A recent initiative by the Russian state atomic energy corporation Rosatom to raise public awareness in India about nuclear technology was successful in generating an overwhelming response with the participation of over 7,000 students in Tamil Nadu state in an Olympiad competition in mathematics, chemistry and physics titled “Precise Energy 2022”.
A Rosatom statement said that students from 24 universities and colleges in Tamil Nadu participated in the senior level competition, comprising separate written tests in mathematics, physics and chemistry, while pupils from 50 schools took part in the junior level tests.
The competition was designed to stimulate an interest in the study of technical and scientific disciplines that are important for specialisations in nuclear energy. The event was also aimed at promoting science and technology, and was held to encourage talented youth in the educational institutions in Tamil Nadu.
Rosatom is the equipment supplier and technical consultant for the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP) in Tamil Nadu, the first two units of which are already connected to the grid. Rosatom is also collaborating with the Indian operator, the state-run Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL), in building four more similar reactors of 1,000 MW capacity each at Kudankulam – Units 3, 4, 5 and 6.
The Olympiad, which was organized for the second time in Tamil Nadu, was held in two rounds — over 7,000 students took part in the preliminary round and more than 720 of them qualified for the final round.
“We in Rosatom value knowledge and education very much, and we have seen so many successful participants (more than 7000) from the region of Kudankulam NPP construction for the second time at the Precise Energy-2022, which was a great showcase of how advanced and up-to-date science education in India is”, Rosatom South Asia CEO, Andrey Shevlyakov, said in a statement.
School and college students from Tamil Nadu competed at the junior level and demonstrated their knowledge in a general science test.
The preliminary round was judged by a jury panel comprising teachers from the local educational institutions, while the final round judgement was done by specially invited Russian professors from the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI (Moscow Engineering Physics Institute).
The top participants in each of the three subjects were awarded at the senior level, while a second set of top three performers received prizes at the junior level.
The winners are Ragul Raj M from Anna University (in Physics), Ajit Ashok from Anna University (in Mathematics), Subashri A from SDNB Vaishnav College (in Chemistry) and Asilkhalifa from St. John’s English School (Junior level).
The Olympiad “Precise Energy”, which has become a regular feature among the many Rosatom initiatives to raise public awareness about the benefits of nuclear technology, is traditionally held by Rosatom’s engineering division together with ANO Energy of Future in partnership with the Russian House in Chennai, the Moscow Engineering Physics Institute and Tamil Nadu Science and Technology Centre.
According to Rosatom, the first such competition, organized in 2020, generated great interest among young people, and witnessed the participation of over 3,000 students.
