Literature and mathematics, drawing and foreign languages, technical sciences and travel, chemistry and design, sports and cryptography, cooking and photography, political science and embroidery - this is not a complete list of hobbies of the girls who reached the final of the competition of pupils of scientific departments of the Kyiv Minor Academy of Sciences of Pupils' Youth "Educational Ambassadors of Kyiv MAS", which took place on June 8 at Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute.
"Educational Ambassadors are outstanding and bright girls who are not only actively engaged in research activities, demonstrate their intellectual and creative abilities and skills, but also have an active life position," Ania Ushchapivska, the host of the competition and one of its winners in 2021, introduced the participants of the final to the audience.
So, ten high school students working on projects in various fields of knowledge at the Kyiv Academy of Sciences presented their work and told the jury about themselves, their achievements, aspirations, and plans for the future, which chose this year's leaders from among the best young researchers (because it was the final, and only real stars made it to it). They competed for the titles of "Educational Ambassador - Scientist", "Educational Ambassador - Leader" and "Educational Ambassador - Winner according to the Junior Jury". The nominations "STEM Ambassador" and "Ambassador of Creativity and STEAM Sciences" were separately highlighted.
The jury consisted of Natalia Seminska, Vice-Rector for Educational Work of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, Viktoriia Ponomariova, member of the Ukrainian Association of Law Enforcement Officers, Sofia Holub, Advisor to the Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Foreign Policy, Head of the NGO "Equal Opportunities", and Iryna Polishchuk, Director of the Kyiv Academy of Sciences, Candidate of Chemical Sciences. The junior jury, which included participants and winners of this competition from different years, also worked in parallel. The participants were evaluated on a five-point scale based on their leadership skills, research papers, public speaking skills, and charisma.
The most important part of the final is, of course, the presentation. The time limit is five minutes for each finalist. On the central and side screens, there are slides with stories about them, descriptions of their work, and photos. The results that these high school students have already achieved are sometimes simply amazing. It is interesting because not only are their hobbies different, but also the areas and topics of their research are sometimes very serious.
For example, Anastasiia Kozak, a student of the KMAN Department of Technical Sciences and a student of Lyceum #142, is studying the impact of increasing the force of hydraulic impact on the performance of a hydraulic ram, which is very relevant today. Initially, it was a search for ways to solve the problem of flooded mines. In the current situation, the results of these studies are likely to be useful for other facilities as well. Moreover, Anastasiia has already developed a project and a prototype of a plant to solve the problem.
Sofia Kozynets, a student of the Department of Chemistry and Biology at KMAN and a student of the Kyiv Natural Science Lyceum #145, has delved into the problems of water purification and is working on creating a water purification device and her own startup based on it. "I am sure that neither my age nor my gender will be an obstacle on this path," she says.
Anastasia Kostenko, who studies at Mykhailo Hromov Lyceum #227 and at the same time at the Department of Ecology and Agricultural Sciences of the Kyiv Academy of Sciences, participated in several projects (as did most of the contestants). Now she is fascinated by ecology, and during the last academic year she prepared two research papers on a very specific and relevant topic. In one of them, she studied lead and identified the sources of its entry into the environment and into everyday items used by people. By the way, Nastia also shared her experience of writing papers in the conditions of blackouts due to shelling, which are familiar to every Kyivan, when she had to not only deal with scientific problems but also look for opportunities to continue working.
Olga Yurchuk, who is a student of the Computer Science Department of the Kyiv Academy of Arts and Sciences and studies at the Taras Shevchenko Specialized School for Advanced Study of Foreign Languages, was the fifth speaker. Among her many hobbies, science is probably the main one. She briefly presented her research in the highly sought-after field of cryptography, dedicated to the solitaire cipher, one of the most complex and extremely resistant to cracking.
Solomiya Rusyn, a student of the Economics Department of the Kyiv Academy of Arts and Sciences, a student of the 32nd economic group of the lyceum "Scientific Change", has chosen economics and English as her priority.
Therefore, the topic of her research is "Investment priorities of Ukraine in the context of integration into the EU," with which she has already won first place at the second (city) stage of the All-Ukrainian competition for the defense of research works by students-members of the Junior Academy of Sciences.
Maria Sydorenko, a student of the Department of Physics and Astronomy and a pupil of the specialized school No. 57, is already fluent in five languages and, as she said, she is not going to stop there. During her two years at KMAS, she participated in several sections. But her latest research was devoted to nuclear safety issues, "The Importance of Ensuring Stable Operation of Nuclear Reactor Cooling Systems as a Risk Factor for NPP Accidents: Potential Threats of a Nuclear Incident at Zaporizhzhia NPP." Based on its findings, it calculated the environmental consequences of possible accidents in reactor cooling systems and even developed recommendations to improve safety at nuclear power plants, including ZNPP.
However, it is simply impossible to present all the projects of the participants in one article. It is only worth noting that among them were self-developed websites and research on mathematical statistics "Monte Carlo Method and Its Practical Application" (Daryna Pochko), literary studies (Daria Tsyhanenko), a study on the reproduction of Ukrainian ethnicity in national cinema (Maria Gupalenko), and a study of innovations in education during the war (Oleksandra Overchenko).
And here are the exciting moments of the announcement of this year's winners. Actually, according to the director of the CIAA, all the finalists are already winners. And they all received diplomas and gifts. But the first among the best was determined by the jury. So Anastasia Kozak became the Science Ambassador who received the Big Owl, the main prize of the competition.
"As for me, this competition is another business card of the Kyiv Minor Academy of Sciences. While most people associate the MAS with a competition of scientific projects, we, the Kyiv MAS, have many additional activities. And working with our charming brains and beauties, with our girls, is what motivates us to hold this competition for the fifth year in a row," Iryna Polishchuk said about her admiration for this competition and its participants this year. Because among the hobbies of the girls who study and are engaged in the exact sciences are painting, poetry, and music. And this is really cool. This competition allows us to demonstrate that our girls, our youth in general, are extremely interesting and deep. As a person who cares about them, I see that we have a future, that our country has a future. When I listened to the finalists, I noticed that they want not only to take but also to give. Every second one of them talked about volunteering. They are ready to teach their peers on a volunteer basis, to get them interested in extracurricular education. They are ready to make educational cartoons, conduct free classes, and share what they know. And these are mostly ninth graders! And when they say that they want to become members of the Verkhovna Rada in the future, I will say frankly: I would definitely vote for them!"
According to Iryna Polishchuk, these girls are called KMAN Educational Ambassadors not for the sake of a nice phrase, but because they demonstrate to their peers that studying science is interesting, that it opens up the future for a young person and opens the door to an interesting life. And the mentors who work with them help them successfully implement their projects.
"This is my first time at this competition and the first time I had the honor to be a member of its jury," Natalia Seminska, Vice-Rector of KPI, shared her impressions. "It is the first time we are holding it on the territory of our university, because the conditions are convenient from all points of view. We gathered in the shelter of building 31, which means that we ensure not only this final, but also the safety of its participants. Of course, this is very important to us. And it is very good that this contest was held in KPI, because all the girls are incredibly talented and have great potential. At the same time, they stay in Ukraine and want to enter Ukrainian educational institutions. To be honest, we were simply inspired by their reports and want to continue organizing special events for them in the format that would be most interesting for them. And, of course, to involve not only girls but also boys in these events. Do we see them as our future students? Yes, of course!"
The credo of the Kyiv Junior Academy of Sciences is "We make smart people successful!". This year's Educational Ambassadors are a vivid illustration of its realization - not only smart and creative, but also truly successful.