The presentation of the projects of the Important Ideas for the New Age All-Russian forum has taken place at the Saratov State University. The participants presented their initiatives in ecology, medicine, education, tourism, and social adaptation. The final part of the fourth forum was held from February 19 to 20 at the Moscow World Trade Centre.
The presentations were evaluated by Deputy Prime Minister of the region Alexei Nikitin, Minister of Investment Policy of the region Alexander Marchenko, representatives of the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, the Ministry of Education, and the Fund for the Promotion of Venture Investments in Small Enterprises in Research and Development. The meeting was attended by the vice-rectors, the directors of the institutes, the deans of the faculties, and the students of Saratov State University.
The guests and participants of the meeting were greeted by Vice-rector for Research and Digital Development, SSU, Alexei Koronovskii. ‘The task of finding and supporting extraordinary, effective ideas is, on the one hand, is very significant, on the other hand, it is difficult, uncommon. It is necessary to ensure openness, accessibility, and a kind of “elevator” from the origin of the idea to its implementation, and, at the same time, provide a comprehensive examination, assessment of its significance for the society. The university is just the place where a pool of ideas is gathered, and it is the organisation that is able to conduct comprehensive examinations.’
Alexander Marchenko spoke about the importance of the event. ‘More than 30 thousand ideas have been received from all over the country, which shows the significance of the forum and the active part of our citizens in the development agenda of Russia. All developments have received a professional assessment, have been examined by the authorities and the scientific community. Now, we have to bring the ideas to the final product.’
According to Alexei Nikitin, the main advantage of the region is traditionally the high level of education and professional staff. ‘Due to the significant intellectual potential large business companies are involved in the development and launch of new, often unique projects in region. We see that, every year, the Important Ideas for the New Age forum is becoming more and more popular. Our region is among the five most active regions of the Russian Federation in terms of the number of applications submitted. Their number has reached 1,400. This year, the student and teaching community has shown the greatest initiative,’ the regional deputy prime minister pointed out.
He drew the attention of those present to the fact that Saratov State University is the first and only university in the region that has signed a national inclusive agreement. This document is a project of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives to create a community of caring organisations that create special environment for people with special needs.
The forum participants presented five projects on various topics. The first project, the Two-Day Ethnographic Holiday, was presented by Assistant of the Department of Literary Studies and Journalism Maria Karmanova. The project is aimed at sharing the secrets the ethnocultural diversity of the region with the residents and guests of the city, promoting family tourism, and popularizing intraregional ethnotourism. Its authors strive to show via multimedia game means the peculiarities of each nationality and the universal character of life values.
The development of Mikhail Makhortov, a student at the Institute of Physics, Functional Near- Infrared Spectroscopy, is a simple and lightweight analogue of fMRI, a new method of functional neuroimaging. Using fNIRS, it is possible to assess the activity of the cortex not inside the tomograph, but in the laboratory and even outdoors during motor activity or daily activities of the patient.
The concept of the Book Tasting literary forum was presented by Vitalii Ageyenkov, a student at the Institute of Arts. The forum programme includes lecture meetings, interactive methods of memorising the information, bookcrossing, discussion platforms, literary dinners, the menu of which is based on the works of the Russian classic authors. As one more aspect of the implementation of his idea, Vitalii proposed to involve schoolchildren of the region in it.
Valerii Mevius, a first-year graduate student of the Institute of History and International Relations, told the participants of the event the programme about the adaptation of ex-conscripts into the training. According to his initiative, young men under the age of 35 are to work at schools and expand career prospects and competencies among the Russian population. The SSU student has already had some experience in educational initiatives. As part of the Pedagogical Landing, he managed to work as a volunteer teacher at a school in Kherson Region, as well as at Tatar National Gymnasium in Saratov.
The Otherwise, Algae Is Dead project was presented by Ekaterina Baranova. The staff and students of SSU have been participating in the implementation of the project as part of the partnership agreement on the Learning via Devotion module. It is aimed at making the responsibility population of the planet more sensible, including towards the great Volga River. Thus, the developers combined environmental education, separate collection of plastic lids, and artificial stocking of the river with herbivorous fish species – carps and white cupids. As part of the project, a network for collecting plastic lids has been created, educational meetings for pre-schoolers and schoolchildren are held, an eco-lesson model, an eco-quest for all ages, and an online eco-quiz for the residents of Saratov Region have been developed.
According to the results, the first place was given to Ekaterina Baranova’s environmental project, the second place was given to the Ethnoholiday by Maria Karmanova and Maria Yerokhina, the third place was given to the Book Tasting by Vitalii Ageyenkov. Mikhail Makhortov's infrared spectroscopy is in fourth place, and Valerii Mevius is in fifth place with a project for military personnel. The ideas of the participants received the support of relevant ministries and a chance to be implemented. The best developments will be presented to the Governor of the region.
The forum has been held on the decree of President Vladimir Putin since 2020 and includes socially significant initiatives and projects of caring citizens from all over the country. Every resident of Russia can share their ideas or projects on a special platform, get the necessary expertise, and support in implementation. This year, 30,731 projects in seven directions have been sent to the forum, which is held by ASI and Roscongress Foundation with the support of VEB.RF.
