Co-Founder and Director of Studies, UnifyHub
Ksenia Izotova
Ksenia leads the methodology, curriculum and academic quality behind UnifyHub’s role-specific corporate language programmes. Her work connects assessment evidence with the situations people actually handle at work.
Professional bio
Ksenia Izotova is Co-Founder and Director of Studies at UnifyHub. She has worked in language education and programme design since 2007.
At UnifyHub, she leads curriculum strategy, methodology and academic quality for role-specific corporate language programmes. Her background combines philology, advanced teacher education and programme development.
She holds a Master of Philology from Saint Petersburg State University, a Cambridge DELTA and CELTA, and CPE certification at C2 level. Her work focuses on turning real workplace situations into assessment tasks, learning objectives, course materials and review criteria that educators can use consistently.
At UnifyHub, she leads curriculum strategy, methodology and academic quality for role-specific corporate language programmes. Her background combines philology, advanced teacher education and programme development.
She holds a Master of Philology from Saint Petersburg State University, a Cambridge DELTA and CELTA, and CPE certification at C2 level. Her work focuses on turning real workplace situations into assessment tasks, learning objectives, course materials and review criteria that educators can use consistently.
Current role at UnifyHub
As Director of Studies, Ksenia is responsible for the methodology, curriculum, assessment logic and academic quality used across UnifyHub programmes. She reviews how a client need is translated into learning objectives, whether practice resembles the work learners need to do, and what evidence can be collected during the programme.
The role also involves programme review. If the learners' tasks change, participation falls or a group is poorly matched, the answer may be a curriculum adjustment, a change in task design or a different group setup. More language content is not automatically the right response.
The role also involves programme review. If the learners' tasks change, participation falls or a group is poorly matched, the answer may be a curriculum adjustment, a change in task design or a different group setup. More language content is not automatically the right response.
Areas of expertise
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Learning methodology for corporate language programmes -
Curriculum design for international technology teams -
Workplace English assessment and CEFR-informed placement -
Task-based learning and English for Specific Purposes -
Role-specific programmes for Engineering, QA, DevOps, Product and management roles -
AI-assisted learning design with human review
What Ksenia designs and reviews
From a broad request to a workable learning task
"Meetings" gives useful context, but it is too broad to design or assess a specialised course. "Run two stand-ups a week and respond when colleagues challenge the estimate" is more useful. It identifies the task, frequency and interaction.
Ksenia’s work begins with that level of detail. CEFR remains part of the profile, alongside the learner’s role, productive skills, recurring situations and the conditions in which the communication happens. The result is a learning plan built around practice that can be observed and reviewed.
Ksenia’s work begins with that level of detail. CEFR remains part of the profile, alongside the learner’s role, productive skills, recurring situations and the conditions in which the communication happens. The result is a learning plan built around practice that can be observed and reviewed.
AI-assisted learning design
UnifyHub may use AI to find and rework relevant source material or to produce early content options. The instructional decisions still need a person.
Ksenia defines the task, checks whether the language and context are credible, plans the practice sequence and reviews the final material before it reaches learners.
Ksenia defines the task, checks whether the language and context are credible, plans the practice sequence and reviews the final material before it reaches learners.
This use of AI is practical and limited. Speed is useful. It does not replace subject judgment, learner feedback or educator review.
Professional background and qualifications
Ksenia co-founded Lingvoexpert in 2007 and served as its Director of Studies until 2022, when she became Co-Founder and Director of Studies at UnifyHub.
In 2025, she took part in the Antler MENAP Residency, Saudi Arabia cohort.
In 2025, she took part in the Antler MENAP Residency, Saudi Arabia cohort.
Podcast and public conversations
Ksenia hosts the UnifyHub podcast, an English-language series for HR, People, Talent and L&D professionals working with international teams. Her guests include HR leaders, founders, recruiters and People professionals discussing hiring, leadership, careers, workplace culture, AI in HR and international teams.
Season 1 was originally released as HR Circle, a joint editorial project by UnifyHub and International HR Club, and was co-hosted with Timur Novopashin.
Season 1 was originally released as HR Circle, a joint editorial project by UnifyHub and International HR Club, and was co-hosted with Timur Novopashin.
