In 1984, Maryna Kostikova graduated from the Kharkiv Institute of Radio Electronics with a degree in Automated Control Systems, and in 1995 she defended her dissertation for the degree of Candidate of Technical Sciences in the specialty 05.13.01 - System Analysis and Optimal Decision Theory. In 1997, by the decision of the Academic Council of Kharkiv State Automobile and Highway Technical University, she was awarded the academic title of Associate Professor of the Department of Informatics.

From 1986 to 2023, she worked at Kharkiv National Automobile and Highway University, as an associate professor since 1996.

Research interests: mathematical modeling, theory of schedules and its applications, information technologies in education.

As of September 30, 2024, she has received 5 certificates of copyright registration for the work, 2 textbooks with the stamp of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, 1 collection of problems with the stamp of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, 4 patents, and published 4 articles indexed in the Scopus database.