Excerpts from transcript of conversation with MIPT students, postgraduates and their thesis supervisors
President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon everyone,
Mr Livanov and I congratulate you on the upcoming Students Day.
St Tatiana’s Day on January 25 is very soon. You are very lucky to be studying at such a wonderful university. It is both beneficial and, I hope, very interesting.
Mr Livanov described how the work here is organised. You can work here until retirement.
Rector of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology Dmitry Livanov: Many do just that.
Vladimir Putin: And never retire after, because both education and opportunities for scientific research, engineering, and manufacturing are wonderful here. I understand that it is also fully possible to launch a business of your own afterwards.
Dmitry Livanov: Many do so, and many are very successful at that.
Vladimir Putin: You have just told me that MIPT is a well-known, excellent, and beautiful university that at one time branched from…
Dmitry Livanov: Lomonosov Moscow State University.
Vladimir Putin: Yes, from Moscow State University. But it was no coincidence, because back then… It was in 1951, I believe, wasn’t it?
Dmitry Livanov: Even closer to 1949.
Vladimir Putin: It will be 75 years this year.
Dmitry Livanov: Yes, MIPT will mark its 75th anniversary as a separate university.
Vladimir Putin: Mr Livanov, I congratulate you and everyone – the faculty, students, and alumni – on this anniversary.
Dmitry Livanov: Thank you.
Remark: Thank you very much.
Vladimir Putin: Back then, the university came into being in a natural way. Although it branched from Moscow State University, it came as a logical and timely decision: at that time, the training of engineering specialists was of paramount importance – not only engineers, but people with exceptional intellectual potential.
Pyotr Kapitsa was among its founders. A whole constellation of outstanding scientists gathered here and laid the foundations of the university. Kapitsa, of course, made an especially significant contribution to its development. This legacy is being carried on today by our contemporaries: MIPT leaders and scientists. It is an achievement indeed, and I therefore congratulate you on your anniversary this year. By the way, which month is it?
Dmitry Livanov: Third week of November.
Vladimir Putin: It will be marked this year. I congratulate you wholeheartedly.
Dmitry Livanov: Thank you very much, Mr President.
A distinctive feature of the educational model established by Pyotr Kapitsa is the early involvement of students in scientific or project-based work.
Every student at our university, without exception, starts participating in genuine scientific, technological, engineering and IT projects from their third year, rather than in purely academic exercises. This is a unique characteristic of the MIPT’s educational model, which we take great pride in, have preserved to this day, and which yields outstanding educational results. It is precisely for this reason that our graduates include many brilliant scientists, including Nobel laureates, numerous creators and leaders of major technological projects and programmes, a great many distinguished public figures, and many talented entrepreneurs.
Vladimir Putin: I have just listened with great interest and pleasure to the fact that the heads of certain institutes simultaneously serve as heads of companies.
Dmitry Livanov: Yes, this is important for us.
Vladimir Putin: That is excellent. The rector has just mentioned the idea of creating a technology valley. That is truly fantastic. It may sound like a jest, but in reality, one could come here and work until retirement. Every day would be interesting and very important for the country.
Dmitry Livanov: If I may, I propose we give the floor to a few of our students – both young men and women – so they can briefly share the scientific projects on which they are working.
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Vyacheslav Tokarev: Good afternoon. My name is Vyacheslav Tokarev, and I come from the city of Nizhny Tagil. I graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology and am now in my first year of master’s studies.
My colleagues have spoken about fundamental research that can be conducted in the field of biology. I would like to discuss practical applied tasks that are being addressed.
For shipping along the Northern Sea Route, a crucial task is the creation of ice condition maps to guide crews. Previously, this was accomplished using satellite constellations, including foreign ones. Recently, however, the volume of available data has decreased.
Vladimir Putin: Due to political restrictions.
Dmitry Livanov: They refuse to sell the imagery.
Vladimir Putin: Some are sold, but very few.
Vyacheslav Tokarev: This is also linked to the increased cost of such images and their limited availability.
We have developed a solution to this problem as part of an ice reconnaissance system, which lies in the use of an unmanned aerial vehicle equipped with a radar that incorporates artificial intelligence components. This allows for operational reconnaissance at the request of the crew directly from the icebreaker, and this information can be used to chart the most optimal and safe route under the challenging weather conditions of the Arctic.
Thus, we have created a serial solution that has been tested during four Arctic expeditions and has already been implemented on three icebreakers operated by Atomflot.
Thank you.
Vladimir Putin: Using unmanned aircraft?
Dmitry Livanov: The real breakthrough is its ability to land on the deck of a moving ship.
Vladimir Putin: Are they large?
Vyacheslav Tokarev: The drone itself comes in at about 200 kilogrammes.
Vladimir Putin: That’s a substantial kit. What is its payload capacity?
Vyacheslav Tokarev: Up to 30 kilogrammes.
Vladimir Putin: And its flight range?
Vyacheslav Tokarev: Up to 100 kilometres.
Vladimir Putin: Impressive. Very good indeed.
Now, of course, we will continue to develop our own satellite constellation – that’s a given, and it is expanding. But what you are doing here is undoubtedly vital. As we all know, it is not just the Arctic nations; countries around the world are paying increased attention to the region. (Laughter.)
I see you smiling! But in all seriousness, it is both a fascinating and profoundly important field. And Russia has always been – well, at least for many decades now – the undisputed leader in Arctic exploration. We build icebreakers, for instance, that are unrivalled anywhere. It is quite something: we currently operate 34 diesel icebreakers and eight nuclear ones. We have two, the Chukotka and Leningrad, under active construction; the Stalingrad has been laid down; and there are two more in the pipeline. Then there is the Lider, a 150-megawatt nuclear-powered icebreaker being built at the Zvezda shipyard in the Far East – the world has never seen anything like it. Construction is on schedule, progressing smoothly. I am confident we will have it by 2030. It can smash through several metres of ice without breaking stride. That is a capability no other country possesses today, so powerful, but we are steadily building on that lead.
It is hard to predict the future, of course. Experts are divided on how the climate will develop, both globally and in the Arctic: whether we are in for continued warming or, as some argue, the peak has passed and a cooling trend is due. They are studying ice cores, examining centuries of data, looking at those historical sine waves.
But the key point is this: regardless of those trends, we will be expanding our efforts. The Northern latitudes constitute 70 percent of Russian territory. This is extremely important. Developing the Northern Sea Route is crucial for us, for international trade, and for global logistics. So any research in this area is of utmost importance. And its applications, as we know, extend far beyond just here. So, more power to you. We are strongly behind you and are counting on your success.
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