TEF graduate Julia Mamchych, who this year was awarded a I. Kurchatov scholarship,  grew up in a family of power engineers and  familiar with a "peaceful atom" from childhood: "I am not unaware of the work of nuclear power plants, because I come from the town of Varash (Kuznetsovsk) - a satellite city of Rivne NPP. My whole family works at RNPP, my grandfather is a liquidator of the Chernobyl accident." 

It started in school

At school, the girl was interested in chemistry, participated in the "Small Kurchatov readings.” She decided to enter the Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute Faculty of Chemical Technology (According to the girl, she applied only to this university - the best technical university of Ukraine). She successfully studied at the Department of Inorganic Substances, Water Purification and General Chemical Technology, but continued to be interested in nuclear energy. Finally, she realized that she wanted to connect her life with the energy industry, so after graduating from the bachelor's degree she decided to study "Nuclear Energy" at the Department of Nuclear Power Stations and Engineering Thermal Physics. 

Opportunities for education

According to the student, in order to develop her competencies in this field, she gladly participates in energy projects, conferences, youth competitions. In particular, for the last five years she has been a prize-winner of the All-Ukrainian competition "Youth for Energetics of Ukraine: open competition of young scientists and power engineers ". She is also a winner of Ukrenergo Laboratories from NEC "Ukrenergo" for the development of innovative projects for implementation in the electricity sector of Ukraine. "After participating in the project, new ideas, thoughts and confidence emerged regarding my further development and development as a specialist in the energy sector. The new format of discussion between business and university graduates opens opportunities not only for employment, but also for the development of their own projects and scientific ideas, "Yulia shared with us. 

The curiosity of the young researcher and the thirst for new knowledge led her in 2015-2019 to the Spring School of NNEC "Energoatom". She successfully completed her studies, visited all operating nuclear power plants in Ukraine (after excursions she finally decided to enter the master's program "Atomic Energy") and became a winner of the case study "Strategy for the development of Ukraine's nuclear industry until 2030", proposing her own nuclear development project.

Public initiatives

Today Y. Mamchych is the manager of the "FemEnergy" project of the PO "Youth Energy Community". This organization unites and supports young people who want to develop the energy sector of Ukraine, forms a reserve of young energy professionals to ensure sustainable development of Ukraine's electricity sector. "In my work, I encourage women to obtain higher technical education, namely energy-oriented," says the student. - We conduct lectures-seminars for schoolchildren from different cities of Ukraine, implemented several projects aimed at promoting technical STEM-specialties, etc. I think we already have a certain result, because every year the number of women entering the Higher Education Institutions increases, many of them continue their professional path after graduation. “

[The full version of material is in Ukrainian language]