On 25 – 26 September 2021, a key event of the Year of Science and Technology in Russia – TECHNOSREDA (lit. “TECHNOSPHERE”) festival – brought together unique projects by the topline universities and research institutes, scientists and leaders, experts of the scientific community. The Festival took place at one of the main exhibition sites in Moscow – VDNH.

More than 100 research centres, technological companies, and leading universities in Russia took part in the event. Various activities were used to present scientific knowledge and achievements: lectures, workshops, presentations, and a film festival of topical scientific films. At the VDNH site, one could see and test the main inventions made by Russian scientists.

The JINR exhibition stand was installed in the Zone of Universities and Research Institutes of the Festival where visitors could get acquainted with the JINR projects and see the models of its basic facilities: the NICA complex, the Baikal-GVD deep-underwater neutrino telescope, the Superheavy Element Factory – the DC-280 cyclotron, Medical and Technical Complex, the IBR-2 pulsed reactor.

During two days of the Festival, more than 5,000 people learned about the JINR projects and laboratories. One of the numerous visitors of the JINR exhibition stand was V. N. Falkov, the Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation.

When telling one of the guests about the JINR Medical and Technical Complex, we found out that this guest used to be a patient at the Complex 15 years ago. It was a pleasure to find out that a former patient was not only alive and feeling well but also had a family and came to the JINR exhibition stand with his wife and child.

On the stage of the Zone of Universities and Research Institutes of the Festival, specialists of the Institute presented the JINR projects included in the activity plan of the Year of Science and Technology in the Russian Federation. Sergei Merts, a senior researcher at VBLHEP, spoke about the NICA complex, and a senior researcher at DLNP Bair Shaybonov gave a lecture on the Baikal-GVD deep-underwater neutrino telescope.

As part of the implementation of the projects dedicated to the Year of Science and Technology in the project “Just Science” popular science videos were made. They showed a part of the research and works carried out at JINR: “What are supercomputers and why do we need them?”, “Telescope at the bottom of Lake Baikal. How do scientists catch neutrinos?”. These and other videos were demonstrated on the screens of the Festival stages in the intervals between lectures and events. Festival visitors could learn by their own experience that the Festival slogan “Science is closer than it seems!” is real.