On March, 17 an online discussion for schoolchildren “Find your ideal workplace” has been held as a part of preparation for an annual forum “Future intellectual leaders of Russia”. Representatives of leading employers of the country, supervisors of scientific centers and organizations took part in a discussion, organized as a teleconference. Among them there were the President of the NRC “Kurchatov Institute” Mikhail Kovalchuk, counselor of the RF President on issues of internet development Herman Klimenko, chief designer of GLONASS in the State Space Corporation “ROSCOSMOS” Sergey Karutin, Professor at the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology Artem Oganov. The prospects of Russian education were also discussed by rectors of leading country universities: Mikhail Strikhanov (MEPhI), Andrey Nikolaenko (Moscow Polytechnic University), Nikita Anisimov (FEFU) and others.
During live broadcast schoolchildren asked questions from 10 regions: Vladivostok, Kaliningrad, Sevastopol, Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, St. Petersburg, Rostov-on-Don, Nizhny Novgorod, Snezhinsk, Stavropol. Several thousand people followed the discussion on the Internet.
In which specialisations will robots soon replace people? Where in Russia is it possible to find a dream job: in state corporations or in private business? How difficult is it to push your idea in sciences? These and many other questions, connected with future career, education, and self-development, were of interest for senior schoolchildren.
Alexander Beglov, Plenipotentiary of the President of the RF in the Central Federal District, emphasized that in order to succeed, it is important to be inquisitive, hardworking and strong-willed. He also noted that today all the conditions are created for the gifted youth, who are full of desire to reach life's heights. "There are excellent schools and universities in Russia, there are national research centers, there is an opportunity to launch a start-up, there are corporations that turn scientific ideas into technological achievements," he said.
According to M. Kovalchuk, we live in a competitive world where the main commodity is intelligence. "Therefore, it is important to cultivate and preserve this intellect as the main wealth of the country," he stressed. "Basic knowledge is relevant and eternal, and if you are well educated, it is easy for you to move in any direction."
Answering the question whether to go to the capital to become a good engineer, Mikhail Strikhanov stressed that MEPhI has the largest branch network in the country, and many young people can become great physicists without leaving their cities: "The future of people who live and graduate from universities in the cities of Russia, depends on the education that they will receive. In this sense, the situation with lexturers at MEPhI is good. The basic training is a little worse in the branches, because historically, all major scientific schools and basic functions exist in large cities. We solve this problem, combining the full-time form of preparation, the “living speech” of the lecturers and modern communication technologies. I think that we are generally able to maintain the university's brand, which has been developed for 75 years." MEPhI rector also noted that it is important not only to receive fundamental knowledge, but also be prepared to adopt an interdisciplinary approach to teaching.
Mikhail Kovalchuk made a final speech. "Before the New Year the Strategy of scientific and technological development of the country was signed, it sets out 8 priority directions for development," he recalled. “Look at them, this is the road that opens for you. The main competition in the world will go for brains. And if you get good education, the competition will go for you."
The Fifth All-Russian Forum "Future Intellectual Leaders of Russia" will be held in the third quarter of 2017. The Forum annually collects about 500 gifted children from 85 subjects of the Russian Federation, winners of international contests and competitions, authors of inventions and researches.
