Mariia is a master’s student in International Relations and Public Diplomacy, currently studying in a double degree program between the Jagiellonian University in Krakow and the University of Siena in Italy. She has participated in multiple Erasmus+ programs focused on democracy, youth mobility, intercultural dialogue, countering propaganda, and environmental issues. Mariia is actively conducting research for her master’s thesis, which she began during her internship at the Ukrainian Embassy in Tbilisi, on how national identity shapes foreign policy in post-Soviet states, with a comparative focus on Ukraine and Georgia. Her academic interests include the post-Soviet space, national identity, and EU enlargement.