Every year, SumDU students win prestigious academic contests in various disciplines. Yuliia KOLODYCH (journalism student) shared her experience of participating in the International Student Academic Contest and the challenges she faced on her way to victory.

In April this year, the 11th International Student Olympiad “Ways and Mechanisms for Protecting Information and the Information Space of Ukraine from Harmful Data and Psychological Influences” was held. It was organized by the Kyiv University of Intellectual Property and Law. The winner was Yuliia KOLODYCH, a second-year student majoring in journalism.

This year, 18 teams from Ukraine, Georgia, and Kazakhstan took part in the intellectual competition. Yuliia participated online, presenting her research on the topic: “Emotional Media Messages within the Russian-Ukrainian War: Challenges and Threats of Influence” (supervised by Tetiana KOVALOVA, PhD in Social Communications, associate professor, deputy head at the Department of Journalism and Philology).

Yuliia actively participates in public, scientific, creative, and literary events. She recently won the Lesia Ukrainka International Literary Competition. Last year, she won the poetry competition “Rivers Flow Homeward Forever...” The student also presented the results of her research at the All-Ukrainian scientific conference “Current Problems of Journalism”. She became a co-organizer of the social journalism project “Touch of Stories,” created within the UPSHIFT program.

The student shared details of her participation in the Olympiad and her experience in scientific research.

Yuliia, this is not your first time participating in this competition. What has changed this time?

Yes, this is my second time participating, and I have won for our university both times. This time, I was not scared because I already knew how everything worked. But, like last time, it was very interesting! Tetiana Viktorivna and I chose an important topic about emotional messages in the media during wartime – something that really concerns us. I was confident in our research.

What difficulties arose during preparation or participation?

The difficulties were unexpected. I had to go to Lviv for my studies. On the day of my defense, I arrived there in the morning – right in the middle of a snowstorm! I had to urgently find a place with Internet and coffee where I could calmly defend my work. There were almost no establishments open, but I did not give up. And this is another valuable experience – not only scientific, but also life experience.

What does this victory mean to you?

It is not just a diploma. It is understanding that what you do is important. We are researching how the media space works during wartime, what risks emotional coloring of news carries. It is about the country’s information defense, and I am glad I can be involved in this.

What is the main conclusion you have drawn for yourself after participating?

If you are afraid, you have to go there. This competition used to scare me because it was a new format. But I took part and I have no regrets. Now, I am confident in myself, in my knowledge, and in our university.

Congratulations to Yuliia KOLODYCH and her research supervisor on their victory! We wish them inspiration for new achievements!