For 10 years in a row, the Council of Young Scientists has been successfully functioning at Lesya Ukrainka Volyn National University as a voluntary association of young scientists providing comprehensive support for the scientific, innovative, inventive and other creative activities of young scientists. The Head of the Council of Young Scientists is Hennadiy Golub, Candidate of Geographical Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Economic and Social Geography, scholarship holder of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, author of more than 100 scientific publications in the field of social and political geography, regional policy and demography.
– Hennadiy Serhiyovych, you have been the Head of the Council of Young Scientists for two years. Tell us briefly about the work of the Council, what is its Head’s mission?
– The Council of Young Scientists of the University contributes to raising the scientific and professional level of young scientists, and also coordinates their activities aimed at the development of research initiatives, the implementation of projects and the organisation of scientific events. The assets of the Council are young lecturers who are creative, original, confident in the future of our University, and serve an example to inspire the students’ scientific activity. Our team is an indispensable participant in the implementation of scientific research programmes and the subject of ensuring the high scientific image of Lesya Ukrainka Volun National University. Regarding the mission of the Head of the Council, I believe that any association of people to achieve a common goal should be coordinated, motivated and active. Therefore, I try to establish teamwork, division of responsibilities, and mutual assistance in the fulfillment of goal-setting and accomplishing the tasks as much as possible. I always aim to find maximum support for the realisation of planned projects, research and training, as well as to establish connections with the most progressive young scientists of Ukraine and the EU countries.
– How do you establish mutual communication with the team?
– We are trying to move away from standard plenary meetings and excessive formality in work matters, therefore we are implementing a new format of our regular meetings in the format of discussion platforms and team building as much as possible. Such meetings contribute to establishing direct communications, strengthening informal ties in our team, and allow each member of the Council to show initiative, creativity and leadership qualities.
– One of the areas of your work is cooperation with the Council of Young Scientists at the Ministry of Education and Culture of Ukraine. Tell us about the work in this direction.
– We interact quite closely with the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, whose team is successfully reforming the young science of Ukraine and implementing many useful and interesting initiatives. The meeting of young scientists of the Volyn region with representatives of the Council of Young Scientists at the Ministry of Education and Culture of Ukraine, which took place at our University in February 2021, vividly exemplified establishing joint communication and partnership ties. In general, for the past year and a half, my colleagues and I have been active participants in national programmes organized by the Council of the Ministry of Education and Culture of Ukraine. This is primarily work at the 1st and 2nd All-Ukrainian Forums of Councils of Young Scientists, participation in summer and winter schools of young scientists, educational and scientific trainings and projects, the annual "Young Scientist of the Year" competition. I am glad that the staff of the Council of Young Scientists worthily represents our Lesya Ukrainka Volyn National University at these scientific events and communication platforms.
– What, in your opinion, besides participation in scientific events, contributes to the promotion of the results of scientific research and science in general?
– Personally, I do my best to ensure that my scientific activity increasingly brings practical, socially important results, relevant for the challenges of the time and commercialised into successful projects. I consider it my mission as the Head of the University's Research Council to popularise science in the mass media, among the public, in administrative and business circles for the sake of our fruitful cooperation, the purpose of which is financial support and real implementation of the intellectual product of scientists and motivation of young scientists to engage in research activities.
– In May of this year, you initiated the holding of a round table entitled "Transformation of Scientific Priorities in the Research of Young Scientists in War Conditions." Tell me, have the priorities in your scientific research changed?
– The full-scale war and the stress that each of us faced, of course, led to transformations in the professional and scientific sphere. However, I can say with optimism that the war did not break the spirit of young scientists, but on the contrary, encouraged them to look for new meanings in scientific activity, seeped into thoughts, articles, projects and changed scientific orientations to socially significant ones. In particular, in the field of my scientific interests, demography, political and social geography, after February 24, the priority of research shifted to the most topical issues related to the mass migration of our country’s population of and the largest since the end of World War II internal movement of people in Ukraine. I understand that the demographic, social, ethnic, electoral configuration of our country has dramatically and irreversibly changed. Therefore, a scientific basis is needed to understand all current social and geographical transformations, trends and the influence they will certainly have on the future of Ukraine.
– Today, Ukrainian scientists work tirelessly to ensure peace and harmony in the country, and a significant number of young scientists are actively engaged in volunteer activities. You are no exception. Tell us about your own experience.
– Yes, from the first day of the full-scale invasion, many of my colleagues met precisely at work in volunteer centers and aid stations. Subsequently, we began to establish relations with foreign volunteer organisations, commercial enterprises, scientists of various universities and reached out to all our foreign contacts, in general, we worked to find everything most necessary for our fighters and victims of hostilities. Currently, I continue volunteering in a narrower direction, namely, medical. Together with friends and colleagues, we are working on the assembly and transfer of first-class IFAK first-aid kits to the front-line troops. Also, recently we organised fundraising, purchase and transfer of a car to the East for military unit where a graduate of the Faculty of Geography serves.
– What advice or wish would you give to young scientists in order to achieve success?
– The success of a young scientist is enthusiasm for one's own activity, the desire to develop and expand one's horizons, the sparkle in one's eyes to implement projects and carry out research. Therefore, I wish my colleagues to believe in themselves, their strengths and knowledge, and most importantly, in their own country.
Research Unit
