Science has connected us: Milmax Science Kazan 2024 festival opening
The 4th Milmax Science Kazan 2024 Science Popularisation Festival opened on the sites of two Kazan IT parks named after Bashir Rameev and on Peterburgskaya Street. Popular science shows, fascinating interactivity, master classes, discussions with famous scientists and bloggers are held in our city for four days. Popularisers of sciences Alexey Savvateev, Alexander Ivanov, Alexey Vodovozov, test cosmonaut Sergey Revin, showman Alexander Pushnoy, illusionist Nikolay Fomushin and other well-known experts have come to visit Kazan. Read the details in the material of Realnoe Vremya.
“This is a very important project!”
No one will fall asleep at these lectures, and the speakers delight the audience no less than the stars of show business. By the fourth Milmax Science Festival, Kazan residents have already realised that science can be incredibly interesting. Especially if scientists talk about their achievements in an easy and visual way.
How science improves the quality of life, what prospects it opens up to modern man, and what is happening at the forefront of the most outstanding research — all this will be told by invited experts, more than 20 specialists and popularisers of science from Kazan and other cities. Among the guests — test cosmonaut of the Yu.A. Gagarin detachment Sergey Revin, and famous TV presenter, musician and showman, ex-presenter of the Galileo program on STS channel Alexander Pushnoy are performing at the closing of the festival.
The festival takes place on the site of two Kazan IT parks from April 18 to 21. Popular science lectures, discussions, master classes and science shows on various topics from the field of natural sciences await the guests. Both adults and children can come — all events are designed for the widest audience. Moreover, one can attend meetings for free, upon registration (except for the Magic of Music show).
“This is really a very important project, because it popularises science. The more children are involved in these issues from an early age, the more rapidly our economy will develop. There are very interesting topics here, for example, how to acquire superpowers or “hack” a dream. Therefore, visitors will be very interested in these next 4 days. Moreover, the experience of the past years shows that we have more than 5,000 visitors going to these lectures. I think this year the figure will be even higher," the deputy head of the Ministry of Digital Development of the Republic of Tatarstan, Bulat Gabdrakhmanov, greeted the participants at the opening of the festival.
He wished all the participants interesting lectures, tricky questions, and most importantly, the benefits that the festival will bring both to people of science and technology sector, and to our city as a whole. The deputy minister was immediately asked which superpower he would choose himself. It turned out to be the ability to stay awake to effectively use all 24 hours a day, to have time to work and spend time with family. The moderators immediately assigned this task to scientists.
“You are the future of our country”
The festival was organised by the Milmax Science scientific lecture hall (Milmax PLC, Kazan) with the support of partners: Kazanorgsintez PJSC, Ministry of Digital Development of the Republic of Tatarstan, Tekhnopark in the field of high technologies IT Park, the KFU and the KNRTU.
“As a company, we welcome lectures within the framework of an open dialogue and conduct such lectures at our company. Moreover, we do this not only for our employees, but also for all residents and guests of the city. We believe that this format of education and learning about the world is our future. We are focused on attracting young professionals and the best staff. So it seems to me that today in this audience you are the future of our country, our enterprise and the holding company," Yulia Merechina, the director for organisational development at Kazanorgsintez PJSC, is convinced.
Ruslan Paley, the director of the Promkhimtekh Advanced Engineering School at the Kazan National Research Technological University, who spoke next, noted that the organisers and participants of the festival are moving in the right direction: “This is a universe that has no boundaries. You've just heard our partner's representative. In fact, chemistry is not only a fascinating science. When you achieve good, tangible results, it becomes a profitable business. Therefore, I wish you success on this path.”
“Going beyond the flags” in mathematics and available superpowers
Immediately after the opening of the festival, its lecture hall was also launched. Alexey Savvateev from Moscow, a mathematics populariser, corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Professor at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology and the Adygea State University, head of the Kama Mathematical Center in Naberezhnye Chelny and the Caucasian Mathematical Center, was the first to give the lecture “Going beyond the flags”. ..
“What does “going beyond the flags” mean in mathematics? This means that when solving some problems, a method is used that seems to have nothing to do with the problem, that is, some ideas that go beyond the formulation in principle," the scientist began and, as an example, analysed three plots, starting with Pascal's problem and moving on to solving cubic equations.
Among other key events of the festival — a Friday discussion on the popularisation of science, where the speaker suggests discussing the main trends and problems with representatives of lectoriums from other cities, in particular from Izhevsk. The invited guest — Alexander Ivanov, a blogger of the popular science channel on chemistry “Simple Chemistry” (Khimiya Prosto). The meeting will be held by moderator and organiser of the Milmax Science lecturium Daya Bekirova.
On Saturday afternoon, the lecture “Medicine and Music” will be held, where Alexey Vodovozov, a popular medical blogger, therapist of the highest qualification category, is speaking. He will talk about the intersection of two spheres of life, one of which is undoubtedly art, and the second has recently moved into the field of real science, and where a lot of rumours and misconceptions have accumulated. Listeners will be told about interesting research on the relationship between medicine and music, and at the same time, they will demonstrate “the most eerie sound in the world” thanks to a replica of the Aztec Death Whistle specially made for the festival.
In the afternoon, the participants of the festival will be invited to discuss the topic “Science and industry: who sets goals and implements ideas”. About how these areas of life are interconnected with each other and how they affect progress and society. In the evening, one can attend the show lecture “What is behind superpowers?" by the illusionist and mentalist Nikolai Fomushin. In his opinion, there may be something ordinary behind any phenomenal force that can be explained and even repeated.
It is followed by the scientific conversation “The Beauty of Science 3". Scientists from different fields are speaking to Kazan residents. For example, among the speakers are Alexey Averyanov, a professor at the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences from St. Petersburg, one of the best paleontologists in the country, Anna Khoruzhaya, a Moscow radiologist, and Sergey Revin, a test cosmonaut. Among the Kazan experts are Professor of the KFU Institute of Physics Alexander Fishman and representative of the Institute of Fundamental Medicine and Biology of the KFU Pavel Zelenikhin.
On Sunday at noon, there will be an interesting lecture “Hacking sleep: expectations and reality” — it will be conducted by a doctor and scientific journalist Anna Khoruzhaya. The specialist is going to answer the question whether it is possible to get enough sleep in a short time and, at the same time, not lose vital energy and health.
The festival will be closed by the evening show meeting “Magic of Music” with Alexander Pushnoy — an open interview with the famous TV presenter, currently the host of the author's YouTube channel about music. At the end, the musician is performing famous songs.
The annual Milmax Science Kazan Science Popularisation Festival is organised by the team of the scientific lecturium of the same name. Traditionally, the event gathers a large number of well-known Russian science popularisers and scientists, as well as specialists from Kazan universities. The first festival was held in April 2019, when the Milmax Science project itself was launched at the KNRTU site. During the pandemic, the organisers had to take a break and resumed work in 2023, opening the permanent scientific lecturium in the National Library. The 2nd and 3rd festivals were also held here.