It has been already a year since Yuliia Kovalenko, assistant professor at the Kharkiv State Academy of Culture, mostly lives in Latvia and works at ViA. She has been elected as researcher at ViA in July, 2023, and has accomplished her first year activities of the research project “CineGame Ukraine: a contemporary Ukrainian research-based digital art game for developing narrative skills and cinema literacy” No. 1233058 as a part of the European Commission’s Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions.
The project activities have been aimed at coupling cinematographic education with digital serious games, with the overarching goal of mastering modern film narratives.
The construction of narratives in the gaming prototype will be useful for training courses in filmmaking for cinematography students in Ukraine and abroad. In Ukrainian filmmaking education, techniques of storytelling are almost not included. Developing this project involving Ukrainian characters and plots will as well contribute to promoting knowledge of Ukrainian culture.
Yuliia has been actively using the possibilities of European mobility with the aim of networking, knowledge acquisition and integration in the European research communities. Participation in internships and training programs, as well as attending forums, helps to understand the specifics and trends of European science and gain experience in international scientific collaboration.
“All of this is not just personal development. Against the backdrop of communication processes that you observe, it becomes clear how to develop project and research work in Ukraine, how to make the Ukrainian scientific community an active participant in European scientific cooperation. I have great expectations for the most effective implementation of the acquired experience in my country.”
In the framework of ViA’s Open University, Yuliia has attended classes about cinema, Latvian culture, and obtained A1 certificate of Latvian language. Being passionate about filming, she actively documents everything she manages to visit, be it concerts and festivals like the National Song and Dance Festival, national holidays, city events or excursions to ethnographic and art museums.
“Latvia has enchanted me from the very first day of encountering this wonderful country and its inhabitants. I adore everything – Latvian songs and dances, language and nature, family and festive traditions, way of life and values. I feel happy to be a part of this country, community, and culture. Since my arrival here, a smile has not left my face, which was a stark contrast to the horrors of war I experienced in Kharkiv. I always return to Latvia with smile after internships and participation in scientific forums, visiting various countries in Europe. Latvia remains the most beautiful and wonderful place for me.”
Yuliia says that the Latvian language feels very familiar to her, as if she is not learning it but rather remembering it, as if she once knew it. The living conditions in Latvia inspire the researcher and provide opportunities for creative and scientific growth, giving hope for the best ahead.
Reports in scientific conferences
- Kovalenko Y. B., Immersive Narratives: Blending Cinematic Storytelling with Serious Gaming and Interactive Filmmaking. International Scientific Conference of Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences “Society. Technologies. Solutions”, April 12th, 2024.
- Kovalenko Y. B., Updating and preservation of audiovisual collections in the digital space of Ukraine. The 9th Baltic Sea Region Film History Conference. Academy of Culture, Riga (Latvia), June 6th-8th, 2024, accepted.
- Kovalenko Y. B., Loginova T. O. Interactive Media as a Means of Teaching Audiovisual Storytelling. Modern engineering innovation technologies. Issue 31. Part 4. Karlsruhe. 2024, 31-35.
- Kovalenko, Y. B. Artificial Intelligence in Audiovisual Media Education. Professional Development: Methodological Basis and Innovative Technologies: Materials of the All-Ukrainian Scientific and Pedagogical Qualification Improvement, January 1 - February 11, 2024. Lviv - Toruń: Liha-Pres, 2024, 112-115.
