Scientists of the Siberian Federal District gathered at Tomsk State University for the conference "Science without Borders. Siberia accepts the Challenge." The central theme of the event was the CHALLENGE Award, which is awarded for fundamental breakthroughs, ideas and inventions in five categories covering the entire spectrum of future technologies. The conference was organized by Tomsk State University and the Challenge Foundation for the Development of Scientific and Cultural Relations. The event was supported by the University Consortium of Big Data Researchers.
The share of high-tech and high-tech products in the gross regional product of the Tomsk region is 21%. This indicator is higher than the average for Russia and the Siberian Federal District. The high level of scientific development in this region was one of the main reasons for the visit of the organizers of the CHALLENGE Award to TSU, so that as many scientists as possible would learn about such a measure of support for their work as this award.
"What other region could become the first participant in such a field event with the participation of the organizers of the CHALLENGE Award, such as the preparation of the next stage of the National Award in the field of Future Technologies? Tomsk region is a region of knowledge and technology. He is developing and continues to justify this high title. We work a lot with the Big University of Tomsk, combining the efforts of all universities, research institutes and scientific and technological companies, and this is focused on future technologies," Lyudmila Ogorodova, Deputy Governor of the Tomsk Region for Scientific and Technological Development, said at the opening of the conference.
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Photo: TSU press service
As noted by TSU Rector Eduard Galazhinsky, the conference "Science without Borders. Siberia accepts the Challenge" should demonstrate the full range of possibilities of Russian science and invite scientists to participate in the competition for the CHALLENGE Award.
"In fact, you and I are witnessing the emergence of a new instrument in Russia to support and popularize science," Eduard Galazhinsky said at the opening of the conference. – This is a kind of Russian "Oscar" of science, and the prestige of this award is very high. The Government of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation pay attention to it. There is fierce competition for technological "packages" in the industrial revolution between the United States and China. Russia is the third country that can create an alternative technological history related to sovereignty."
Photo: TSU press service
Alexey Fedorov, Deputy Chairman of the Scientific Committee of the CHALLENGE Award, head of the Quantum Information Technologies Research Group at the Russian Quantum Center, Director of the Institute of Physics and Quantum Engineering at MISIS University, noted that it is very important for the organizers of the CHALLENGE Award to talk about this award at sites that are leaders in science, knowledge and technology, which is both TSU and the entire Tomsk region.
"As representatives of a young and developing award, it is very important for us to talk about it at those venues that are traditionally leaders in science, knowledge and technology. Thank you for the opportunity to host this conference at TSU. Our goal is to talk about the tools for further technology development, for which our scientists are encouraged," said Alexey Fedorov.
Gazprombank is a co-founder of the CHALLENGE Foundation and Award. Dmitry Sauers, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Gazprombank and a graduate of TSU, spoke about the formats of the bank's support for scientists at the plenary part of the conference.
"Gazprombank has extensive experience and unique competencies that enable it to evaluate breakthrough technologies and scientific projects of the future, identify promising teams and scientists at an early stage. In order to create a knowledge economy, it is necessary to ensure the continuous transfer of scientific inventions into new technologies. The CHALLENGE Award has become a way to declare that science is important and in demand by the state, society and business. And for young people who are just starting their career in science, this means that their ideas and efforts will be appreciated and will definitely find their application," Dmitry Sauers emphasized.
Such a tool for supporting scientists as bonuses not only serves as a tool for popularizing science, but also helps researchers themselves to find investors and gain additional recognition among colleagues. This was told by Ilya Semerikov, Candidate of Physico-Mathematical Sciences, head of the Scalable Ion Quantum Computing research group at the Russian Quantum Center, researcher at the Lebedev Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, who won the CHALLENGE Award in 2023 in the Perspective nomination.
"Awards certainly add value to your work. It's one thing when you tell investors and colleagues that you are engaged in promising research in the field of quantum technologies, but it's quite another when you add that your developments have been awarded the prestigious Scientific Committee of the CHALLENGE Award, and you are the winner of one of the nominations of this award. Such a presentation of research is a strong argument that you can be trusted, and the technologies being developed really have significant potential to change people's lives for the better in the near future," Ilya Semerikov said.
Photo: TSU press service
16.04.2024 
