USask’s top Arts and Science grad made time for what matters

As an undergraduate student at the University of Saskatchewan (USask), Mykyta Shvets worked on problems ranging from quantum computing to space technology, but nothing he learned was more important than the value of building community.

At USask’s 2026 Spring Convocation, the computer science and mathematics double honours student will receive the Haslam Medal, the award for the most distinguished graduate of the College of Arts and Science. He is also the top graduate in both computer science and mathematics and the winner of the Earl of Bessborough Prize in Science.

Shvets believes social connections were key to his success.

“You can really find many different people on campus. But you’ve got to join in. Don't just sit at home and study all day. You have to put yourself out there and explore,” he said.

Born in Ukraine, Shvets moved to Canada in 2017 at age 13. He’d taken English lessons back home but had never spoken to a native English speaker before arriving in Canada.

“Adjusting to the culture of teenagers while trying to learn the language at the same time was tricky,” he said.

Shvets, who attended high school at Evan Hardy Collegiate in Saskatoon, made quick progress with English and was soon taking advanced placement courses in every subject he could. By the time he arrived at USask, he had enough university credits to jump straight into the courses that interested him most.

Shvets knew he wanted to study computer science, but quickly found himself equally captivated by the methods of pure reasoning he was learning in his math classes. Meeting students in the USask Mathematics and Statistics Student Society (MS^3) sealed the deal on his decision to declare a second major in math.

Unlike high school, where most of his peers saw math as a chore, Shvets found at USask a community of people passionate about the subject. When they met up to socialize, they would also work through math problems, recommend classes, or talk about their favourite mathematicians on YouTube.

Shvets realized that math is not a solo pursuit, but “something we learn together.”

“I knew I wasn't alone,” he said. “It was really exciting to me as a first-year when I first found out about (MS^3). And the next year I decided, oh, I have to join in. I have to help out as much as I can.”

Shvets became a central figure in MS^3 and by his third year, he was the group’s president.

The math society was only his first step into campus life. Shvets lost count of how many student groups he joined over the years—it might have been as many as 30—finding them an invaluable way to learn, make friends or just have fun.

In between his social and leadership commitments, Shvets still found time to compete in high-level math and computer science competitions such as the ICPC Rocky Mountain North America regional programming contest. He also won two prestigious Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council Undergraduate Student Research Awards, allowing him to participate in paid summer research projects with USask faculty members.

In the lab of the Department of Computer Science’s Dr. Debajyoti Mondal (PhD), Shvets contributed to research on network visualization and computational geometry. With Department of Mathematics and Statistics professor Dr. Steven Rayan (DPhil) in the Centre for Quantum Topology and Its Applications (quanTA), he worked on quantum simulations of quantum materials.

“It was a real pleasure for me to mentor Mykyta during his time in quanTA,” said Rayan. “What impressed me was not simply his ability to learn several demanding subjects at once, but also his ability to make the abstract and computational sides of the project speak to one another so naturally. In Mykyta, I could see the workings of a highly organized and creative mind, one completely at ease in moving between mathematical structures and quantum computing circuits, and ultimately from abstractions to real-world applications. This was not supervision but rather collaboration in the best sense.”

Shvets found the summer research projects an engaging preview of the kind of work he might someday do as a graduate student. Wanting to get industry experience as well, he participated in the Computer Science Professional Internship Program. He landed a 16-month placement with Calian Advanced Technologies, contributing to practical solutions for Canada’s space sector. That experience led to a job offer as a junior software developer at Calian, where he now works.

“I think (the internship program) is a great opportunity for computer science students,” said Shvets. “Even if you don't get an internship out of it, you still get a lot of practice with interviews and resumes and get much more ready for a job in the real world.”

Shvets is excited to be applying the skills he learned at USask to meaningful, significant problems in the Saskatchewan tech industry. He hasn’t mapped out his future, but graduate studies might be part of it.

“I already miss my classes. It’s always fun to learn new things,” he said.