Academicians visit Universiade Village to deliver lecture and to go skiing 24.01.2012

To begin with, Universiade Village residents were offered the opportunity to attend a lecture given by Kev Salikhov, сorresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Director of Kazan Physical and Technical Institute. His lecture was titled ‘Education and Society’. Not only did the professor tell about the importance of studying within the time allocated for the lecture, but he also revealed how his journey in science had started, how his scientific interests had evolved and what his hobbies were. The professor’s eyes were sparkling with excitement when he was speaking about fishing.

Equally enthusiastically, he began to explain to the audience the essence of electron paramagnetic resonance and the field of its application. Kev Salikhov had been awarded the Humboldt Research Award for his applied magnetic resonance reseach. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) had been first observed in Kazan State University by Soviet physicist Evgeny Zavoisky.

«Kazan was extremely lucky to have such world-famous scientists as Lobachevsky, Zavoisky that had been working and making discoveries in our city,» the professor said. Using easily understandable notions, Kev Salikhov explained the nature of their outstanding discoveries.

«Why is it important to study?» he said at the end of the meeting and asked the students to think it over because soon each of them will have to explain this very question to their children.

The scientist offered his own answer: «Education gives you freedom. There is a great probability that an educated person will be able to work a job that he finds interesting, that he enjoys.»

But it’s impossible to educate a person if he doesn’t want it. Kev Salikhov said that to become successful, one needed to love his studies and his work, to find something interesting in everything he does.

«The society needs education, but a mutual responsibility must be established between the environment and each individual for knowledge transfer between generations,» Salikhov said at the end of the lecture.

Needless to say, the event brought pleasure to both the scientist that thanked the audience for being such attentive listeners and the students that had been asking questions enthusiastically. One of the attendees wondered why the professor was enjoying detective stories so much.

«I like to see logically valid conclusions being drawn from the evidence presented; as you know, a scientific activity is similar to a detective story: you have an end result and you need to know how it has come to this,» he explained.

Next morning the scientists of the Kazan Scientific Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences demonstrated that they were not inferior to the Universiade Village residents and were not only intelligent but athletic as well. To prove that, they took part in the cross country race that was held in the Universiade Village as part of the traditional Academiade.

«This year we decided to expand our programme and include cross country skiing in it. The initiative was met with approval by the administration of the Universiade Village and we were given an amazing facility for staging the competition, for which we are grateful. We hope that this sport will become traditional and will attract more participants and supporters,» said Lyudmila Sharapova, a chairman of the Kazan Scientific Centre’s trade union.

More than 25 scientists of the Russian Academy of Sciences started today at the cross-country race. A frosty weather and bright sun were cheering up and inspiring to win, because the victory at the Republican Academiade entitled the winner to represent Tatarstan at the All-Russian Academiade in the Republic of Karelia. The cross country skiing event became a perfect Saint Tatiana’s Day gift from the scientists to students.

«For the first time ever the Universiade Village hosts the Academiade. But it’s not the first event held by the Academy of Sciences on the territory of the student campus. The day before a lecture was delivered by the scientists that provided a glimpse into their scientific activities. After the lecture ended, students were offered to join the scientists in their competition and here they are today, at the start line of our ski trail,» said Farid Abdulganiev, Mayor of the Universiade Village. «We want to extend our best wishes to our students on the occasion of Saint Tatiana’s Day. Being part of the Universiade Village, we are doing everything possible to make them feel comfortable as if they were at their own home sweet home. We want to wish them to pass their exams successfully, have a good winter break and, of course, come back to us after it.»

Media Department of Kazan 2013 Executive Directorate