Ural schoolchildren defended projects on biotechnology

Last weekend in the country center "Tavatuy" the shift "Biological objects of biotechnology" for children aged 14-17 was completed.
The organizers were the Ural State Agrarian University and the Golden Section Fund for Supporting Talented Children and Youth.
From June 11 to 24, schoolchildren from Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Tagil, Kamensk-Uralsky, Pervouralsk, Asbest, Verkhnyaya Pyshma, Novouralsk, Irbit and Karpinsk became participants in an educational intensive dedicated to chemical and biological sciences, modern methods and techniques of agro-industrial and biotechnologies.

The children learned a lot about the structure, diversity, ecological and economic significance of biological objects of biotechnology (viruses, bacteria, fungi, plants and animals), learned how to influence the structure, composition, nutritional and biological value of finished products, figured out how to breathe life into spent and "tired" soils, how to protect plants from diseases and pests, and much more.

As a final certification, all participants in the course "Biological Objects of Biotechnology" defended their own creative projects. Their topics related to organic farming, the use of hydroponic systems, the cultivation of organic vegetables and fruits, the creation of new food recipes, etc. The
experts were teachers of the Department of Biotechnology and Food Products of the Ural State Agrarian University - Professor O.S. Chechenikhina and associate professor E.S. Smirnova.

“Each of the projects is undoubtedly promising and has scientific novelty. We prepared projects with the guys that can be further developed and presented at the Big Challenges competition in the direction of Agro-Industrial and Biotechnologies. A lot of guys are planning to do that. Inspiring children to project activities was our main task. In addition, we introduced schoolchildren to the Agricultural University and we will be glad to see them as applicants,” said Olga Sergeyevna Chechenikhina, head of the course, professor at the Department of Biotechnology and Food Products of the Ural State Agrarian University, Doctor of Biological Sciences.

It should be noted that the course "Biological Objects of Biotechnology" is aimed at improving the quality of knowledge among schoolchildren and acquiring skills for creating future scientific projects in biology and chemistry. Every year, its graduates take part in the all-Russian conference of the Ural State Agrarian University "On the Way to Knowledge", as well as in the all-Russian competition of scientific and technological projects "Big Challenges" of the educational center "Sirius". Both events are included in the List of the Ministry of Education and provide an opportunity for schoolchildren to get additional points for the Unified State Examination when entering universities.

It is worth noting that before that, USAU teachers had already held several educational intensives for schoolchildren. In the Tavatuy EC, the children learned a lot about the ecology of animals, plants, water bodies, the physiology of human nutrition, learned how to conduct field research to study the diversity of flora and fauna, draw up passports for the area and water bodies, determine the physical and chemical parameters of water, anthropogenic climate change, apply GIS technologies for creating maps and much more.

Text - Yulia Filimonova
Photo - Olga Chechenikhina
06/27/2023

Source: Press Service of the Ural State Agrarian University