From 19 June to 18 July, Dubna was hosting the 15th International Internship for Young Scientists from the CIS countries organized by the International Innovative Nanotechnology Centre of the CIS countries (ININC CIS) with the support of the Intergovernmental Foundation for Educational, Scientific and Cultural Cooperation of the CIS (IFESCCO) and the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research.

Its participants were researchers, teachers, students, and postgraduates from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan. Following the results of the Internship, many of them were able to establish scientific contacts between their research centres and JINR laboratories.

The Internship programme was very extensive and included excursions to all the laboratories of the Institute, lectures, and consultations with leading JINR scientists, a visit to the Special Economic Zone ”Dubna” (SEZ), as well as to innovative enterprises: JSC SPC “Aspect”, JSC “Dedal”, companies of the SEZ biomedical cluster. Participants also visited the University “Dubna” and its departments related to digital production.

At the beginning of the Internship, participants were trained in team building, after which they were divided into international groups, each of which began to prepare its own scientific or innovative project. During the month, young scientists worked on theoretical and practical parts of the project using the capabilities of JINR laboratories in their free time from lectures and practical classes.

On 15 July, the JINR International Conference Hall hosted the defence of projects by Internship participants and a ceremony of awarding diplomas on the Internship completion. The defence was attended by FLNR Deputy Scientific Leader Mikhail Itkis, who gave detailed assessments of projects, and BLTP Scientific Secretary Alexander Andreev.

Director of ININC, JINR Director Assistant for Development Projects Alexander Ruzaev noted the effective work of all groups of young scientists and the relevance of the selected topics, “The groups have presented projects related to radiation protection, the development of multilayer films, the disposal of radioactive waste, and a number of other topics. One team has presented two projects at once: fundamental and applied. It has happened for the first time at such internships.” Alexander Ruzaev said that the current Internship had left him with a very positive impression since he had felt the mood for constructive work and openness to interact. In each group, a leader was chosen, the contribution of each participant to the project was demonstrated, everything was done very well, and the work brought great pleasure to participants. “Some students intend to continue working together after returning home. And we are glad that this has already become a common practice for our Internship,” he noted.

Alexander Ruzaev highlighted that participants were people of different ages, representatives of different scientific fields, and that was a characteristic feature of internships. This year, participants included both nuclear physicists and theorists, as well as chemists, biologists, IT and automation specialists. “It creates additional opportunities. The “cauldron” in which such different participants closely interact gives a very positive effect,” he explained and added that according to the results of this Internship, young scientists could come to JINR to participate in schools, go on business trips, and possibly to work in the future.

“The main purpose of the Internship is to show the possibilities of JINR and Dubna as a platform for international scientific cooperation for young scientists from the CIS countries. Not all of them represent JINR’s capabilities while being in their country. It is important that students should see and test these capabilities. It is obvious that no national centre in the CIS countries has the same capabilities as JINR. The basic facilities of the Institute and everyday communication with JINR researchers, including young scientists like themselves, certainly give participants a lot,” Alexander Ruzaev concluded.

Monica Israyelyan, a participant of the Internship from Armenia and a junior researcher of “Armbiotechnology” Scientific and Production Centre NAS RA, managed to establish cooperation between JINR and her research centre, “There were three staff members of us from Armenia during the Internship. I am a pharmacist, the other two students are physicists. I work at a scientific centre on high-precision equipment. Here we have met Head of the FLNP Sector of Raman Spectroscopy G. M. Arzumanyan. He has given a very interesting lecture to us, as a result of which we have found common topics for cooperation in the field of Raman spectroscopy and planned future working visits. In our centre, scientists are engaged in the synthesis of peptides, amino acids, and other things. And JINR has equipment that allows us to study synthesised compounds at a higher level than ours. This cooperation is a great achievement for us,” Monica Israyelyan said. She also added that at the meeting with the Vice-Rector of the University “Dubna”, the possibilities of academic student exchange between the University “Dubna” and her alma mater – Institute of Pharmacy of Yerevan State University had been discussed.

David Lazerov, a graduate of the North Caucasus of Mining and Metallurgical Institute (SKGMI, Vladikavkaz, Russia), graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in electronics and nanoelectronics and planned to continue his Master’s degree at the same university. However, during the Internship, he changed his mind by joining the Master’s programme at the University “Dubna”. Among the tours, David Lazerov remembered most of all the visit to the NICA complex, namely the MPD detector, where he together with other Internship participants from Vladikavkaz assembled a stand to check readings of MPD detectors. “If it works out, I would like to continue to cooperate with many of my Internship colleagues,” David Lazerov commented.

Meruert Maulet, a junior researcher of the NRC “Surface Engineering and Tribology” and lecturer of the Department of Physics of the Sarsen Amanzholov East Kazakhstan University, obtained a Bachelor’s degree in nuclear physics, but changed her direction to classical physics for Master’s and Doctoral degrees. She noted that she was watching many nuclear students lose motivation when they did not find prospects for their profession in the future. Meruert Maulet was inspired by her stay at JINR and now plans to give a lecture about JINR and its opportunities for young scientists to students of her university at the beginning of the academic year. “I am very pleased with the Internship, and JINR has made a great impression on me. I have felt how closely all seven laboratories of the Institute are connected. During classes, it has been clear that each lecturer has a thorough knowledge of their subject and at the same time explains it with all their heart. This month, we have received a huge amount of information, and I would like to keep in mind every word of these lecturers,” she summed up.