The final round of the international Math contest among schoolchildren of non-capital cities, launched by GS Group holding, that was held on December 7, decided ten winners from Russian regions.
The windup stage of the contest took part at GS Nanotech factory, the flagship of Russian microelectronics which is a part of Technopolis GS innovation cluster in the Kaliningrad region. The winners received Apple Macbooks as a prize and will get special grants.
President, St. Petersburg State Polytechnical University, Academician Yury Vasilyev, addressed the contestants and highlighted the idea that it is them who is to shape the future of Russian science and technology. “It is you who is to develop science in our country, new products and technologies, and discoveries. Symbolically, the host of the final round is Technopolis GS, this is where new Russian technologies are born and put to life. I hope, many of you will work in this or other Russian innovation centers in the future”.
There winners among the pupils of the 11th grade were Nikita Pashmentov (Vologda), Alexandra Ryabinina (Syktyvkar), Alla Bogatova (Chernyakhovsk), Kirill Pilipenko (Chelyabinsk), Pavel Glazyrin (Bijsk), Irina Ogneva (Sarov). There were three winners among the 10th grade students: Nikolay Zhidkov (Sarov), Mikhail Zuev (Tomsk), Julia Ponkratova (Saransk). The winner among 9-graders was Anna Sevostyanova from Lipetsk.
The terms of the competition specified a set branches of study in engineering, and if the winners choose one of these for higher education in the future they will be paid a grant provided by contest organizers. This way GS Group, the initiator and sponsor of the contest, strives to encourage young people to get higher education in engineering, to improve the social image of technical jobs, and also to contribute to fulfilling some practical tasks of Technopolis GS developed by GS Group. The innovation cluster seeks to compile a base of highly qualified staff who will work at its enterprises tomorrow, so for that it is looking for talented students today. The professions promoted by the contest include Fundamental Radiophysics and Physical Electronics, Electronics and Microelectronics, Microelectronics and Semiconductors, Audio-visual Equipment, Electronic systems, Nanomaterials, and other branches of study.
Viktor Perepelov, Acting Head, Administration of the Gusev district, and Svetlana Truseneva, Minister of Education, Kaliningrad region, attended the award ceremony. Valery Antonov, Head, Department of Mathematics, St. Petersburg State Polytechnical University, and Maksim Pratuchevich, director of the Lyceum № 239 in Saint Petersburg handed the certificates for grants and Apple Macbooks to the winners of the competition.
GS Group holding organized a Math contest for non-capital cities students in September, 2013. As many as of 4,500 contestants from nine countries participated in it: the competition attracted schoolchildren from Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Sweden Moldova and Estonia. After the second round 45 students from 18 regions of Russia, as well as from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Sweden continued to the final stage of the contest.
Though various events and competitions are regularly initiated by many companies to support education and science, GS Group was the first to organize one in non-standard format. What was peculiar about it is that only students living is cities, towns and villages other than the capital of their country were allowed to take part. GS Group intended to support talented youth from non-capital cities in Russia and abroad with fewer opportunities for self-realization as compared to their counterparts from capitals, as they need an impulse for further development of their abilities. Modern Russian economy is in need for improving efficiency, which can be reached by increasing the number of jobs in the hi-tech field. Enterprises in the country are installing state-of-the-art equipment which creates a demand for highly qualified engineers. Initiatives similar to the Math contest held by GS Group help to organize communication and cooperation between current and future students of technical universities and high-tech businesses. By means of that companies get an opportunity to replenish their staff with highly qualified engineers in the near future, and students get a chance for an internship at the leading factories in Russia as well as to get a job in the field of Russian high technology on graduating from universities.
