Presidential Council for Science and Education holds meeting in Dubna

Chair of the Department of Petroleum Engineering Mikhail Varfolomeev, who is currently a council member, joined the event on 13 June.

Opening the meeting, the head of state reminded the audience that the Russian science town of Dubna is a vivid example of the concentration of efforts of the state, scientists, engineering, educational schools, sectors of the economy and the whole society on the most important issues for the security and sovereignty of the country. In this sense, it is symbolic that it is here, in Dubna, that the issues of scientific and technological priorities are being resolved in a difficult period for Russia.

“On my instruction, the Russian Government and the Russian Academy of Sciences have prepared a list of the most important science-intensive technologies necessary for the country. In fact, these are direct, specific tasks for the domestic science, education system and tech business. And literally everything depends on the achievement of these objectives: the implementation of our current plans, designs, aspirations, and, of course, the historical, without any exaggeration, prospects of the Russian state,” said Vladimir Putin.

During the meeting, a list of further tasks was announced. Among them is the designation of strict requirements to the final results in the formation of national projects. It is also necessary to ensure effective management of scientific parts of the national projects of technological sovereignty. According to the head of state, special attention should be paid to the overall planning and implementation of R&D, as well as staff training.

Making reference to the important thesis of the Russian President that the support of priorities should be comprehensive, systemic and seamless (from idea to market), taking into account the development of human resources, infrastructure, and other areas., Mikhail Varfolomeev told in his commentary about the system of implementation of national priorities, “Today, it is necessary to build the entire chain from the formation of a scientific foundation, scaling of innovative scientific products from a laboratory sample to full-fledged industrial application. This process includes a set of steps to create pilot production, obtain pilot batches and test them at industrial facilities, and all this can happen in several iterations until the necessary technological indicators are achieved. Very often promising scientific developments cannot cross this gap. The position of the country’s leadership shows that special attention will be paid to these issues.”

The important role of the Russian Science Foundation in supporting scientific research, both fundamental and applied, was also emphasized during the meeting. Secondary education and housing issues for young scientists were also discussed.