Rostov-on-Don hosts Second Festival of Sciences of Southern Russia

Today, the Second Festival of Sciences of Southern Russia took its start in Rostov-on-Don. The event has brought together 20 universities of the Southern and North-Caucasian Federal Districts (SFD and NCFD) and 14 museums, whose expositions raise the topic of sciences and technology, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was informed at the Directorate of the Festival.

Vladislav Zakharevich, Rector of the Southern Federal University (SFU), has stressed that presenting museums was very important, because not everyone knows what they keep in their funds.

Igor Guskov, Deputy Governor of the Rostov Region, noted in his opening word that the mission of the Festival is to popularize sciences, without which any innovative development of the country is impossible. The regional government has supported the event by putting it on the list of priority projects, and by paying the rent for two days of the "VertolEkspo", that is, about 800,000 roubles.

According to Mr Guskov, the regional government has established 150 scholarships to best students and 40 scholarships to best postgraduate students, while allocations on sciences will be increased from year to year.

In his turn, Timofei Lupeiko, Professor of the SFU, has encouraged students to do sciences, "at least because today they are becoming a real productive force."

At the Festival, every university has tried to present all the most interesting things available in its scientific stock. The "Wandering Monks" from the Department of Philosophy and Cultural Studies of the SFU offered visitors to secure their future by "buying" indulgences with sayings of great philosophers.

The Festival operates a mobile press centre. "Twenty Bachelors and Masters of the Department of Philology and Journalism," Tatiana Zasorina, the head of the centre, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, "by the end of the Festival will issue a newspaper and open a website dedicated to the event."