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A new type of scientific qualification work was introduced at St. Petersburg Mining University

Философия науки
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Starting next academic year, its defense will become mandatory for those young people who are going to enter graduate school.

On Wednesday, June 1, about 30 students of the Mining University defended scientific reviews they had prepared as part of the International Program "Philosophy of Science." One of its components is the analysis of information presented in the publications of the world's leading scientists in the areas of research that the students are engaged or plan to engage in. This is necessary for them to understand what problems are typical for the given field of scientific knowledge and what ways to solve them may be the most promising.

The commission, which evaluated the level of knowledge of the first two applicants, was headed personally by Rector Vladimir Litvinenko. He called the event a master class, which will allow other participants in the project to better understand the format of the presentation and the factors that influence the verdict of the experts. This, above all, is "a clear understanding of the material and its scientific validity."

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"The certificate that each of you will receive in case of successful defense of the review will allow you to participate in scientific conferences and seminars of the university, including international ones, grant competitions, and conduct experiments in laboratories. Starting from September 1, only those students who have received this document will have the right to work as a researcher in scientific centers," the rector emphasized.

He also said that in the near future the University's diploma of higher education will be accompanied by an official paper on the acquisition of certain additional competencies acquired during the course of study, including the Philosophy of Science program. It will be an additional competitive advantage in the labor market, regardless of what career paradigm current undergraduates choose.

"Our task is to prepare not only scientific and pedagogical personnel, but also engineers, those who will go to work at mineral sector enterprises. Moreover, today they need high-quality engineering support for the existing technological chains. So, this certificate will also be useful to you in case of employment in mining or oil and gas companies. This is your characteristic, the university's recommendation to your potential employer," explained Vladimir Litvinenko.

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He noted that young people who in the future are going to enter graduate school, working on reviews of profile publications of leading scientists, get a basic scientific and pedagogical competence. Its presence allows them not only to better understand what should be the form and content of the article, but also to realize the priority goals and objectives facing domestic institutions of higher education and research institutes.

"Our main task is to concentrate scientific thought in order to obtain a specific final result. It was this approach that allowed the Soviet Union to become the first in space and nuclear power, to reach the level of the most developed industrialized countries in the world. This model should be the basis of the scientific policy of the university. I emphasize this for the simple reason that today the discovery of insignificant patterns is perceived by many scientists as a reason to draw far-reaching conclusions. Although in fact, the result of their work can be compared to a brick in a large wall, which is not even close to the strength of the entire structure. And it is not capable of giving mankind new fundamental knowledge, on the basis of which better production chains will be created or the negative impact on the environment will be minimized," the rector said.

As an example, he cited research on climate change or hydrogen technology. Most of them answer a very narrow range of questions, and moreover, they are often based on unreliable or questionable scientific data. Nevertheless, the result of these studies of "that brick" is often to elevate controversial inferences to the rank of an axiom that applies to "the whole wall."

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In conclusion Vladimir Litvinenko reminded the audience that it is scientific activity, in particular, support of concrete projects in the real economy sector, that allows St. Petersburg Mining University to attract partners' funds and invest them into infrastructure development. "PhosAgro, Rosneft, Novatek, Russian Copper Company, and several others annually donate millions of rubles to the university, thereby creating the potential for the development of the scientific and educational environment. It is impossible to maintain this state of affairs without attracting young talented scientists to R&D, so the implementation of programs like "Philosophy of Science" is a priority for the university's management.

The first to defend her scientific review was Valeria Aburova, a mineral processing student. Her topic was the study of the process of flotation of gold-containing raw materials. This direction is extremely relevant today, because the high rate of extraction and processing of precious metals, as well as the growth of their consumption, inevitably lead to the depletion of rich and easily enriched deposits. And they require the involvement in the processing of ores with a low content of the useful component.

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Among the unresolved scientific problems that require the close attention of scientists, Valeria referred to the formation of various substances (such as elemental sulfur) during the application of bacterial oxidation, which lead to passivation of gold during cyanidation. Another important task is to reduce the amount of alkali required for this process.

Vladimir Azarov, an oil and gas student, plans to work on improving the efficiency of transportation and storage of hydrocarbons in the future. He believes that the demand for them will grow for at least several more decades, and therefore mankind needs additional research aimed at reducing the number of accidents and failures in pipelines.

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Note that on June 1, about 30 students of St. Petersburg Mining University defended their scientific reviews, prepared in the framework of the International Program "Philosophy of Science." These were, first and foremost, master's and specialist students, but also senior bachelor's students. This academic year, a total of 151 applicants for the certificate of acquiring additional competence will be presented to the expert commission.

Философия науки
© Форпост Северо-Запад
Философия науки
© Форпост Северо-Запад