Ukrainian delighted to graduate after finishing degree in Northern Ireland

A Ukrainian student is celebrating after finishing her degree in Northern Ireland.

Anastasiia Burlachenko is among a host of graduates who will celebrate their degrees from the Ulster University at a ceremony at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast on Monday.

She had been in the final year of her undergraduate degree in economics in Ukraine when war broke out.

Along with thousands of her fellow countrymen, she left Ukraine as part of a temporary relocation scheme which ultimately brought her to Northern Ireland in April 2022, where she was matched with a host family in Ballynahinch.

Ms Burlachenko picked up her studies and went on to complete the final semester of her undergraduate degree online and went on to study for a masters in marketing.

She described her host family as having become her second family, and paid tribute to their support and encouragement as she resumed her education.

“I don’t think I would have made it this far without them,” she said.

“I feel like my degree in economics has given me a deep understanding in the area of statistics and data analysis and while I am highly analytical and a data lover, I have a creative streek too.

“I absolutely loved the marketing modules that I studied as part of my undergraduate degree, they were so interesting.

“There are so many layers to marketing, from social media, to website design, to advertising – I loved it all. It felt like a very natural next move was to undertake a masters in marketing.”

Despite being so far from all that was familiar, Ms Burlachenko said she felt “right at home” on the Ulster University campus.

“It’s about a 40-minute bus journey for me but the Belfast campus is right in the city centre and very conveniently located,” she said.

“I really loved all the interactive seminars and the chance to work on collaborative projects. A definite highlight for me was our trip to Germany as part of one of the modules.

“We travelled to Kempten University of Applied Science and worked with students from Kempten and also Lapland University of Applied Sciences, applying design principles to develop innovative solutions for a real-world case company.

“It was an amazing experience and really helped to develop my creative problem-solving abilities, as we were challenged to think outside the box and come up with different practical solutions.”

Ms Burlachenko said that adapting to a new education system came with challenges, but her professors supported her and she said she made friends with her classmates from day one.

Now she is looking forward to a future in Northern Ireland and working in marketing.

“I want to pursue my career in marketing, and I am actively looking for graduate jobs with a focus on Search Engine Optimisation because I am interested in working with data sets and would love to leverage my analytical skills to enhance digital marketing campaigns,” she said.

Meanwhile, a woman who aims to help others after living with a congenital heart disease will graduate with a PhD in nursing and health research.

Rachel Savage, a mature student from Bangor, went through several open heart surgeries during her childhood and missed significant portions of her school career due to ill-health.

But she persisted with education through a further education college and went on to complete an undergraduate degree in cardiovascular healthcare science, before moving into cardiovascular research.

“I have had lots of health challenges during my time studying at Ulster – including several strokes, TIAs, surgery, as well as shielding during Covid,” she said.

“I think most people doing a PhD would describe persistence as a quality needed to complete a PhD and because of the various health issues I’ve had throughout my life, I was fortunate to be able to develop this quality from a young age, which helped me overcome the challenges I faced during my time studying at Ulster.”

Ms Savage is now enjoying a role as a lecturer in healthcare science at Ulster University and continued her academic pursuits by recently starting the PgCHEP (Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education Practice) and remains actively involved in cardiovascular research at Ulster University.