December 17, Novosibirsk State Technical University, the interregional public organization "EKA" and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of the Novosibirsk Oblast signed the agreement about incorporation of NSTU into the association of "green" universities of Russia. Its goal is to protect the environment by introducing specific environmental programs and implementing projects at the University premises.
In mid-December, Anatoly Bataev, the rector of Novosibirsk State Technical University, Andrey Danilenko, the acting Minister of Natural Resources and Environment of Novosibirsk Oblast and Elena Gorokhova, the Director of the interregional public organization "EKA", have signed the agreement about incorporation of the technical University into the ranks of "green" universities of Russia. The project is aimed at uniting student teams for the implementation of specific environmental programs and projects on the university premises as well as at forming young people's ecological culture and their involvement into socially significant projects.
According to the terms of the program, NSTU is to arrange several student quests which will teach students how to organize waste sorting and economical use of water. As a result, the University is expected to completely switch to waste sorting, as well as to significantly reduce consumption of cold and hot water.
Now the representatives of the green movement in NSTU are the participants of the professional student environmental association "Environmental Engineering" and of the Environmental Engineering Problems (EEP) faculty. The students association includes the activists of all Bachelor's and Master's programs majoring in "Technosphere Safety" and "Ecology and Nature Management".
"NSTU aims at introducing cultural and social programs, including ones in the field of ecology. It is very important that engineers who can create and improve technologies for the environment clean-up and protection of nature, not just scientists and observers, should be engaged in ecological issues. NSTU must be among the "green" universities of Russia, as new technologies are constantly evolving and who, if not engineers, are able to create something useful not only for the society but also for the environment," said Vladimir Larichkin, Doctor of Technical Sciences, the head of the EEP faculty of NSTU and Director of the Independent Testing Center of the university.
For the reference: this October the scientists of NSTU and S. Toraighyrov Pavlodar Sate University in Kazakhstan launched the production of cheap and durable paving slabs on the basis of thermal power plants ash and slag waste. Behind this development is the technology of manufacturing the construction materials and products of the ash and slag waste of Novosibirsk thermal power plants created in NSTU. This technology makes it possible to use the waste as secondary raw materials and not to bury it in ash dumps, as is done in garbage landfills. Adding ash and slag waste can reduce the cost of construction materials by 30% and even make them more durable.
Further Information:
The student ecological association "Ecological Engineering" was founded in 2018 at the Environmental Engineering Problems (EEP) Faculty of the Aircraft Department of Novosibirsk State Technical University.
The green movement "EKA" and the Youth Initiatives Support Fund "ERA" launched a special program for students"Green universities of Russia" in 2016. The program focuses on the implementation of the sustainable development principles and "green" economy. The representatives of NSTU said that they plan to cooperate in the promotion of the project "Green universities of Russia".
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Novosibirsk Oblast supports the implementation of the project in the region.