On the eve of the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, the JINR University Centre held a three-week lecture series with career guidance elements for the city’s schoolchildren. The lectures, held in all Dubna public schools, were aimed at popularising science and technology.
The speaker was UC leading methodologist Petr Shirkov. He drew the audience’s attention to the launch of the NICA Collider – one of the most important 2026 scientific events for JINR and the entire world’s academic community. In addition, he discussed the research capabilities and expected significant results of other major JINR projects: the Superheavy Element Factory, the Baikal Neutrino Telescope, and the IBR-2 Reactor.
Engaging and accessible, the lectures explored stories related to the history of research and technology following the trajectory of scientific and engineering thought from ancient times to the present days. At the lecture entitled “Time machine and the secrets of the pyramids”, year 5-6 students learned about the joint work of specialists from various fields – historians, archaeologists, linguists, astronomers, physicists, mathematicians, and engineers – that helped uncover some of the mysteries still surrounding the great Egyptian pyramids.
The lecture titled “How to conduct research: the wonders around us” for year 7-9 schoolchildren was devoted to the importance of recording all steps of one’s studies, which assists science and technology historians in restoring justice in terms of giving researchers credit for important discoveries about the world.
The high schoolers who attended the “Modern education and technological sovereignty” lecture learned some facts from the history of the science and technology of the Russian Federation – reasons to be proud of the scientists and engineers who contributed to establishing technological sovereignty in the USSR and Russia – and learned the role of education in this.
With the help of head teachers and school principals and thanks to the organizational support of International Cooperation Department employee Irina Zelenkova, the three-week marathon of knowledge included 20 lectures in nine Dubna schools, attended by more than 1400 students – over a quarter of middle and high schoolers.
