From an Applicant to a Young Scientist: SUSU Grants and Contests

Many of those enrolling in a university would like to have an understanding of what awaits for them in the future. After their graduation the majority will start working according to their major, for instance in the government sector or business, but there also will be those who will dedicate their lives to “pure” fundamental science and will make discoveries that will help the society step up to a whole new level of technology development.

Specially for applicants and their parents, we offer a brief selection of the most relevant facts about the opportunities that SUSU provides to students wishing to become scientists.

Priority 2030

Starting from 2021, SUSU is part of Priority 2030, a grand-scale program aimed at development of science in Russian regions.

Program mission

By 2030, to form a pool of 100 strongest Russian universities, which will become centres of the scientific and technological development of the Russian Federation. In 2024, following a Decree by the President of Russia Vladimir Putin, this program was extended till 2036.

Advantages for applicants

Participation in the Priority 2030 program is a guarantee that you will be studying at a high-status and progressive university, the best university in our region.

For applicants, the SUSU’s participation in the Priority 2030 program means:

Huge selection of truly relevant professions of the future, in demand in the market. According to the Priority program, SUSU is focused on achieving the global scientific and technological leadership in the fields of intelligent manufacturing, special-purpose transport mechanical engineering, and industrial ecology, including non-conventional materials, as well as on implementing developments into the industry of the Big Urals. For applicants, this is an opportunity to learn a relevant speciality and have no problems getting a job at one of the enterprises that are the Urals’ giant industrial companies, like: AO PG KONAR, PAO Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works, PAO ChKPZ (Robot Plant), and others.

Participation in scientific research. Already starting from their first year, students can take part in scientific research, both independently and as part of a team, and obtain funding from the university for development of their ideas. Students wishing to join in science can start their research at the university laboratories already during their first year of studies. For example, such special-purpose FabLabs (fabrication laboratories) are at their disposal as the Electronics FabLab, Mechanical Engineering FabLab, Prototyping and 3D Modelling FabLab, as well as the University Boiling Point, where enthusiastic and creative students can instantly put their boldest developments to life and immerse themselves in the research process.

Real chance of being paid an enhanced stipend starting from your first year of studies. For this, you should actively participate in conferences and research studies, propose your own research projects, and engage in research. SUSU has all the possibilities and resources to offer for that.

For more details on this program, please visit the Priority 2030 section on the SUSU website.

Viktor Khristenko grant programs

The best proof that a high quality education is offered by a university are its successful alumni. One of the SUSU’s (CPI back then) famous alumni is a Russian statesperson, President of the Business Council of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), earlier Deputy Chairman of the Russian Government, Chairman of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission, Doctor of Sciences (Economics), Professor Viktor Khristenko, who sponsors a number of big-scale projects supporting school pupils, students and young scientists of SUSU.

Thus, for instance, Step into the Future (a big-scale Viktor Khristenko grant program) is being fulfilled at SUSU and includes the Student and Postgraduate, Young Scientist, and Leading Scientist tracks.

The Student and Postgraduate track includes a Project Works Tournament in the fields of priority development for the university and the Chelyabinsk Region.

The Project Works Tournament aims at creating innovative products and solving relevant-for-the-region tasks in industry and ecology. Among the main goals of the tournament are searching for talented students, improving the image of engineering professions, popularization of education in Engineering and Technology and Natural Sciences, and building of the personnel reserve.

The tournament winners are allocated up to 30 stipends every year. The stipend amount equals up to 25 thous. RUR/month. The teams are made up of 3 to 5 students and postgraduates younger than 30, who have no academic failures and receive only “good” and “excellent” marks at the exams.

In addition to that, students of the Young Scientist track under the Step into the Future program can become part of a team already starting from their first year (and these are former applicants)! Ambitious students who are full of initiative have all the chances of becoming winners as members of a team! For example, in 2024, teams who won the contest were awarded bonuses in various categories. The bonus amounts for teams equalled 500,000 to 1,000,000 for the development of their projects.

The research programs pool within the Viktor Khristenko block has directions targeted namely at school pupils as the future applicants and first-year students. Those include Olympiads organized at the Department of Economics and Finance of the SUSU School of Economics and Management: Interregional Olympiad in Financial Literacy for Schoolchildren, and the All-Russian Olympiad in Finance and Financial Markets for Students.

Interregional Olympiad in Financial Literacy for Schoolchildren

aims at improving the financial literacy and adaptability of the future applicants. The Olympiad final is held at the Teaching Bank Laboratory at B.N. Khristenko Laboratory Complex of Active Teaching Methods. It traditionally includes individual and team testing and solving of business cases on forming of the financial budget, credit and investment transactions.

Very good prizes are awarded in individual contests: laptops for the first and second places, and a tablet for the third place.

In the final of the All-Russian Olympiad in Finance and Financial Markets for Students, in the format of individual testing and solving of business cases, students build up the financial models of functioning of an enterprise, evaluate the business value and the investment attractiveness of the shares of Russian companies. In addition to certificates, winners are awarded laptops for the first and second places, and a tablet for the third place.

It is important to note that both Olympiads are listed among the Talents and Success events, what gives the winners a right to use additional points when enrolling in Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programmes in Russian universities. Every year SUSU confirms its right to include these Olympiads in the ranking!

You can learn all the details about Viktor Khristenko grant programs here.

Support for Young Science Contest

SUSU traditionally fulfils big-scale grant programs to support young scientists. Among those is the Support for Young Science Contest, funded as part of the Priority 2030 program.

Year after year, the topics of the contest projects vary to meet the trends. Thus, in 2025, the topic of the contest projects focused on the fields relevant for the university and our country’s economy: “Industrial Robotics” and “Control Systems”.

The Support for Young Science Contest aims at:

involving the SUSU students, postgraduates and young academic staff members in the scientific and research process;
boosting the publication activity of the university students, postgraduates and young academic staff members in the “white list” of scientific journals;
increasing the technology leadership index of the university.

Why may applicants be interested in this contest? For first-year students (former applicants), this is an opportunity to start building a career in science as a member of a team headed by a young scientist. The victory of a young scientist or a team of young scientists in the Support for Young Science Contest is a great headstart for further filing a research application to obtain a grant from the Russian Science Foundation.

In addition, as a member of a young scientist’s team, a student (even a first-year student) can count upon receiving the funding for his research. It is planned to allocate more than 6,000,000 roubles for the funding of the projects under the Support for Young Science Contest in 2025. The funding will be divided among the groups of projects.

You can learn the details on the Support for Young Science Contest here.

Startup as a Diploma Project Contest

As part of the Priority 2030 program fulfilment, SUSU has been holding a Startup as a Diploma Project Contest for more than four years now. The main goal of this contest is to support the entrepreneurial initiatives of students. Undergraduate students can present their business projects as qualifying diploma papers.

Startup forms include:

technology startup;
startup in the field of social entrepreneurship;
startup as a business project being implemented in the field of economics;
startup in the field of creative industries.

In the process of this contest students will be able to:

take part in a project aimed at creating a unique product or technology;
take a business intensive course on startup designing in the format of advanced training;
sign a contract with business representatives and obtain funding for the development of their projects (the contest jury includes entrepreneurs and specialists in the IT field of Chelyabinsk and the Chelyabinsk Region);
form professional competences and a portfolio for future employers;
use additional points when enrolling in the next level of education at SUSU (NRU).

For example, representatives of practically all SUSU schools and institutes (the future engineers, architects, lawyers, IT specialists) have taken part in the Startup as a Diploma Project Contest in 2025. Among the contest startups were projects in the fields of commercial property, IT technologies, industrial production, construction, tourism, jurisprudence, and creative industry.

In the final, authors of the most successful projects receive grants from SUSU (for the implementation of the winning project, funds are allocated from the Priority 2030 program). In addition to that, authors of the best works have a chance to receive 1,000,000 RUR as part of the Student Startup governmental support of student entrepreneurial projects from the Foundation on Innovations Facilitation, and additional points when enrolling in Master’s degree programmes in Russian universities.