Over 5,000 students from over 50 schools in India attended the events of the six-day ROSATOM Festival of Science and Culture. The event, organized by the Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation ROSATOM in association with ASE (Rosatom Engineering Division), Embassy of the Russian Federation to the Republic of India, and Nehru Science Center in Mumbai, was held in Delhi and Mumbai from July 24 to 29.
The aim of the festival was to raise awareness among young people of the importance of nuclear power and its role for developing economies.
Mikhail Kornienko, Russian pilot-cosmonaut and one of the headliners of the event, shared his vision on the possibility of developing a nuclear-powered spacecraft for deep space travel. “India’s decision to launch the Human Spaceflight Programme may introduce new elements in on-orbit training for cosmonauts, for example, zero gravity yoga”, said he, answering the questions from schoolchildren in New Delhi.
Olga Momot and Elena Sarapultseva from National Research Nuclear University “MEPhI” delivered lectures on electricity generation from nuclear power plants as well as non-power application of nuclear technologies in medicine, agriculture and daily life in IIT Bombay as well as Nehru Science Centre and different educational institutions.
The students who visited ROSATOM Festival of Science and Culture also received the “Nuclear ABC” in English. The illustrated book explains the basics of nuclear energy in simple terms.
For the first time, the festival also incorporated the cultural program along with educational activities. The world famous dance ensemble “Kalinka” gave four concerts in Mumbai and in the Russian Centre for Science And Culture in Delhi and Mumbai. “Kalinka” was founded in 1968 and took part in the opening ceremony of Sochi Olympic Games in 2014.
“The Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant is a symbol of Indo-Russian relations. We hope that our ties will continue to develop successfully and this festival will help young people to get the necessary answers about nuclear energy and inspire them to consider nuclear engineering as a career option,” said Andrey Shevlyakov, CEO of Rosatom South Asia.
Andrei Lebedev, Vice President in India of ASE Group of Companies, ROSATOM's engineering division, said: “The aim of the festival is to strengthen the friendly relationships between children of India and Russia, encourage their creativity, and provide a platform to get the knowledge about a variety of cultures.”
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It was the third edition of ROSATOM Festival of Science. In 2016 and 2017 the event was held in Chennai and Delhi respectively.
In India ROSATOM jointly with Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) implement the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) in Tamil Nadu. The KKNPP Unit 1 was synchronised with the southern power grid in October 2013. The KKNPP Unit 2 was connected to grid in August 2016. The KKNPP Units 3 and 4 are under construction, while the Units 5 and 6 have been contracted and on-site preparation is underway.