“Bright formats for conveying modern knowledge”: Rector of Moscow State University Sadovnichy – about the program of the All-Russian festival “SCIENCE”

The All-Russian festival “SCIENCE 0+” will be held in Moscow from October 11 to 13 at the venues of Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov, Zaryadye Park, the Palace of Pioneers and a number of other points in the capital. In total, the festival will cover four Russian regions this year, and a foreign program is also planned. In an interview with RT, co-chairman of the organizing committee of the All-Russian festival “SCIENCE 0+”, chairman of the organizing committee of the Science Festival in Moscow, rector of Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov Viktor Sadovnichy spoke about the festival program, and also explained why popular science lectures and exhibitions attract such a wide audience in Russia and other countries. According to Sadovnichy, to popularize science among young people who have grown up in a digital environment, new, bright and modern formats for conveying information are needed.

— Viktor Antonovich, in Moscow, the All-Russian festival “SCIENCE 0+” will be held this year on October 11-13. Please tell us what events are planned? Which of them may be especially interesting to a wide audience and children, and which are intended for young scientists?

— Every year the festival grows and expands, new formats appear, and already familiar activities mature. As always, we have planned an extensive lecture program, the participants of which will be outstanding Russian scientists, real stars of science. Innovative projects, STEM centers (design laboratories in which students and schoolchildren can conduct research using advanced equipment. – RT ), and industry programs for career guidance for youth will definitely be presented. A competitive component is also planned: a competition of innovative journalism, a creative competition of scientific videos and photographs “Film Science!”, a children’s drawing competition “The World of Science through the Eyes of Children”, an international competition of scientific and technical works of high school students “Scientists of the Future”.

And of course, there will be interactive exhibitions, science shows, and exciting scientific experiments, which are always of interest to schoolchildren.

For almost 20 years, Moscow University has been holding a Science Festival. And I am increasingly convinced that the festival is a large-scale social experiment, which confirms that science is the fulcrum with the help of which we can turn our entire lives upside down in a good way.

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— In what format is it best to tell children about science, what can motivate them most to be interested in it? And wouldn’t it be worthwhile, for example, to introduce such elements into the regular educational process?

— From my own experience of communicating with students, I can say that, of course, it is impossible to reach modern children, immersed almost from the cradle in the audiovisual technical environment, without using its technological capabilities.

Therefore, in addition to lectures and live communication with scientists, our program includes many scientific shows, interactive exhibitions, bright and convincing formats for conveying modern knowledge to a youth audience.

“Entertaining Mathematics” – the legendary work of Yakov Perelman, which is rightfully considered the forerunner of modern science – is still in demand. But everything has its time, each audience should ideally have its own approach.

By the way, why do mathematicians make good science popularizers? Because it is mathematicians, people who professionally deal with abstractions, who are well aware of the complexity of focusing interest on matters that are quite difficult to understand. And here, of course, it is very important to ground this abstraction, clothe it with the flesh of a good example, and breathe the life of reality into it.

— This year the festival will also be held abroad – in Cuba, China and Uzbekistan. How great is the interest in Russian science in other countries?

— Many foreign branches of Moscow State University and the Joint Russian-Chinese University of Moscow State University and Beijing Polytechnic University – MSU-PPI in Shenzhen are partners of the SCIENCE 0+ festival. This gives people in other countries the opportunity to also join the festival movement, to become imbued with its spirit and mission. For example, the Open Science Week “SCIENCE 0+” in China, held for the first time last year, aroused such significant interest among Chinese universities that this year an entire delegation from Russian universities is being sent to China to conduct it.

There, from October 22 to 27, together with our friends from China, we will hold lectures, master classes, discussions on the role of science in the world, on the prospects for the development of certain branches of knowledge, on how technology affects our present and future.

Our secret formula is a genuine love for science, a passion for the search for truth, and a desire for the still unknown. Sincerity always resonates with people, even if they speak different languages.

All-Russian Science Festival

— Who is the average festival visitor – a schoolchild, a student? Is the popularity of the festival growing, especially considering that many things can now be broadcast on the Internet to a large audience?

— Of course, the Science Festival has, as they say today, its own target audience. First of all, these are schoolchildren and students, that is, those who are just determining their life interests and planning their future path.

The festival movement in Russia will soon turn 20 years old, so we can say that before our eyes a whole generation has grown up who is close to our values ​​- the values ​​of people of science. We really have a huge audience. Last year, the total number of festival visitors reached 18 million, taking into account offline and online platforms.

Personally, I attribute the steady increase in the number of applicants and the increase in competition for admission to Moscow State University, among other things, to the popularity of the Science Festival. Today it is a truly bright, strong brand. And I am very glad that it was Moscow State University that stood at its origins and that today the festival works for the common good of the country and science.

— Is there feedback from schools, universities, parents – how useful are such events from the point of view of popularizing science?

“Sometimes it’s only thanks to feedback that one can understand why, say, one format of conversation about science went unexpectedly well, while another, which we initially relied on, was not so well received by visitors.

Festival activities find a serious response from a variety of audiences. Universities see the Science Festival as an opportunity to expand the range of interaction with society. For schools, this is a chance to attract outstanding scientists and talented science popularizers to open lessons.

We live in a world where knowledge is the most important resource for the development of the individual, society, and civilization as a whole.

— What is the Russian geography of the festival?

— On the basis of the institutes of the Academy of Sciences and universities, within the framework of the All-Russian festival “SCIENCE 0+”, central regional sites operate every year. This year they are opening in Yakutia, Sirius, Krasnodar Territory, and Novosibirsk Region.

We always welcome initiatives from regional partners to expand the geography of festival activities. The festival is, first of all, a living, dynamically developing community of friends of science who are working to ensure that in all cities of the country scientists not only engage in science, but also talk about it. So that schoolchildren and students understand as early as possible that science is a huge, wonderful world that is expanding its prospects every second and with acceleration.