In the 4th shift, the Sputnik program is being implemented at Artek – the final of the eponymous All-Russian competition organized by Samara University. The participants of the program were 50 young research engineers from 20 regions of Russia.



"This year, for the eighth time, we brought the best children selected by a large competition to Artek. They have already come to Samara University, worked with our teachers, defended projects, and now they have come to Artek. Here they will continue to study with the teachers of Samara University according to our programs. A large number of events are planned. We are sure that everyone will show themselves on shift," said Sergey Goryainov, Head of the Department for Target Audience Engagement and Support at Samara University.

The final program of the Sputnik competition introduces children to information technology, rocket science and space. A lot of interesting workshops, classes and other events have been prepared in each area.

Within the framework of the Information Technology area, an immersive educational role-playing game will be held, which will allow participants to try on the role of space cadets who got into a very difficult situation during the first training flight. Throughout the game, participants will collect fascinating stories from scraps of information, solve problems related to coding and encryption, knowledge of the basics of telecommunications, steganography and many other interesting IT areas. At the end, Artek students will hold internal team debates in order to make a number of difficult decisions, on which the future of not only the cadets, but also the whole of humanity will depend.

The educational program "Rocket Engineering" is an integrated course, it provides an opportunity to study the basic elements of the structure and design and consolidate the knowledge gained by assembling their own rocket models. The program demonstrates the most interesting thing in science – testing a useful product in practice and inspires children to make an informed choice of technical professions. At the final practical lesson, Artek students will assemble and launch pneumohydraulic rockets. As in real rocket science, before launching, it will be necessary to make sure that everything is assembled correctly, take control measurements and pass qualification tests. Also to design and perform calculations of the rocket model in the Open Rocket simulator.

A special point of the program will be intensive lean manufacturing on a computer simulator "LEAN Manufacturing" – an online platform for learning skills, tools and fundamentals of lean manufacturing using practical solutions on a simulator. During the classes, Artek students will work out the organization of business processes with a game simulation of conditions as close as possible to market conditions.

With the powerful contribution of teachers, young scientists and university partners, the shift participants will be immersed in the fascinating world of modern technologies and scientific discoveries.
The organizers of the program have prepared a diverse program, including lectures, practical classes and master classes, popular science lectures, as well as an intellectual quiz and a festival of technical creativity. Teachers and young scientists not only transfer knowledge, but also inspire participants to bold ideas and new achievements, helping them overcome the difficulties of project work.

The end of the educational shift is expected with the summing up and presentation to the participants of the collections of works by the finalists of the Sputnik competition – books that will be evidence of their scientific work and the first step in the scientific path.

At the end of the program, a series of popular science lectures "Just Space" will also be held, to which not only the finalists of the competition, but also other participants of the shift will be invited. The aim of the project is to create a special language of scientific communication in which students can simply talk about complex technical things with their peers. The guys have rethought their scientific projects – they have created short popular science lectures and will speak with them as speakers.

During the month before the shift, the guys finalized their projects together with scientists from Samara University: the guys highlighted the main ideas of their work, framed them in terms of creative and interesting presentation of the material, and rehearsed their performances. The experts’ comments helped to identify the growth points and prospects of the project.

"I was developing a project for a biological space station that will fly in Earth orbit. It is a cylindrical base that is launched from the ISS, sent to one of the orbits at an altitude of up to 25 thousand kilometers, where it stays for about 12 months. I chose this topic because people have long dreamed of making interplanetary flights, I would really like to bring this moment closer," Marina Kostyushko from Pskov shared.

"This year I took part in the Information Technology area, made a website that has structured information about project activities. Students are often given various tasks, for example, to write an essay or make a project. My website will make it easier for them and their scientific supervisors to work," said Polina Rezvaya from the Moscow region.

In total, more than 9,300 schoolchildren from all over Russia took part in the All-Russian Sputnik competition. The participants of the final were 50 Artek students from 20 regions of our country. The guys are sure that the program will give them a lot of useful knowledge.

"I would like to take part in a variety of activities, improve my skills in various fields of activity. This is the first time I participate in this program, the first time I got to Artek. The impressions are incredible, I am delighted with the Country of Childhood, I have dreamed of coming here for five years. I hope that the knowledge I will receive as part of the program will help me develop and get a ticket here next year," said Valeria Pimanenko from the Voronezh Region.

Source: artek.org