On 2–4 April 2025, representatives of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research visited Tomsk and took part in a number of regional educational events. The JINR Information Centre at Tomsk Polytechnic University (TPU) provided organizational support.

The key event of the visit programme was the round table entitled “Physics teaching activity of university students in the region’s educational institutions”. Tomsk Region Deputy Governor for Education, Youth Policy, and Digital Development Natalia Kiselyova took part in it remotely. Other participants were principals of Tomsk and Tomsk Region schools, representatives of leading universities (TPU, Tomsk State University (TSU), and Tomsk State Pedagogical University (TSPU), and students planning a career in pedagogy or already teaching in the region’s schools. Some of them took part in the JINR Teachers of the Future seminar. The round table was organized by Tomsk Polytechnic University with the support of the Laboratory of New Engineering Education, and its Head Oksana Zamyatina moderated the discussion.

Natalia Kiselyova welcomed the participants, outlining the key objectives of education development in the Tomsk Region and noting the regional authorities’ special support of schools. JINR University Centre (UC) Director Dmitry Kamanin highlighted the long-term, mutually beneficial partnership between the Joint Institute and TPU in personnel training, which is associated with the active work of the information centre. He suggested using the start of the first run at the NICA Accelerator Complex as a valuable opportunity for introducing more engineering and physics educational initiatives. An UC JINR leading methodologist Petr Shirkov provided an overview of the institute’s educational programmes and researchers’ role in popularising natural science among schoolchildren. Head of the JINR Information Centre, Head of the TPU Division for Experimental Physics Andrey Lider spoke about the numerous events that Tomsk Polytechnic University holds for the region’s students and teachers. The initiatives he discussed are aimed at improving physics learning for schoolchildren and developing educational practices in the Tomsk Region.

The presentations sparked a lively discussion about the educational situation in the region. The participants noted that there is significant scientific and pedagogical potential and that educational authorities are willing to promote it. There are, however, socio-demographic constraints and systemic problems that are characteristic for both Siberia and other regions. The possibility of introducing new textbooks for the in-depth study of physics, “Engineers of the Future”, created at JINR under the leadership of Yuri Panebrattsev, was considered as one of the ways of modernising learning process in the schools of Tomsk Region.

The discussion of cooperation between JINR and Tomsk universities in education continued at Tomsk State Pedagogical University. Director of the TSPU Centre for Additional Physical, Mathematical, and Natural Science Education Mikhail Chervonny outlined the university’s educational opportunities, including the training of future physics teachers, advanced training programmes for teachers, and career guidance projects for schoolchildren. The next step in developing the dialogue on cooperation will be the participation of Tomsk universities’ representatives in the 26th JEMS internship, which JINR will host from 14 to 18 April.

The delegation of the Joint Institute took part in the 26th All-Russian conference and competition of research and engineering design works of schoolchildren entitled “Young researchers contributing to science and technology”, held annually at Tomsk Polytechnic University. JINR representatives joined the jury of the Modern and Future Physics section and, following the results of the competition, presented the young participants with souvenirs from the Institute.

The scientific programme of the JINR delegation’s visit included several significant events. A researcher at the Frank Laboratory of Neutron Physics Constantin Hramco conducted a seminar titled “An experimental facility for elemental analysis using instant gamma quanta at the IBR-2 Reactor” for TPU employees and students, demonstrating promising areas for joint research. For all second-year physics students, the scientist gave a lecture “The neutron is always there. Serving the community”, which led to an active discussion. In addition, working meetings were held in Tomsk to discuss the organization of student internships in Dubna, including opportunities for future engineers to work at the NICA Accelerator Complex.