On August 27, as part of XI The International Forum of Technological Development Technoprom-2024 in Novosibirsk signed an agreement on the establishment of an interuniversity consortium for cooperation with the Center for Collective Use "Siberian Ring Photon Source". The initiator of such an association around the CCP "SKIF" was the Novosibirsk State Technical University (NETI).
The consortium members combine their efforts with the aim of scientific cooperation, ensuring the training of highly qualified specialists for Russian installations of the megascience class, increasing the prestige of natural science disciplines among schoolchildren in Russian regions, ensuring Russia's scientific and technological leadership in the field of research using synchrotron radiation.
At the first stage, the consortium included 23 participants. The agreements were signed by the Governor of the Novosibirsk Region, Andrey Travnikov, and the director of the G.K. Institute of Catalysis. Boreskova SB RAS, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Valery Bukhtiyarov. The consortium also includes Novosibirsk State Technical University, Novosibirsk State Pedagogical University, National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University, National Research Tomsk State University, Tomsk State Pedagogical University, Altai State University, Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University, Voronezh State University, Kuzbass State Technical University named after T. F. Gorbachev, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (National Research University), Patrice Lumumba Peoples' Friendship University of Russia, Siberian Federal University, Siberian State Industrial University, ITMO National Research University, Ufa University of Science and Technology, Southern Federal University, South Ural State University (National Research University), Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Bashkortostan, Novosibirsk Chemical Technology College named after D. I. Mendeleev, NSTU Engineering Lyceum and Biotechnology Lyceum No. 21. The consortium is open for other organizations to join, and a number of higher educational institutions in Russia intend to join the work of the association in the near future.
During the signing ceremony, the head of the regionAndrey Travnikov recalled that the creation of a synchrotron of generation 4+ was incorporated in 2018 into the project for the development of the Novosibirsk Scientific Center within the framework of the Akademgorodok 2.0 program, and precisely as a center for collective use. "We understood that even the very process of its design and creation would give an impetus to scientific, design and production thought — and so it happened. Our institutes of Nuclear Physics and Catalysis, with the support of the government of the Novosibirsk Region, began to work out cooperative relations with enterprises that were ready to join in the design and manufacture of equipment for the SKIF. At the same time, the issue of training future personnel was raised, and two Novosibirsk universities — NSU and NSTU — launched a program to train researchers and engineers for synchrotron research. There was also an idea in the second stage of the project to create a university station. SKIF is a highly anticipated project for the Russian scientific community. Our expectations at the stage of its implementation were fully justified in terms of industrial cooperation, in terms of including Tomsk, Novosibirsk, and Kaliningrad universities in the implementation. Signing today's agreement will only strengthen these processes: we will join forces and ensure that the university station takes place. We see that universities across the country have serious research ambitions, and if they have a tool in the form of a separate station with dedicated time for measurements, then, of course, the opportunities and potential to meet research ambitions will be equivalent — like academic institutions and large state corporations," the governor stressed.
Anatoly Bataev, Rector of NSTU-NETI, said that work on the creation of an interuniversity consortium is being carried out within the framework of the university project "Siberian Universities and CCP SKIF: vectors of integration and the creation of a world-class campus" of the Priority 2030 program.
"The largest Russian megascience installation is under construction in Novosibirsk. The time is approaching when research will begin, when a scientific product will have to be produced, and in order for this to happen, the scientific community is needed. Building a scientific community is actually no less important than building the Siberian Ring Photon source itself. Within the framework of the "Priority 2030" program, NSTU-NETI took the initiative to organize an interuniversity consortium. Today, many universities have already expressed a desire to join this community. There are currently 23 organizations that have joined the consortium. I am sure that there will be many more of them. One of the tasks that is supposed to be solved with the help of the university community is to create unique scientific equipment. The second, no less important task is to train personnel for the SKIF. We are talking about creating online educational programs that will combine the competencies of different universities. A number of universities are already implementing special master's degree programs. It is also important to prepare modern methodological manuals for students to study. The formation of the consortium will allow the scientific community to rally around the SKIF," commentedAnatoly Bataev.
Among the main tasks of the created consortium are scientific cooperation of the country's universities in the field of research at the SKIF Central Research and Development Center stations with an emphasis on research and innovative activities of students; using the installation opportunities in university educational programs, creating a database of relevant programs and courses. In the course of the consortium's work, it is also planned to prepare textbooks and methodological manuals for the implementation of practical classes for students at the stations of the CCP "SKIF"; development of network educational programs related to installations of the "megasience" class; training of engineering personnel and researchers for the CCP "SKIF" and other Russian installations of the "megasience" class; cooperation in the development of equipment for CCP "SKIF"; cooperation with industrial partners using the installation capabilities; creation of an interuniversity campus around CCP "SKIF"; popularization of scientific directions related to installations of the "megasience" class among students and schoolchildren; development of appropriate methodological materials; organization of summer schools for high school students on the basis of CCP "SKIF"; development of training programs qualifications of teachers (universities, colleges, schools) using the educational opportunities of the CCP "SKIF".
"Already at this stage, education, industry, science and the state should join forces to develop and transfer competencies and technologies in the field of research using synchrotron radiation. Such a high-tech installation as SKIF already requires the organization of enhanced personnel training and the formation of industry demands. It is very important now to develop an algorithm of actions, together with researchers to form educational programs with an emphasis on research and innovative activities of young people, to organize a series of internships for students and high school students of engineering classes for a gradual acquaintance with the Central Research and Development Center "SKIF", — said the Minister of Science and Innovation Policy of the Novosibirsk regionVadimVasiliev.
Commenting on the creation of the interuniversity consortium, the Director of the Institute of Catalysis named after G. K. Valery Bukhtiyarov, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Boreskova SB RAS, stressed: "The creation of such a large, complex and multifunctional facility — CCP SKIF — assumes that many professional researchers and engineers should work here. The installation will work in the mode of a collective use center — we hope that scientists from Russia and abroad will take part in competitive programs. Actually, this whole facility is being created for the sake of expanding experimental capabilities, forming a scientific infrastructure that will be used by scientists of various scientific fields. A large engineering staff is also needed to ensure the smooth operation of Russia's first megascience class installation with a generation 4+ synchrotron. According to our estimates, its operation requires from 300 to 350 highly qualified engineers. We have created an initial team: about 150 people work at the SKIF Central Committee. We advocate that universities train personnel using real equipment of the SKIF Central Research Center in the educational process. This will speed up the preparation. And I hope that through the created consortium we will ensure the flow of young scientists." Valery Ivanovich also stressed that the possibility of creating an interuniversity campus around the SKIF Central Research Center is being considered.
Deputy Director for Scientific Work of the Central Research Committee "SKIF"Jan Zubavicius thanked NSTU NETI for the active work on the creation of the consortium: "The consortium is being created to solve strategic tasks, since education is a process that requires more than one year. Next year, the first scientific results of the work of the SKIF Central Research Center will be received, and large-scale and systematic work will be carried out from the end of 2025. The consortium will begin to solve its tasks, including the training of operational staff for SKIF, researchers, users, and designers of future stations. A very important task is to popularize science, and specifically the possibilities of synchrotron radiation, which is a powerful interdisciplinary tool not only for fundamental but also for applied science. The created consortium will solve all these tasks. A large number of organizations from all over the country responded to the idea of its creation, and we will be glad if the association expands, since SKIF as a research tool can be useful to many people."
"Russia is experiencing unprecedented technological development today, and the creation of new synchrotron centers for interdisciplinary research has become obvious. The organization of the work of accelerators is a state matter, in which the best universities of the country must take an indispensable part. The most important assistance that universities are able to provide is the training of the necessary specialists, in particular, through educational and scientific practices and internships," commented the director of the Joint Institute of Chemical Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences on the importance of creating an interuniversity consortiumVictor Khrustalev.
"Synchrotron sources such as SKIF, thanks to the advanced characteristics of the beam being created, will significantly expand the possibilities of domestic tomography and the study of materials. This is a unique project for Russian science. To maintain a megascience installation, highly qualified personnel are needed, methodological and training manuals and, of course, experience are necessary for their training. Consolidating the best universities in the country around this task will help close the need for specialists. Tomsk Polytechnic University started working in this direction long before the request was formed. Since 2020, additional training programs on synchrotron sources and accelerator technology have been operating at the university, and in 2023 we launched the master's degree track "High Energy Physics". Students in this field master the necessary skills to work not only on the SKIF, but also on other mega-science installations," said Leonid Sukhoi, Acting Rector of TPU.
"Of course, technical and classical universities prepare personnel for SKIF, but there will be no students in these universities without good teachers and good training programs in schools. We joined the consortium to provide training for high-quality teachers of chemistry, biology, physics, and computer science. It is also necessary to organize serious career guidance work, which will form students' interest in these disciplines. Therefore, NGPU is in the consortium, the pedagogical university is an integral part of the overall work on personnel training," said the rector of NGPUAlexey Gerasev.
The roadmap of the interuniversity consortium will be discussed at the strategic session within the framework of Technoprom 2024 on August 29.