The final stage of the Zvezda (Star) Multidisciplinary Engineering Olympiad started on January 30th. This year, it has brought together more than 300 thousand participants from 82 regions of Russia. The results will be announced on April 15th.
We have spoken to Deputy Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs and coordinator of the Zvezda MEO Yuliya Bolotina about the innovations of the Olympiad and the opportunities it provides for young students.
– What format is the Olympiad held in?
– Every weekend until the middle of March, students of the 6th–11th forms will participate in intellectual competitions in various categories of the Olympiad at the venues of partner universities. The doors of South Ural State university are also open to participants. We would like to thank the Ministry of Education and Science of the Chelyabinsk Region and our partners, who created more than 80 venues for the final round in the "Natural Sciences" category.
This year SUSU specialists have opened a new portal for the Olympiad, which opens up participation to a much greater number of students and provides the opportunity to take part in the competition to those who live where offline events have not been organized. Thanks to the SUSU Office of Informatization, we can open a personal account for each participant. More than 150000 children have created their accounts and can participate in the final stage in a number of subjects where the online format is allowed. The online stage creates equal opportunities for all participants.
- Today the Olympiad is available to more than 80 regions in Russia. Is it possible to name the leading regions in our country, where schoolchildren are most actively participating in the competition?
- Traditionally the Chelyabinsk Region and SUSU are in the first place by number of participants. The Rostov Region does not lag behind—the Novocherkassk Polytechnic University has also hosted the Olympiad since its creation in 2013. For the first time in 8 years of the competition a big jump was shown by Tula Region, gathering 19 thousand participants in the qualifying round. And in the South Urals from the first days of the Olympiad there were three leaders, and this is still the case: Chelyabinsk, Magnitogorsk, and Snezhinsk.
– What categories are contests held in?
– Today the Olympiad has 10 categories: Russian Language, Social Studies, Law, History, Economics, Natural Sciences, Psychology, Engineering and Technology, International Relations, and Translation and Translation Studies. This year the organizing committee has decided to add two new directions to the category Engineering and Technology: Biotechnology, and Information Security. As there is a great interest to the Olympiad, we plan to add new categories in the years to come.
– What are the benefits of winning the Olympiad?
– The Zvezda Multidisciplinary Engineering Olympiad is not only an opportunity for school students to test their knowledge, but also a real chance to be accepted into a university without the standard competition. The Olympiad is included in the list of the Russian Council of Schoolchildren Olympiads approved by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation. School graduates, who win or are finalists in the competition, having passed their specialized examinations with 75 points or higher, have an opportunity to enter Russian universities without entrance examinations. Other students receive up to 10 additional points when individual achievements are being considered. The results of the Olympiad are valid for four years.
Traditionally, winners and finalists take part in major international forums such as MAKS (International Aviation and Space Salon), or Hydroaviasalon held in Gelendzhik, and get acquainted with the work of the State Duma, Rostec Corporation, etc.
Overall, the Zvezda MEO is a unique project, which was created to educate engineering staff for our country—good specialists, who are in demand at the industrial enterprises in Russia. We organized this project together with the Russian Engineering Union, and regional branches of the Union across the country have joined us. Prize-winners and finalists are invited to tours and master classes at defence industry enterprises. Together we are fostering interest among schoolchildren in obtaining engineering education and in further building their career in the production sphere. The Zvezda Multidisciplinary Engineering Olympiad is an example of successful cooperation among enterprises, universities, and schools for the development of regional and national economy.
– Please, tell us about the "From Little Stars to Big Stars" project. The Olympiad for children of the 1st–5th forms is still a young project. Can we already say that it has been a success like the mature Olympiad?
– This year the "From Little Stars to Big Stars" competition for young students has officially become part of the Zvezda MEO. Last year about 60 thousand children participated. Around 15 regions of our country joined the Olympiad. We can already say that the project is interesting to children and their parents. This year we have created the category of "Technology of the Future" for students of the 1st–5th forms. The children's projects will be evaluated by representatives of industrial enterprises. The event is also held in person and via our Internet portal. The Olympiad has two stages. In the first round, children perform a category-specific task, and the second stage involves creative work. Our Olympiad for younger children is unique in that we have officially allowed parents to be co-authors of the projects. It's no secret that parents usually help their children in such contests. That is why we decided to spell it out in the documents. In our opinion, collaboration strengthens family ties and provides additional motivation for the participants.