April University of Galway students celebrate success at prestigious Student Media Awards

University of Galway is celebrating a standout performance at the 2025 National Student Media Awards with students securing three major awards.

The winners were led by first-year Bachelor of Arts Journalism student Vladyslav Piatin-Ponomarenko who secured Film Documentary of the Year for his personal and emotional short documentary, Imagine War – 75 Days of Survival in Mariupol, which documents his escape from Mariupol at the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Students secured two other awards: Emma Van Oosterhout, a fourth-year BA Global Media student, was named “Collaborative Journalist of the Year”, and Áine Ní Shíocháin, a BA Cumarsáid student, received an award for excellence in Irish-language journalism.

Tom Felle, Associate Professor of Journalism at University of Galway, said: “We are immensely proud of our students' achievements and these awards are a testament to their talent, resilience, and dedication. I would also like to acknowledge my colleagues across the Journalism and Media team for their hard work and support of our students throughout the year.”

University of Galway students were shortlisted for eight awards in total, including a nomination for its hyperlocal news site, Galway Pulse, in the “News Site of the Year” category.

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