A meeting of the Council on Higher Education and Science and Targeted Personnel Training for the Republic of Karelia under the Head of the Republic of Karelia was held on December 13. Speakers at the meeting were Head of the region Artur Parfenchikov, KarRC RAS Director General Olga Bakhmet, Rector of the Petrozavodsk State University Anatoly Voronin, Head of the Karelian Labor and Employment Department Elena Frolova, Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs of the Petrozavodsk State University Konstantin Tarasov, and Executive Secretary of the Admission Commission of the Petrozavodsk State Conservatory named after A.K. Glazunov Vitaly Gaidotin.


KarRC RAS Director General, RAS Corr. Academician Olga Bakhmet informed that Karelian Research Centre RAS offers doctoral study programs for training research and teaching staff. In addition to educational activities, the Center is active in providing career guidance and popularizing science among schoolchildren and students. This includes lectures and hands-on classes, supervision of students' research papers, expert activities in competitions and conferences, tours of museums and laboratories, and doors open days.

There are currently three museums at the Karelian Research Centre RAS: Museum of Precambrian Geology of the Institute of Geology KarRC RAS, Archaeological Museum of the Institute of Linguistics, Literature and History KarRC RAS and the recently opened Museum of Applied Environmental Research. Visiting is free, subject to appointment. Also quite popular are the unique scientific installations of the Forest Research Institute KarRC RAS – Abnormal Wood Collection and Collection of in vitro clones of rare species of the Betulaceae family.

The Institute of Geology operates the Archaean Young Geologists Club. Meetings are arranged for a senior and a junior groups, currently attended by over 40 participants. To popularize geology among young nature lovers, this year the Institute published the comic book "Educative Travels of Karelian Animals", which was presented in Petrozavodsk schools.

Besides, pupils, student groups, and summer camp participants can visit laboratories where scientists introduce them to their work and research objects. Often, researchers themselves go out to educational institutions to give talks, lectures, and practical classes.

Scientists actively use online formats for outreach activities. Videos about researchers’ work have been made within the projects «Naturalist Lecture Room "Nature of Karelia"», «No Weaker Science», «Scientific Karelia», and others.

This year, Karelian Research Centre RAS joined the project “Ticket to the Future” as a provider of career-guidance tours. Children from Petrozavodsk schools were introduced to the professions of archaeologist, geologist, sociologist, phytopathologist, and analytical chemist.

Seeking to promote its career guidance activities, Karelian Research Center RAS together with the Ministry of Higher Education and Science of Russia are discussing the implementation of the federal project "Academic (science and technology) Class" in Petrozavodsk. It envisages the formation of academic classes at secondary schools with involvement of scientists from leading scientific organizations. This format will help schoolchildren to learn more about science and make an informed choice in favor of professions in knowledge-intensive and high-tech sectors of the economy.

Photo by Respublika / Sergey Yudin