On November 29-30, the BNTU S&T Park "Polytechnic" hosted the 3rd Belarus-China Youth Innovation Forum "New Horizons 2016".
Belarus-China relationships have been developing quite dynamically in recent years. Joint projects, forums, and exhibitions foster a unique creative and novel environment.
This year’s Forum united over 400 students and young professionals from Belarus and China. The Belarusian State National University (BNTU) and Northeastern University (Shengyang, China) served as innovative grounds for the Forum’s activities.
The Forum kicked off with the Opening Ceremony and the Discussion "Youth of Belarus and China, Get United", a gem of this year’s Forum.
Alexander G. Shumilin, Chairman of the State Committee on Science and Technology, and Mr. Xu Baomin, Deputy Director General for Economics at the Industrial Park Development Company, gave welcome speeches urging young scientists to participate in joint Belarus-China projects.
During the Discussion, the participants considered the possibilities for Belarus-China cooperation, implementation of Belarusian and Chinese projects at technoparks, academic exchange, business development and support for business from both parties, etc.
The Forum comprised several scientific sections, where participants could share their experience and ideas. Belarusian and Chinese students delivered their reports in online-conferences. The sections explored the following topics:
- "Silk Road: Economics and Innovations in Belarus and China"
- "Industrial Ecology. Energy- and Resource Saving"
- "Instrumentation Engineering. Mechanical Engineering"
- "New Materials"
- "Architecture and Civil Engineering"
The Forum program provided for 2 workshops on issues, which are most relevant for successful research activities. Workshop "Guidelines for Successful Project Presentation" was led by Konstantin Vladimirov-Zhuravsky, one of the founders of the Belarusian startup movement. The Workshop "How to Use the Largest Chinese Libraries: Access Granted" turned into a master-class in writing quality research papers using foreign sources. Ekaterina Beloborotskaya of Tregross-Info Company, presented CNKI, the Chinese national platform for research products. This platform comprises databases of Chinese dissertations, scientific yearbooks, and journals both in the national language and in English.
The first day of the Forum closed with mentor sessions facilitating the participants’ preparations for My Idea Competition, the Forum’s key event. 23 contestants competed for 2 awards, namely, Best Innovative Project and Best Research Paper. The contest jury comprised renowned scientist, educators, and businessmen, namely:
- Vladimir Solomakho, Head of the Republican Institute of Innovative Technologies (BNTU RIIT);
- Mr. Yuan Zhicun, Director General of Xinjiang Yazhongyide commercial trade Co.Ltd;
- Mr. Hou Yabo, Assistant to Director General of Xinjiang Yazhongyide commercial trade Co.Ltd;
- Mr. Van Shiwei, Senior Specialist of the Personnel Department of Joint CJSC "Industrial Park Development Company";
- Tatiana Khvalko, Consultant at the Department of Economics of Innovative Activities, Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Belarus;
- Vitaly Gorbash, Director of the BNTU Confucius Institute on Science and Technology.
After heated discussions, the members of the jury announced the results. The Project "Production of Feed Additive for Farm Animals from Cricket Flour by Aleksei Sysa won the first prize. Viacheslav Shcherbakov received Best Research Paper Award for his work in the field of metallurgy.
Within the framework of the Forum, the participants visited Industrial Park "Great Stone", the most ambitious long-term Belarus-China project. The Park will become one of the key grounds of the Silk Road Economic Belt, a large-scale cooperation initiative put forward by Xi Jinping, the Chinese leader. About 80 delegates from Minsk and regional universities visited the Park. The excursion made a bright and memorable concluding event of the Forum.
We wholeheartedly congratulate all the participants. Taking part in such events is a genuinely priceless experience.