USUST held a creative event ‘Book. Author. Idea’
April 23 2026, the Ukrainian State University of Science and Technologies hosted the creative meeting ‘Book. Author. Idea’ as part of the Intellectual Property Rights Week and within the framework of the popular science lecture series ‘Resilience of the Ukrainian Nation: history and present’.
The first-year students, academic mentors, faculty members of the SEI ‘PSACEA’, as well as representatives of other educational and scientific institutes of the university joined the event.
The event was organized by the USUST Student Development Department in cooperation with lecturers of the Department of Ukrainian Studies and Foreign Languages of the SEI ‘PSACEA’.
The meeting was dedicated to World Book and Copyright Day, which is celebrated annually on April 23.
The meeting was moderated by:
- Larysa Bohuslavska, Associate Professor at the Department of Ukrainian Studies and Foregn Languages, SEI ‘PSACEA’; head of the ‘Space of the Word’ student research group; Specialist at the USUST Student Affairs and Educational Work Department;
- Valentyna Babenko, Associate Professor at the Department of Ukrainian Studies and Foregn Languages, SEI ‘PSACEA’; head of the ‘Intellectual Hackathon’ student research group; head of the USUST Student Development Department;
- Olena Stepanenko, Associate Professor at the Department of Ukrainian Studies and Foregn Languages, SEI ‘PSACEA’; head of the ‘Yours: Ukrainian Studies’ student research group.
In her presentation, Larysa Bohuslavska invited the participants to view the book as a means of self-discovery and reflection on contemporary senses. She focused on issues that concern today’s readers: whether books can compete with TikTok and Netflix, why people continue to read in the digital age, and how the reading experience changes depending on the format – print or digital.
Olena Stepanenko introduced the participants to contemporary Ukrainian writer Martyn Yakub, the author of a series of detective novels, a volunteer, and a serviceman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine since 2024. The participants had the opportunity to watch a video interview with the author recorded near the frontline. In the interview, Martyn Yakub shared his reflections on the role of books in shaping thinking, the value of rereading, and the influence of literature on one’s worldview. The discussion addressed such questions as ‘why one book may sometimes be more important than dozens of others read?’ , and ‘what idea a single book can change?’ The writer also reflected on the role of the author in the digital age as a creator, blogger, or brand and on the influence of social media recommendations on shaping the literary taste.
Valentyna Babenko focused on current issues in intellectual property law. In her presentation, she explained when an idea can get the status of intellectual property and why respect for copyright is especially important today. Particular attention was paid to practical cases from social media, including potential violations related to reposts and screenshots.
The participants were also introduced to the principle of ‘Copyleft’ as a licensing model that allows works to be freely used and distributed, provided that the same rights are preserved for subsequent users.
The meeting was held as an open dialogue and sparked strong interest among the audience. The participants had the opportunity not only to join the discussion but also to rethink the role of the book, the author, and the idea in the modern information space.
Events of this kind contribute to the development of critical thinking, promote a culture of reading, and raise students’ awareness of copyright issues.