonomous power supply, accessibility features, and more. All of this became possible thanks to the support of partners. The primary donor of the CLUST SPACE project was Freedom Holding Corp. Additionally, the project was supported by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, the Kyiv City State Administration, the Sviсhado Foundation, and the Usyk Foundation.
