Preliminary results of the 5th Congress of Young Scientists and its satellite events in 2025 were presented, and the outcomes of implementing the Decade of Science and Technology plan, along with proposals for the next year, were discussed.
"Probably everyone has already had a chance to walk around the university grounds. And participants fr om previous congresses see how much and for the better the changes are happening. Both in terms of presenting results and in terms of what's on display at 'Our Lab'—they are showing new instruments, instruments of a different quality, and in terms of education—for young scientists, all of today's presentations and round tables are rich in content. All sections have full halls. This is pleasing," said Andrey Fursenko, Assistant to the President of Russia.
Dmitry Chernyshenko noted that the 5th Congress of Young Scientists is a key event of the Decade of Science and Technology. A visible effect fr om popularizing science and supporting young talents is already evident.
"Every year, the Congress of Young Scientists gains momentum, demonstrating increasingly impressive results, confirming the motto 'The Energy of Science: Fr om the Potential of Knowledge to Building the Future'. The task set by the President is to ensure Russia's technological leadership so that it becomes indisputable. This year, the Congress has gathered participants from over 100 countries. Beyond the numbers, we need to maintain that unique atmosphere the Congress is famous for—the openness of Russian science, its scale, and its value first and foremost for our country, but also for the entire world," stated the Deputy Prime Minister.
He added that the events of the Decade are an opportunity to engage talented youth, entrepreneurs, and representatives of the real sector of the Russian economy in the field of science.
"This is extremely necessary so that, in addition to the high goal of achieving technological leadership, we can reach a tangible indicator set by the President—increasing spending on science should reach up to 2% of GDP by 2030, including through growth in investment from business. Thus, in 2025, as part of the thematic initiatives of the Decade, agreements have been concluded and signed with new partners: Gazprom Neft, Rosselkhozbank, and Aeroflot. Within the 'Science and Business' initiative, more than 790,000 participants from nearly 500 universities took part in events of the federal program 'Platform for University Technological Entrepreneurship'. Thanks to the program, over 35,000 university startups have been created, attracting almost 3 billion rubles," reported Dmitry Chernyshenko.
The Government-approved plan for the Decade of Science and Technology includes 12 initiatives, projects, and events. Overall, this year's results have shown increased interest in the Decade's events.
This year at the Congress of Young Scientists, every 5th Candidate of Sciences under 29 and every 3rd Doctor of Sciences under 39 will be present. In total, among the participants, there are over 3,000 people with academic degrees. The total number of Candidates of Sciences has increased by 45% compared to last year, 2024, reaching almost 2,500 people.
Following the meeting, Dmitry Chernyshenko gave a number of instructions, including to the Russian Ministry of Education and Science—to collect applications for conducting satellite events of the Congress of Young Scientists in 2026 by March 1.
The President of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), Gennady Krasnikov, proposed using the platform of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences to more actively involve RAS scientists in discussing the events of the Decade of Science and Technology and improving its tools.
"Many of our RAS members are responsible for entire State Programs of Fundamental Scientific Research; they participate in the work of the Commission for Scientific and Technological Development. And they—like no one else—know wh ere efforts in popularizing science are especially needed today, which areas of fundamental science are 'uncovered,' wh ere personnel issues are especially acute. After all, the development of fundamental science, wh ere it is impossible to set priorities or predict results, must necessarily proceed on a 'broad front.' That is, in all areas of science—there must be strong scientific teams," he noted.
"The anniversary Congress of Young Scientists demonstrates the scale and steady growth of interest from the scientific and educational community. Over the years, the number of participants, the number of events in the business program have more than doubled, and the exhibition area and the number of exhibitors grow annually. This year, we focused special attention on new formats of interaction—new discussion formats, interactive exhibits have appeared, and industry clusters have started their work. High interest in expanding the industry agenda from participants has been noted; we plan to continue this work at future Congresses," noted the head of the interdepartmental working group for the preparation and holding of the Congress of Young Scientists and satellite events, Advisor to the President of the Russian Federation Anton Kobyakov.
In her speech, the General Director of the "National Priorities," Sofia Malyavina, spoke about promoting the Decade of Science and Technology, scientists, and their developments, citing the latest sociological research data: "Since 2022, the portal 'nauka.rf'—the main resource of the Decade of Science—has been visited over 48 million times. Monthly, we record growth in the number of subscribers to our groups and channels on social networks, as well as visitors and views of materials on the website. Over all this time, we have published about 9,000 materials on the site."
Also participating in the meeting of the Coordinating Committee were Alexander Smirnov, Head of the Presidential Directorate for Public Relations and Communications; Denis Sekirinsky, Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education; Natalya Virtuozova, General Director of the "Directorate of the Exhibition of Achievements 'Russia'"; Alexey Goreslavsky, General Director of the "Institute for Internet Development"; Maxim Dreval, General Director of the Russian "Znanie" Society; Elena Shmeleva, Head of the "Talent and Success" Educational Foundation; Arthur Orlov, Chairman of the Board of the Russian Movement of Children and Youth "Movement of the First"; and Viktor Sadovnichy, Rector of Lomonosov Moscow State University.
Source: Photo host of the Congress of Young Scientists