The new generation does NOT choose nanotechnology
Nanohumans are in short supply
Young people are not satisfied with nanoparticles in the industry
Ekaterina Kalysheva, "Russian Business Newspaper", 04/19/2011
By 2015, Russia's share in the global nanotechnology market may amount to 3% of the total, said Viktor Bykov, President of the Nanotechnology Society of Russia. "If we fulfill our plans and bring the volume of production of the corresponding products to about 1 trillion rubles by 2015, then Russia's share in the global nanotechnology market will grow to 3%," he stressed. – At the same time, the main goal is not to create only a few large enterprises producing high–tech products in Russia, but to organize a full-fledged nanotechnology industry. However, to ensure this industry, qualified personnel are needed, which is still insufficient in Russia – only 35% of the required number."
According to a study by the Levada Center, the word "nanotechnology" is familiar to 78% of boys and 69% of girls - students of grades 10-11, technical schools and universities. In total, more than a thousand young people from ten Russian cities, selected on the recommendation of Rusnano, took part in the study.
However, as the study showed, the meaning of the word "nanotechnology" is unknown to many: only 35% of schoolchildren, 43% of students of technical schools and colleges and almost half of university students gave the correct answer.
The majority of respondents (40%) associate the importance of nanotechnology for Russia and its residents with economic benefits, in second place (36%) – a breakthrough in science, in third – ensuring security and defense (31%).
Slightly more than 20% of young people surveyed are interested in nanotechnology by itself, 16% associate high income with them. That is, the material side of the issue does not concern the students too much.
The most interesting result of the study was the data on the source of information about nanotechnology. It turns out that the majority of respondents of all categories – over 50% – learn about this area from popular programs, a third of respondents – from the Internet. In the last places – special literature, reference books and encyclopedias, as well as journals on science and technology. About 15% receive information from peers. "This is very inefficient," commented Alexey Levinson, head of the Department of Socio–cultural Research at the Levada Center. "You need to get information about such an area from specialized sources, not from television and not from friends' stories."
According to the rector of MISIS Dmitry Livanov, only 20% of schoolchildren choose physics, which is necessary for future nanotechnologists, as an EXAM, and these are not the most successful students. "Low motivation among young people is due to the lack of prestige of engineering professions and low earnings," Dmitry Livanov believes. – However, employers are already dissatisfied with those who still go to work as engineers: most university graduates need to "reach" the professional level from a month to a year. Companies invest the same amount in re–education and retraining as the state spends on financing budget places in universities - about 500 billion rubles."
"The President emphasized the need to train engineers of the new formation. However, if you do not carry out special work, then naturally young people will not come to the industry, and if they do, then in small quantities," said Igor Remorenko, Deputy Minister of Education and Science of the Russian Federation. – The education system at all its levels should be more attentive to this direction and interest students in it. In my opinion, the salary in this industry is quite marketable, but it must be remembered that many companies are at the start and do not receive large profits. But students who come to work in high-tech industries receive at least 30-40 thousand rubles a month."
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru19.04.2011