The traditional “School of Young Biochemistry” was held on the basis of our department, on December 10 2022. More than forty young students from different parts of Ivano-Frankivsk region were participants of our performance. The purpose of this school was to develop interest in the disciplines of the biological sciences, to promote modern experimental biology, to improve the practical skills of high school students, and to promote psychological support of students during war.
A fairly busy day was included:
– greeting words from the leadership and organizers of the event (the head of the organizational committee Oleksandra Abrat, the head of the Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology Maria Bayliak, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences Tetiana Mykytyn, ideological founder of the school Volodymyr Lushchak and main patron of event Oleh Lushchak);
– lecture on the topic “Excursion into the life and possibilities of the Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology” by associate professor Dmytro Gospodaryov;
– excursion through the department’s laboratories, where students were introduced to the main areas of our work and modern equipment (the tour was conducted by PhD student Vitaliy Balatskyi, senior specialist Anzhelika Pitukh and associate professor Victor Husak);
– practical training on determining the quality of milk and milk products, identifying basic bioorganic components in them, preparation and analysis of murine blood samples (the training was conducted by our young employees – Marian Ivanochko, Vitaliy Balatskyi, Vitaliy Derkachov, Oleh Demianchuk and Anzhelika Pitukh under the general supervision associate professor Oleksandra Abrat and with the help of second-fourth year students and master’s students);
– interesting quiz with commemorative prizes for 3 teams, conducted by assistant Ihor Yurkevych;
– active informal communication during snacks with goodies;
– awarding of participants with certificates and exchange of impressions.
We are glad that despite the difficult time for Ukraine, our students do not lose their initiative to gain new knowledge, and enthusiastic teachers ignite this spark in them.
We sincerely thank our patrons. They include Associate Professor of our department Oleh Lushchak, who currently works at the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute in Vienna, and his scientist friends who are from Ukraine, but currently also work in Austria, Germany and the USA. These wonderful people are Oleksandr and Anastasia Petrenko, Viktoria Bigunets and Yuliya Sytnikova. They had contributed funds that covered organizational costs for printed materials, prepared reagents, incentive prizes and delicious snacks for the participants. Also, those students who wrote a motivational letter have reimbursed their travel expenses.
We sincerely thank all colleagues and students who contributed to perform this event at a high level.
Winter School of Young Biochemist
