Participant of the Regional Competition "Young Person of the Year – 2025" in the Nomination "Youth Worker of the Year" Iryna Chubakha
Iryna Chubakha is a young educator who embodies the modern image of a leader-pedagogue, inspirer, and creator of the country's future. Over 8 years of creative and innovative work, she has become an example of professional growth, dedication to her craft, and love for children. Today, Iryna is the Deputy Director for Educational Work at Illinivka Core Secondary Education Institution with Advanced Foreign Language Study of the Illinivka Village Council, as well as an informatics teacher and integrated STEM course instructor. Her life motto is simple and profound: "There can be no learning without upbringing, no school without a student, and no teacher without love for their work."
Iryna has long transcended the formal boundaries of her positions, as her extraordinary energy and countless innovative ideas constantly drive her to seek and implement new approaches in teaching and upbringing. She actively integrates modern digital platforms and manages complex projects, and most importantly, she finds an individual approach to each child to help them feel their uniqueness and significance.
A leading place in Iryna's activity is occupied by working with youth, namely the development of student self-government and educational work in all its manifestations. She sees her mission as inspiring students and parents to actively participate in community development, fostering a creative educational environment where every child can realize their ideas.
Iryna actively implements innovative initiatives that enrich the educational process and contribute to youth development. Among her key achievements is the creation of high-quality media content on environmental issues, mediation, and creativity. She also initiates original contests where children can showcase their talents, engineering developments, and volunteer activities. Iryna has launched unique online projects, including the website "Ukrainian East," where Iryna's student, Danylo Tereshchenko, collects stories of people from Donetsk region who survived the war, and the media project "Illinivka Fairy Tale World," aimed at developing children's emotional and critical thinking and diverting them from the difficult present through instructive stories.
A significant achievement is also the "Lanterns of Dreams" LED light figure park project, well-known in the STEM community. As the head of the STEM center at the Illinivka Core Educational Institution, Iryna developed a model of a future interactive educational environment that will combine light, forms, and music. This project, which won second place at the regional "School Techno" competition in Kyiv and reached the final of the All-Ukrainian "STEAM House" modeling competition, aims to create a unique location for communication and learning for the youth of Donetsk region. Iryna sincerely believes that a great Victory will come very soon, and the park will shine in its full size, allowing the youth of Donetsk region to communicate and learn among interactive figures. One of Iryna's strategic goals is to make the "SovaScience" STEM hub at her institution recognizable in Ukraine. She also transforms short-term student projects into tutorial videos so that every child can join the magic of science, mathematics, engineering, and technology.
Iryna's educational activities have received wide recognition at both regional and national levels, highlighting her contribution to the development of modern education. She has distinguished herself not only by implementing innovative pedagogical approaches but also by actively participating in the creation of educational materials of national significance, such as the "Information Security Primer" textbook. Iryna actively presents her own original projects, particularly in the field of STEM education, sharing her experience at scientific and practical conferences and regional creative laboratories. Her presentations are dedicated to current topics such as personality formation in the context of the New Ukrainian School (NUS) and the specifics of educational work during wartime. Iryna's developments, including scenarios for educational events and innovative STEM projects, are actively published in professional collections, disseminating her successful pedagogical experience among colleagues throughout the country.
Iryna systematically develops students' digital literacy and media literacy. She actively studies modern AI-based platforms, interactive whiteboards, visualization and programming services, and shares her knowledge not only with students but also with colleagues. Her students create developmental games for peers, reference websites, content for learning the Ukrainian language, patriotic songs, and videos. She also addresses the issue of cybersecurity for students; this year, under her leadership, the media projects "Cybersecurity from Experts" and "Cybersecurity in Notes" were created.
Iryna's educational work always has a deep patriotic focus that permeates every project. She tirelessly develops educational hours and master classes, conducts information campaigns aimed at fostering a strong Ukrainian identity, cultivating values in children, and actively supporting our military. Iryna herself is an example of volunteering, involving and highlighting the charitable activities of educators in the Donetsk region, and engaging students in fundraising and charitable events. Her innovative approach is evident in her use of artificial intelligence to create songs and videos based on poems by colleagues and students, which allows preserving the history and creativity of youth and educators forever in binary code, transforming each initiative into a unique cultural artifact.
Iryna Chubakha is sincere, inspired, ready to take responsibility, and share her experience. She miraculously manages to combine her love for children and colleagues, for information technology and STEM, for her native land and Ukraine. She not only performs her job but transforms every project into a source of inspiration.