Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 16-17 December 2021, the third "Festival of Science and Atom" is being held in Uzbekistan. The event is intended to tell young people about the latest achievements in the field of nuclear science and technology, as well as to popularize engineering specialties among schoolchildren and students.

The purpose of the festival is to popularize science and innovation, introduce young people to modern technologies and find answers to questions from participants on nuclear topics.

The program of the Festival included intellectual games for schoolchildren, developed by the team of the Atomic Energy Information Centers network: “Atomic Double”, “Scientific Chronograph”, “Technostrategy”, as well as lectures for students and a popular science talk show “Let us disassemble into atoms”. All of them will be united by one idea - acquaintance with modern nuclear technologies and the role of the peaceful atom for the development of the economy and all science-intensive industries. Festival visitors will learn about the potential of nuclear technology and where they can be used in addition to the energy industry.

The organizer of the festival is the Information Center for Nuclear Technologies (ICAT) in Tashkent with the support of the Uzatom Agency and the State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom.

Science and Atom Festivals as a format of events aimed at popularizing science and technology are held in many countries around the world where the nuclear industry and nuclear technology are developing. Among them are Bangladesh, India, Belarus, Armenia, Egypt, Vietnam, Indonesia.

The festival has been held in Uzbekistan since 2019. This year, the festival will be held at two sites: in the Tashkent branch of the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI and ICAT, as well as online - on the pages of the Information Center in social networks.

“We are glad that the Science and Atom Festival has attracted the attention of the youth of Uzbekistan. Every year more and more young people in our country show a serious interest in nuclear energy, nuclear technology and science. Schoolchildren and students are actively responding to new formats, where education and science are closely intertwined with modern technologies,” says Gulrukhsor Ravshanova, head of ICAT.

“The purpose of the festival is to tell about the opportunities that are opening up for young people today thanks to the development of technology, to awaken students and schoolchildren’s interest in doing science. The festival will allow participants to learn how nuclear technologies contribute to improving the quality of human life, about their application in various fields - industry, agriculture, medicine - and their role in the development of the country. We hope that such events will become a good tradition,” Gulrukhsor Ravshanova noted.

The two-day program of the event includes excursions for high school students on the new campus of NRNU MEPhI, student reports and speeches by experts, discussions and scientific games. And at the ICAT site, master classes in robotics will be held. Schoolchildren and students, specialized specialists, journalists and everyone who is interested in scientific topics and the nuclear industry are invited to participate in the event. The most active participants of the festival will receive special prizes.

A special guest of the festival was Dmitry Gorchakov, a well-known Russian popularizer of atomic science, nuclear physicist, scientific blogger.