On May 22, 2025, within the framework of the international Erasmus+ PROMENT project, another online training for female students as part of the gender mentoring initiative was held at Petro Mohyla Black Sea National University. This time, the topic of the meeting was the role and challenges of using artificial intelligence in academic research.

The speaker of the event, Candidate of Political Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Sociology and Political Science Tetyana Lushagina, shared with senior students of the “Political Science” and “Journalism” specialties her own experience of scientific activity and gender mentoring practices, and also presented practical approaches to integrating AI into academic activities, in particular in the preparation of coursework, diploma and scientific articles. She shared tools that can facilitate the routine tasks of a researcher, and also drew attention to the risks of losing critical thinking, violating academic integrity, and ethical challenges.

The event was held under the “Gender Mentoring” scheme, which is being implemented at Petro Mohyla National University of Chernivtsi within the framework of the PROMENT project (“Promoting professional education and active participation of students through the establishment of a comprehensive system of mentoring and tutoring in higher education institutions”). The initiative is aimed at developing leadership potential, supporting academic growth, and increasing the participation of women in science. The PROMENT project provides female students with a unique opportunity to join European mentoring practices, master digital tools, and acquire new skills that meet the modern challenges of the educational environment.

Participants learned:

• how to effectively apply neural networks at the stages of collecting, processing and verifying scientific information;
• how to avoid plagiarism and maintain original thinking in the age of digital assistants;
• what is an “artificial style” of a text and why is it important to preserve the human logic of presentation;
• how to increase your digital literacy so as not to become a victim of disinformation or AI manipulation.

A selection of 10 free online tools for scientific activities was presented separately, including:

• academic source search engines;
• automatic translation services;
• services for checking facts and the reliability of sources;
• data visualization and analysis tools.

The event was held in the format of an open discussion: participants actively asked questions, shared their own experiences, and reflected on the ethical boundaries of using the latest technologies in education and science. Special attention was focused on the issues of self-realization of women in science, support for young researchers, and the formation of a mentoring community.

The organizers sincerely thank all participants for their activity and inspiration, as well as the PROMENT project team for providing a platform for students’ self-realization and their academic development.

Join the next meetings to expand your academic horizons and master modern technologies in science!