On 29 May, the opening of the 16th International Internship for Young Scientists and Specialists from the CIS Countries took place at the JINR International Conference Centre. During the internship in Dubna, the participants will visit the JINR laboratories and enterprises of the science city, as well as prepare projects. The authors of the best projects will have the opportunity to receive grants of the International Innovative Nanotechnology Centre of the CIS countries (ININC CIS).

Young scientists and specialists from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan have gathered to participate in the Internship which will last until 27 June. JINR Assistant Director for Development Projects, ININC CIS Director Alexander Ruzaev told the trainees about the history of the centre’s creation, its aims, and fields of work. From 2010 to 2023, about 400 people took part in internships, and more than 180 young scientists and specialists received 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, in the future you may come here to work or take part in collaborations. Secondly, we want you to establish contacts with each other”, Alexander Ruzaev said about the goals of the internship. He also added that over the years of such internships, a positive practice has appeared. Having visited Dubna, trainees from various countries continue joint work and make joint publications in journals in the future, which demonstrates the effectiveness of such events. “We are engaged in these programmes in order to create the information field in which young scientists from various countries learn about JINR. They become our guides, assistants who could talk about ways to cooperate with JINR, use the facilities, the scientific knowledge, the experience that the Institute has today and that we are ready to provide as an international organization,” Alexander Ruzaev said.

At the opening, Chief Scientific Secretary Sergey Nedelko, Senior Specialist of the Department of International Cooperation Elena Badawy, Head of the Innovations and Intellectual Property Department Igor Lensky, Chief Engineer of the Institute Boris Gikal delievered lectures to the participants of the internship. An informal meeting of trainees with representatives of the national groups of JINR employees took place. In the future, during the Internship, participants will visit the JINR laboratories, the “Dubna” University and its Digital Production Centre and the Experimental Design Bureau of Electrochemical Technology, JSC Scientific Production Centre ASPECT, the “Dubna” Special Economic Zone, and a number of high-tech enterprises of the SEZ.

Participants work inside international teams of 4-5 people. They are supposed to prepare a joint scientific and technical or innovative project. The organizers of the internship highlight that practical communication in such temporary creative teams helps to establish a scientific dialogue between young scientists from different countries. 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 in the future.

The internship is organized by the “International Innovative Nanotechnology Centre of the CIS countries” (ININC CIS), established in 2010 with the participation of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research and 12 other scientific and educational organizations from 8 countries. ININC CIS, which is the base CIS organization, annually conducts internships with the support of the Intergovernmental Foundation for Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Cooperation of the CIS and JINR Member States.