On 12 – 14 December, a JINR delegation visited Tomsk Polytechnic University. The business programme of the visit started with the opening of the JINR Information Centre and a working meeting with the TPU management. The parties outlined both possible activity directions of the Infocentre and prospects for the cooperation between JINR and TPU in the fields of scientific research and personnel training.

The cooperation prospects were discussed in more detail at the round table “Cooperation of TPU and JINR: education, science. The JINR Information Centre, educational programmes”, which was attended by representatives of the TPU heads, including Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs Mikhail Solovyov, Vice-Rector for Science and Technology Transfer Leonid Sukhikh, Acting Head of the Office of Vice-Rector for Finance and Legal Affairs Andrey Lider, Director of the Engineering School of Nuclear Science and Engineering Oleg Dolmatov, Head of international nuclear educational programmes Vera Verkhoturova and others. Representatives of the University and the Institute discussed a joint plan for career guidance activities of the JINR Information Centre at TPU, the possibility to organize practices for TPU students and to implement a master’s degree programme based on JINR resources. Among other themes of the discussion were the topics for joint research and prospects for attracting young specialists, graduates of Tomsk Polytechnic University, to work at the laboratories of the Institute.

On the part of JINR, the round table was attended by Representative of the JINR Director for Cooperation with International and Russian Scientific Organizations Boris Sharkov, Director of the Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions Sergey Sidorchuk, Deputy Director of the Laboratory of Theoretical Physics Nikolay Antonenko, Acting Director of the University Centre Alexander Verkheev, heads of relevant departments.

One of the events in the programme of the Institute’s delegation was a meeting of JINR experts with Tomsk schoolchildren of 9-11 physics and mathematics grades. Young scientists of the Institute gave popular scientific lectures. Then the career guidance relay passed to the student audience in the framework of the School for Young Scientists held on 13 December, which was attended by TPU Master and Postgraduate students. The School was held simultaneously in two languages: in Russian for Russian students, and in English for students from abroad studying under the educational programme “Nuclear Science and Technology”. The students of the School got acquainted with the JINR main activities and listened to a number of lectures on the research carried out at the Institute on medical physics, neutron activation analysis in environmental and archaeological research, theoretical physics, and information technologies. In addition, educational programmes of the Joint Institute for students of specialised areas were presented.

Within the framework of the School for Young Scientists, an international round table in English entitled “Science brings nations together” was held, dedicated to the JINR expertise in personnel training for Member States and partner countries. Students and postgraduates of TPU from the JINR Member States, namely Egypt and Kazakhstan, as well as representatives of Ghana, Ethiopia, and other countries took part in it. The participants of the round table paid special attention to the interaction between JINR and the Arab Republic of Egypt, whose representatives make up a significant part among students enrolled in the Nuclear Science and Technology programme at TPU. A separate meeting was organized especially for them with the Head of the ARE national group at JINR Wael Badawy.

“The level of organization of еру events at TPU is very high, and we are glad that the interests of the University and JINR in the field of personnel training are so close. A large number of international students study at TPU, many of whom are participants of the Russian Nuclear Education Ambassadors programme initiated by the Rosatom Corporate Academy in 2019. Some of them are employees of nuclear agencies and specialised organizations in their countries. In this regard, the discussion held in the framework of the round table was distinguished by a high level of interest and competence of the participants, which is, of course, of great interest to us, including from the point of view of expanding the geography of cooperation,” Head of the JINR International Cooperation Department Dmitry Kamanin noted.

The final meeting of the delegation of the Institute with the TPU leaders was conlcuded with the signing of a protocol containing specific agreements reached during the visit. In particular, the intention of the TPU leadership to go on a return visit in early 2023 was recorded. Commenting on the outcome of the discussions, Andrey Lider stressed, “All the events within the framework of the current visit of the JINR delegation were useful not only to the students, but also to the entire University in order to outline steps for the further development of cooperation.”