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On Friday, July 5, the gala graduation ceremony for postgraduate students was held in the very center of the Botanic Garden of Samara National Research University, and the young scientists received their diplomas. This year, 102 persons received their certificates. There are 628 post-graduate students study at the University now, with 55 of them being citizens of other countries.
The graduates were congratulated by the Acting Rector Mikhail Kovalev and the First Vice-Rector – Vice-Rector for Research Work Andrey Prokofyev. They mentioned that awarding of diplomas to post-graduate students was a good tradition but they should now focus on the defense of their theses, and reminded that it was profitable to engage in science now. There are megagrants, the Presidential scholarship for postgraduate students was established recently in Russia, and six post-graduate students of Samara University now get RUB 75,000 every month!
“I am sure that you enrolled in the post-graduate course not for a diploma but for science. I wish you to find confirmation of all your hypotheses and in future may be even set up your own research school!”, Anastasia Grisyak, Director of the Institute of Natural Science of Samara University, head of the Center for Publishing Activities Development, said.
Addressing the graduates, the head of the Postgraduate and Doctoral studies Department Elena Rodionova appealed to them not to forget to enjoy life on the way to their goals and high achievements, “On your way to success, allow yourselves to be not ideal, funny, have more joy!”
One of those who finished the postgraduate course is a young scientist from Iraq Mahan Hamid Mohammad Mahan. He successfully defended his thesis for a Ph.D. in engineering science literally the day before. Mohammad Mahan is engaged in the research of the structure and properties of aluminum matrix composites reinforced with TiO2 particles, supervised by Professor Sergey Konovalov.
Mohammad Mahan mentioned the high level of teaching and scientific research at Samara University and gave an advice to future postgraduate students: “Apply for scholarships and grants and come to study to Russia, to Samara! Here you can get grants for research, and this is an additional source of financing. Thanks to the team formed around my research adviser Sergey V. Konovalov, I did not have any problems with publications in Scopus and WoS journals as well as scientific journals of the Higher Attestation Commission. I spoke at conferences. My research adviser, the personnel of the department and the personnel of the post-graduate studies department helped me to prepare for the defense of my thesis”.
In future, Mohammad intends to engage in research and teach at his native university Baquba Technical Institute in Bagdad.
Alexandra Savelyeva is finishing her thesis “Calculation of the Topological Charge of the Superposition of Vortex Laser Beams”. The postgraduate’s work is supervised by Victor Kotlyar, Professor of the Department of Technical Cybernetics. Such beams allow to create optical tweezers and manipulate with such micro-objects as DNA molecules, and in nanolithography to apply a thin relief on surfaces and create new optical elements – lens with new properties. “Elena S. Kozlova fascinated me with science and imperceptibly I found myself in the very center of an academic team”, the girl said. She admitted that it was very interesting at the postgraduate course: trips to conferences and forums, the process of article writing and their publication in high-rated journals. “Motivation? I am such a person: if I started something, I have to finish the work. I think that to have a Ph.D. is honorable, not everyone can get to this level”, Alexandra said and wished patience, persistence, perseverance and belief in oneself to future postgraduate students.
Maria Klevina finished the postgraduate course in economics. She studied economic and mathematical models of cost optimization in the enterprise risk management system supervised by Dmitry Ivanov, the head of the Department of Management and Organization of Production. The girl linked her life with the alma mater and is not only engaged in research but is also employed as an assistant at the Department of Economics and specializes in management of employment and career.
In future, she plans to continue research, teaching and administrative work as well as defend a thesis for a Ph.D., preferably during this year: “When I was a first-year student, I had to choose: to participate in the Lomonosov conference in Moscow or the students’ spring gala concert at the University. It was difficult to choose but science won as it is a creativity of its kind. Returning from the conference, I found myself in the team of organizers of the regional students’ spring. As a result, 1:1 science:STEM! That’s how all my student years went by! Because of that when the issue arose again – to enroll in the post-graduate course or not, I chose quickly. Surely, to enroll!” And Maria could not evade the creative approach at the post-graduate course either – she presented her research at Science Slam with The Daddy’s Daughters serial as an example.
This year, the University offers 126 state-funded places and 50 places for a fee, and to choose from 58 scientific specialties. They started accepting documents on July 4 and will go on till August 6.
Photo: Andrey Pavlov
