The NAUKA0+ Science Festival Opens at BNRU

The event is organised by the Ministry of Higher Education and Science, Belgorod Regional Government, Moscow State University, the Russian Academy of Sciences and Belgorod National Research University. This year Alisher Usmanov's charity fund 'Art, Science and Sport' fund is a key sponsor. The festival united schoolchildren, students, scientists, experts, representatives of government and business.

The opening day was marked by the attendance of local luminaries including Regional Governor Evgeny Savchenko, Member of the State Duma Deputy Valery Skrug, and Professor Oleg Polukhin, Rector of BNRU. Alongside schoolchildren, academics, students and businessmen, they toured the 'Guide to Science' interactive exhibition at the BelExpoCentre. Among the varied scientifically themed exhibits they saw demonstrations of BNRU's new developments in robotics, medicine, and nanotechnology. They found out how to make Nano-Ice-Cream! Professors Andrei Afonin and Alexander Krolevets conducted an open lecture and demonstration on the creation of neurophages with the help of the 'Neurology Experimentation Laboratory' which they hope will help unlock a cure for degenerative neurological diseases. Alongside this there were examples of intelligent robotics, a mobile system of optical tomography and many other projects.

The opening ceremony took place at the Youth Cultural Centre. In his opening remarks, Governor Savchenko highlighted the wonder of the world in which we live, create, and enjoy life, a marvel unlocked by science. Professor Polukhin iterated the wisdom shown in selecting BNRU for this event, commenting that our University is one of the best equipped National Research Institutes outside of Moscow, and is rapidly becoming a centre for scientific research with great potential. The Rector underlined the appreciation the staff had for being honoured in this way, but emphasised the true reason for such an event, saying,

“Dear friends, I think that holding such events is a good opportunity to popularise scientific research, not only among students, but also among schoolchildren. The desire for scientific research is born at a young age.” Addressing the schoolchildren present, he continued, “We want you to be creative, inventive and have the curiosity and confidence you need to find answers to the questions posed by life.”

The festival is being held at various venues across the University, where you can attend classes and lectures from university staff, and participate in conferences, seminars, discussion groups, debates and quizzes.