Saratov State University hosted a meeting of SSU Rector Alexei Chumachenko with the researchers who had participated in a corporate internship at the Kochubey Centre, HSE, and the Congress of Young Scientists at Sirius, held in November 2023. 26 employees and students of the university shared their impressions. The training of young staff was carried out as part of the Priority 2030 federal programme. The moderator of the discussion was Head of the Office of Priority Projects and Programmes Maria Yerokhina.
At the beginning of the meeting, the rector wished his colleagues success and further professional and scientific growth. ‘Both fundamental and applied research are equally important to us. To reach the finished product, it is necessary to build capacity and develop your opportunities. In addition, special attention should be paid to interdisciplinary research, involving specialists from all scientific fields in the work,’ he pointed out.
Roman Pavlenko, Associate Professor of the Department of Literary Studies and Journalism, commented on the internship at the Kochubey Centre, HSE, in the city of Pushkin. From November 22 to 24, 19 university employees took the course in marketing communications for the promotion of university products. ‘Such corporate trips are of particular value not only from a professional point of view. It is here that its members communicate in an informal way and have the opportunity to recharge each other's ideas. The discussion of projects and the joint doing of homework were no less significant than the lectures themselves,’ he marked.
According to Roman Pavlenko, during the training, they learned useful details about the methods of interaction with applicants, the creation of landing pages for courses, as well as training video content.
As one of the participants of the internship, Associate Professor of the Department of Medical Physics Andrei Rytik noted, ‘students are the main people at the university, and if we build the educational process in accordance with their needs, then, everything turns out very smoothly. It was the internship that gave a new understanding of how to create the design of the educational process, fill the curriculum with meaning, and how to competently build the transition to digitalisation at the university.’
Head of the Media Centre, SSU, Larisa Suvorova shared her impressions about the work of the 3rd Congress of Young Scientists, which was held at Sirius from November 28 to 30. 18 university employees took part there, including 2 students.
As part of the educational programme of the congress, Professor of the Department of Theoretical and Social Philosophy Sofia Tikhonova acted as an expert at the Tango with Cyborg: Digitalisation and Social Change session. Senior Researcher at the Laboratory of Inorganic Chemistry Olga Goryacheva became the speaker of the RSF pitch session and a participant in the expert session on youth laboratories. She shared her personal experience and explained what means and methods of support help the university retain talented young people. In total, the SSU representatives attended more than 50 events, sessions, and discussions.
‘The trip to the congress turned out to be productive for all members of the delegation, we managed to embrace the most useful information in a busy programme. It is important that for the second year in a row, the delegation has included the university media professionals, since many topics of the forum were related specifically to media communications, branding, and promotion of educational resources on the web, as well as the popularisation of knowledge,’ Larisa Suvorova explained.
Associate Professor of the Department of Dynamic Modelling and Biomedical Engineering Yurii Ishbulatov stressed that as part of the congress it was possible to establish horizontal ties, participate in the RSF school, and demonstrate their professional achievements to the capital universities.
According to Associate Professor of the Department of Open Systems Physics Asel Adilova, the scale of the internships pleased both academically and in an applied way. ‘The congress is a versatile platform, both young scientists and experienced researchers can gain knowledge here. Many of the achievements of the colleagues from other universities will serve as a worthy basis for further work.’
The meeting participants were congratulated on the successful completion of their internships by Head of Priority Projects and Programmes Elena Yelina. She spoke about the need for interdisciplinary communication, because she assured that when boundaries begin to break, we understand that there are interesting people outside the walls who have something to share with this world. ‘It is from this interaction that new ideas, projects, grants, and scientific associations are born. And you, in turn, have something to share with younger colleagues who are just starting their professional career,’ she addressed the young specialists.
Vice-Rector for Research and Digital Development Alexei Koronovskii wished the scientists new achievements, continue developing, and boldly move towards new discoveries.
As part of an open dialogue, the participants of the meeting were able to discuss the issues of concern related to interdisciplinary research, scientific seminars and conferences, and updating the classroom fund.
The participants of the internship thanked the university management for an effective professional development programme, which was successful both in terms of content and organisation.
