Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
From October 31 to November 1, the Polytechnic University hosted the large-scale Atomfest festival, organized by the Rosatom State Corporation in conjunction with the Russian Ministry of Science and Higher Education to introduce Russian students to the opportunities and prospects of the nuclear industry.
From October to December, the festival takes place at seven Rosatom flagship universities, with Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University being the first to host it.
The central event of the two-day celebration, timed to coincide with the 80th anniversary of the Russian nuclear industry, was the visit to the Polytechnic University of the Director General of the State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom, Honorary Doctor of SPbPU Alexey Likhachev.
In the White Hall of SPbPU, Aleksey Evgenievich delivered a lecture entitled "Rosatom: Energy and Technologies of the Future" to students and staff of the Polytechnic University.
"2025 is a year of many anniversaries. The 80th anniversary of the Soviet people's victory in the Great Patriotic War, the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the 80th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations. And then there's our most important professional anniversary—the 80th anniversary of the nuclear industry. Of course, nuclear technology is much older, but I think you're generally aware of it, and I'll remind you of the event and date we consider our birthday, the background we bring to this anniversary, and, most importantly, our future plans, because you, in fact, are the generation that must implement these plans," the head of Rosatom began his speech with these words.
Alexey Likhachev immersed the audience in the history of the origins of atomic science, which was pioneered by Mikhail Lomonosov, Dmitry Mendeleev, Antoine Becquerel, who discovered the phenomenon of radioactivity, and Albert Einstein, who described the proportions between mass and energy with the famous formula E = mc².
"This formula is the whole point of nuclear energy; this is where this enormous, unknown energy comes from," noted Alexey Likhachev.
Turning to the Soviet aspect of atomic science, the speaker first noted: "Petrograd, Leningrad, and St. Petersburg can rightfully be considered the center of atomic knowledge and atomic technology in our country. The radiological and X-ray laboratories founded here under Lunacharsky's direction gave rise to two enormous institutes: the Khlopin Radium Institute and the legendary Ioffe Phystech Institute. It was from here that the Soviet school of peaceful atomic research began. By the 1940s, our country had become the leader in the atomic race of those years, while all work was exclusively peaceful in nature."
Alexey Likhachev recommended films and TV series about the creation of nuclear weapons to the students and emphasized that while our country was not the first to develop nuclear weapons, the Soviet Union was the leader in developing the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. Alexey Evgenyevich presented the full range of Rosatom's current activities, including both Russian and international projects. He specifically discussed cooperation with universities and interaction with the student community.
Alexey Likhachev's speech followed a ceremony presenting awards to Polytechnic students in honor of the 80th anniversary of Russia's nuclear industry.
The Rosatom State Corporation's badge of honor "For international cooperation in the nuclear field" was awarded to SPbPU Rector Andrey Rudskoy.
The badge "For Contribution to the Development of the Nuclear Industry", 2nd degree – Chief Designer for Scientific and Technological Direction, Alexey Borovkov.
The following were awarded the jubilee medals “80 Years of the Russian Nuclear Industry”:
Director of the Institute of Power Engineering Viktor Barskov, Director of the Institute of Mechanical Engineering, Materials and Transport Anatoly Popovich, Director of the Higher School of Power Engineering of the Institute of Power Engineering Alena Aleshina, Director of the Higher School of Nuclear and Thermal Energy of the Institute of Power Engineering Alexander Kalyutik, Associate Professor of the Higher School of Advanced Digital Technologies Nikolai Efimov-Soini, Associate Professor of the Higher School of Nuclear and Thermal Energy of the Institute of Power Engineering Irina Paramonova.
Afterwards, Alexey Likhachev and Andrey Rudskoy met with representatives of the Rosatom student community at the Polytechnic University at the SPbPU History Museum. Today, the Polytechnic student community has 99 members, many of whom are already employed at Rosatom enterprises. The students enthusiastically talked about their work, sharing their plans and ideas. Alexey Evgenievich encouraged the young people's enthusiasm, advised them to begin "growing into the enterprise" as early as possible, and reiterated his belief that the next generation of Rosatom must surpass the current one.
Following a meeting with students, Rosatom State Corporation CEO Alexey Likhachev, SPbPU Rector Andrey Rudskoy, and Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant Director Vladimir Pereguda attended the ceremonial opening of the hydromechanical engineering laboratory at the SPbPU Institute of Power Engineering. It is equipped with the necessary equipment to train highly qualified specialists for nuclear power plants and installations.
"The opening of the renovated hydromechanical engineering laboratory is part of our extensive and successful partnership with the Polytechnic University. It's important to us that at least 100 students from Rosatom-focused programs will participate in practical training here every year and get hands-on experience with the equipment they'll be working with. Furthermore, these students will be able to participate in our flagship project to create the nuclear energy of the future, conducting research to validate the performance of the pumping equipment for the BREST-OD-300 reactor. It's currently being built in the Tomsk region as part of a fourth-generation energy complex," said Alexey Likhachev.
The renovation of the hydromechanical engineering laboratory was made possible thanks to financial support from Rosenergoatom Concern. Guests were given a tour and introduced to several of the facilities and research rigs. Particular attention was paid to the rig for testing low-speed centrifugal pumps, developed by students, as well as the rig for cavitation and energy testing of axial pumps, which, among other things, was used for experimental studies on fine-tuning the flow path of the main circulation pump for the innovative BREST-OD-300 nuclear reactor.
In the laboratory, students from the Higher School of Power Engineering and the Higher School of Nuclear and Thermal Energy study the course "Pumps for Thermal and Nuclear Power Plants" and become familiar with the design and operation principles of pumping equipment for nuclear power plants.
"The nuclear industry is of paramount importance to the Polytechnic University. In the 20th century, it was the Polytechnic University students who pioneered the legendary Atomic Energy Project. The name of Igor Kurchatov, an outstanding scientist who studied and worked at the Leningrad Polytechnic Institute, is associated with it. Yuli Khariton, Kirill Shchelkin, Yakov Zeldovich, Anatoly Alexandrov, Isaak Kikoin, Nikolai Dollezhal, Nikolai Dukhov, Georgy Flerov—these and other outstanding Polytechnic University scientists and designers became iconic figures in the atomic energy project, and their names are forever etched in gold in the history of the country. I am confident that the laboratory renovation will have a positive impact on the educational process and will reduce the adaptation period for young specialists in the nuclear industry," noted SPbPU Rector Andrey Rudskoy.
The Atomfest program included numerous other events. A job fair was held at the Technopolis Polytech Research Building. Representatives from over twenty Rosatom enterprises and organizations spoke with students, including Atomenergoproekt, TVEL, AAEM Turbine Technologies, the Kirov-Energomash plant, the AEM-Technologies engineering company, AEM-Spetsstal, the Central Design Bureau of Mechanical Engineering, Centrotech-Engineering, the V.G. Khlopin Radium Institute, Atomtechenergo, the Leningrad, Kursk, Kola, and Kalinin NPPs, the All-Russian Research Institute for Operation of Nuclear Power Plants, and others.
In addition, participants were able to listen to lectures from Rosatom executives and specialists and learn how to build a career in the nuclear industry.
Stanislav Skvortsov, a graduate of the Polytechnic University's Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and head of the mechatronics and robotics laboratory at JSC TsKBM, discussed the hazardous industries in which robots are replacing humans, what constitutes a robot, what types of robots currently exist, and what types of work they perform better and worse.
At the educational lecture "Safety as a Priority," Gleb Pozhidaev, a graduate of the Institute of Power Engineering and a personnel training engineer at the Rosatom State Corporation Technical Academy, shared his experience in the field of safety culture and training specialists for the nuclear industry. He discussed the key principles of safety culture, which include not only the use of personal protective equipment but also effective communication, creating a comfortable work environment, adhering to regulations, and developing a systems approach.
Gleb Pozhidaev paid special attention to Rosatom's international projects. Specifically, he noted that during the construction of the Akkuyu (Turkey) and El Dabaa (Egypt) nuclear power plants, Russian specialists not only construct the facilities but also actively train personnel in these countries to manage technological processes and operate the plants in accordance with high safety standards.
A virtual tour organized by representatives of the Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant (LNPP) was particularly interesting. The plant's employees described the plant's operations, the specifics of nuclear energy, its corporate culture, and life in the town of Sosnovy Bor, where the LNPP is located. Participants were also given a fascinating quiz on the construction and operation of nuclear power plants, as well as a VR tour of the LNPP, allowing them to visit key facilities in virtual reality and gain a closer understanding of modern nuclear energy technologies.
A highlight of Atomfest was a meeting with Vasily Korelsky, a former Ostankino TV journalist and now the Director of Communications at the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant. The speaker described the construction of Turkey's first nuclear power plant, one of the largest in the world, the international and friendly team that has formed there, and the fact that some of the employees there are Turkish citizens, including Polytechnic University graduates.
Atomfest was not only an educational but also an entertaining event. Students could collect stickers for checklists, participate in quizzes and games organized by the Rosatom Student Community, and receive gifts while visiting events and employer booths. At the end of the day, a drawing was held for the grand prize—tickets to the AtomProfi youth forum in Sochi from November 26 to 28. The lucky winners were Lev Grabazei, Daniil Peskov, and Alexander Bulkevich, students of the Institute of Energy.
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