On 20 June 2022, the opening ceremony of the 15th International Internship for Young Scientists from the CIS countries took place in the Green Hall of the JINR International Conference Hall. The Internship is organized by the International Innovative Nanotechnology Centre of the CIS countries (ININC CIS). The long-standing partners of the Centre are the Intergovernmental Foundation for Educational, Scientific and Cultural Cooperation of the CIS (IFESCCO) and the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research.

Young scientists and specialists from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan have gathered in Dubna for the Internship which will last until 19 July.

Director of the ININC CIS non-profit partnership Alexander Ruzaev welcomed trainees and told them about the history of the centre’s creation, its aims and fields of work. Alexander Ruzaev said that internships had been held annually, starting from 2009. More than 300 people have taken part in them over this time. In 2010 – 2022, more than 150 scientists have received the ININC CIS grants for the development of scientific and innovative projects.

“We see two key tasks of the Internship. The first one is to provide you with contacts in the laboratories for scientific cooperation. For example, you may come here for work for some time or you would take part in collaborations. Secondly, we want you to establish contacts with each other. We have positive practice of trainees from various countries continuing joint work during several years and making joint publications in journals after the internship. It is highly important and demonstrates the effect of our events,” Alexander Ruzaev summarised the goals of the Internship.

Moreover, Head of the Social Infrastructure Management Office Andrey Tamonov gave a speech at the opening ceremony and formulated the tasks of the Internship from the JINR’s side.

“We have been engaged in these programmes for 12 years to create the information field in which young scientists from various countries – the most active, energetic, and promising ones – would learn about our Institute, what it provides them with, and cooperate with it. Our main objective is to make you our guides to your institutes in your countries, our assistants who would tell, including next generations of researchers, about the opportunities for cooperation with JINR, using the facilities, scientific knowledge, experience that the Institute has and that we are ready to provide as an international organization for free. We consider you as our ambassadors who could further extend this scientific cooperation,” he said.

Participation in Internships in Dubna provides additional opportunities for scientific and career growth of young scientists and specialists from the CIS countries. Thus, one of the trainees from Tajikistan is now a professor at the University “Dubna”. Another one holds the post of the Deputy Director of the Scientific-Practical Materials Research Centre of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. One more trainee heads the academic Institute of Geophysics in Armenia. Another participant of the Internship is Dean of the Faculty at the North Ossetian State University. S. Jabarov has been recently appointed Deputy Chairman of the Higher Attestation Commission under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan. He has also passed the ININC CIS Internship, received a grant from the centre, and worked at JINR.

Within the framework of the Internship, participants will visit the JINR laboratories, the University “Dubna” and its Digital Production Centre and the Experimental Design Bureau of Electrochemical Technology, JSC Scientific Production Centre ASPECT, the Special Economic Zone “Dubna”, and some other enterprises. Moreover, participants will soon have a team building event and will meet with representatives of the national groups of their countries in JINR.

In addition to the acquaintance with JINR and Dubna companies, participants work inside international teams of 4-5 people. They are supposed to prepare a joint scientific and technical or innovative project. The main goal of the practical task in such temporary creative teams is to establish a dialogue between young people. As a result of the Internship, projects will be defended, and the authors of the brightest works will be able to apply for grants from the ININC CIS next year.