A subsidy of up to 164 million rubles earmarked for the organizers of engineering competitions within the MariNet direction in 2017–2019

The decision on state support of the Engineering Contests and Competitions project as part of the MariNet roadmap of the National Technology Initiative (NTI) was taken on April 10, 2017 at the meeting of the interdepartmental working group at the presidium of the Council for Economic Modernization and Innovative Development of the Russian Federation.

To implement the project, the National Center for Engineering Contests and Competitions will be created, for which in 2017–2019, the government will allocate a subsidy of up to 163.8 million rubles; it is planned to attract another 70 million rubles from extrabudgetary sources, as the representatives of the MariNet working group told the editors of the ASI’s website.

The authors of the project will involve several engineering universities, on the basis of which participants will be able to receive training. One of these universities is the Kaliningrad State Technical University. In July 2017, Kaliningrad will host The Solar Regatta (annual engineering competitions for student teams – Editor’s note); for schoolchildren, summer design shifts for the design of boats on solar batteries will be organized.

“The task of the project will be the systematization of knowledge on renewable energy, development and implementation of educational programs, including additional vocational education in universities, and training of engineers”, as said Evgeny Kazanov, Chairman of the Solar Regatta Organizing Committee. – “We will also involve schoolchildren and students in design activities by working with different makers’ communities, and hold profile informational sessions”.

According to Aleksandr Pinsky, Deputy General Director of the Transas Group, the Engineering Contests and Competitions project will introduce collective forms of activity in the system of training of specialists for the MariNet market.

Aleksandr Pinsky stated that the Solar Regatta is implementing two tasks of the roadmap. “This is popularization of engineering specialties in the field of new and environmentally sound shipbuilding technologies, as well as attracting the scientific and creative potential of talented young people to create solutions that will be in demand for innovative shipbuilding”, explained the representative of the MariNet working group.

REFERENCE

Solar Regatta International Engineering Competition is held in Russia with the support of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives (ASI) and is included in the list of events of the All-Russian Engineering Competition (AREC).