Russian Science must get younger! This is one of the goals introduced by the National Project “Science”. The developers of the Project even presented us with the numbers that shall be expected if all factors and participants work together on carrying out the plans. By 2024, 50% of researchers are expected to be 39 and younger. However, science started getting younger in the beginning of the 10s. This time we will talk to Professor Alexander Vorozhtsov, Vice-Rector for Research and Innovation, Doctor of Physics and mathematics, and discuss why young people started showing interest in science and why TSU is the right place for a young scientist to work at.

Is science really getting younger?

For decades, science at TSU was getting older. If we ask a person who is rather far from the world of science what a ‘real scientist’ looks like, we will get an image of a grey-haired person of respectable age. In reality, several years ago, things changed and science started getting younger. Obviously, there were objective reasons why it happened: the generation of young people who were born after the demographic gap of the 90s started working. But there was a more important factor that turned the tables. The state policy toward the sphere of science changed. It has been several years since that National Project “Science” was launched and assumptions such as “science is dying and the best researchers are leaving the country” lost their grounds. Russian science is very much alive; it is developing and getting younger.

What can motivate a young individual to become a scientist?

Interest and curiosity are the major motivators. This is not my personal opinion. According to the survey conducted by the Higher School of Economics (Moscow), only 4% of people come to science for money. For the most researchers, science is about creative self-actualization.

By the way, when I myself was a young scientist, interest was the only motivator. Money was not part of it at all. On the other hand, I understand that even when you love your work very much and it is as creative as it can be, it is easier to keep your mind on it, when providing for your family is not a problem. In this regard, our young research staff are very successful. With the money from grants, they can afford nice apartments and cars. I would say the best are doing as well, as their international colleagues.

In general, young Russian researchers have certain advantages over their older colleagues. There are various grants and programs that support them. But, as I have already mentioned, interest and eagerness for work come first. If money is the first thing on one’s mind, nothing good is going to happen. Financial success is the result, not the cause.

There is another motivator that is worth mentioning. International academic mobility is an accessible benefit, I would say. Travelling on vocation in order to lie on the beach or see places is one thing. Going on business to the best research centers and universities of the world is different. This is an opportunity to see the best minds and even to meet some of them in person. Such trips are extremely inspirational for young people. They feel more confident in what they do and it helps to finish and defend their dissertations faster.

Is a scientist a ‘Lone Ranger’, or is it vital for them to work on a team of like-minded people to advance professionally?

Such a team of like-minded people had a significant influence on my professional becoming. Those were people of the same age in a pretty closed group, who were totally free in their research activity. We solved serious problems and contributed a lot to homeland security. Our research advisor gave us the freedom we needed. We spent a lot of time traveling on business, worked in construction bureaus and top-secret research institutes in other cities for months. Then we would always meet and exchange our impressions. Almost all of my teammates got their PhDs and became scientists.

I do the same with my group of young promising researchers. Each of them has already found their direction of research, but they still need a mentor who could set strategic goals and help to communicate with acknowledged researchers and partners from outside of the University. They have been conducting research on their own for quite a while, and they even teach each other, demonstrating some kind of a professional continuity. An average age in the group is 33-35. They are PhDs, postdocs, several master’s degree and a couple of first and second year students. Work is not the only thing they have to share. They have a friendship as families as well. As you can see, I believe that it is important for a researcher to work in a group of like-minded people, at least at the very start.

How have technology and mobility changed the way researchers do their work today?

As I have already said, the opportunity to see the world and to share the achievements with the global research community is a great motivator for the youth. We did not have that. Not only because of the character of our classified research, but also because of the ‘iron curtain’ in general. The USSR was a closed country and the rest of the world did not travel as much as today either. Only a limited group of acknowledged scientists could share their experience on a regular basis.

We did not have a global communication network, so the number of accessible scientific journals was a serious obstacle for a young research to work fast on their dissertations, publications, and research. It took a lot of time and effort to find necessary information. Rigorous research required trips to Moscow where the Russian State Library is located. Our TSU Research Library had a limited number of ‘paper’ journals and it could not be compared to what it has today by digital subscription. Perhaps, this is one of the reasons why there are more young scientists today. The Internet has optimized the process of working on publications and dissertations. As they say, where there’s a will there’s a way!

What do we have at TSU that can motivate researchers, including young ones, to stay and work here? 

TSU is a classical university in which there is not only a cult of science and technology, but also a cultural and value environment. The latter helps to develop both professionally and personally as a scientist. TSU is the only university in Tomsk that has a complete infrastructure that includes the Research Library, the Botanic Garden, several old buildings, and the University Grove. Obviously, it is not the places that grace the men, but men the places. However, ‘places’ are as important as teachers and they help to shape moral values that play a key role in the professional profile of a researcher.

Editorial Board

* Joe E. Lewis