Published on: 2026-08-14
Source: Government of the Russian Federation –
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In the science city of Koltsovo in the Novosibirsk region, preparations are underway for the launch of a megascience-class facility – the shared-use center “Siberian Ring Photon Source” (SKIF). Recently, President Vladimir Putin reviewed the progress of its construction. The first experiments are planned to begin this fall. The synchrotron radiation will allow “looking” inside any object at the atomic level, which will accelerate the development of new medicines, materials, and technologies.
Specialists with appropriate competencies are required to work with the unique high-tech infrastructure – both theoretical knowledge of synchrotron and neutron research methods and practical skills in working with unique equipment, noted Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko. Their training is already underway.
“At a recent meeting of the Council under the President on Science and Education, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin emphasized that the creation of the ‘SKIF’ demonstrated an ‘example of collaborative work.’ This is also evident in the training of future personnel. Leading universities of the country are already preparing a new generation of specialists who will become the ‘gold reserve’ of our country. Within the framework of the national project ‘Youth and Children,’ an interuniversity consortium has been created. It unites the efforts of 32 educational organizations across Russia—from Kaliningrad to Vladivostok—for the purposes of scientific cooperation and the training of highly qualified specialists for Russian megascience-class installations, among which is ‘SKIF,'” Dmitry Chernyshenko reported.
The consortium includes the government of the Novosibirsk region, 24 leading universities, secondary schools, a college, and an educational center for children.
Key partners in training specialists for installation in Koltsovo are Novosibirsk State University and Novosibirsk State Technical University. In particular, at NSU, interdisciplinary master’s programs “Methodological Support of Physicochemical Studies of Condensed Phases” and “Synchrotron Methods in Materials Science” are implemented. Thematic schools for young scientists are held annually.
“Training personnel for the shared-use center ‘SKIF’ has been conducted at Novosibirsk State University over the past years within the framework of the ‘Priority-2030’ program. Additionally, there is an agreement on scientific cooperation and personnel training in the field of synchrotron and neutron research between the university, institutes of the Novosibirsk Scientific Center, and ‘SKIF’. The main goal is to produce specialists from various fields of physics, chemistry, biology, geology, and materials science who are capable of effectively solving advanced research tasks of both fundamental and applied nature,” said the head of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, Valery Falkov.
For example, with research conducted at the SKIF facility, it will be possible to create new pharmaceuticals, work on improving the characteristics of various catalysts, structural materials, and mechanical engineering products, assess deposits of precious metals, rare and scattered elements, increase the efficiency of extracting hard-to-recover oil, study ancient artifacts and cultural heritage objects without compromising their integrity, and address environmental challenges.
The CCP “SKIF” opens up new opportunities for research by scientists from all over Russia and other countries. Thus, in addition to the possibility of on-site use of the infrastructure, the possibility of conducting experiments remotely through data transmission and technical task assignment to the shared use center team is being developed.
Starting from the second year, students can work as engineers and laboratory assistants, while graduate students can apply for the position of junior research associate. It should be noted that over 50 employees aged up to and including 27, who are graduates or students of NSU and NSTU, were hired in the scientific divisions of the CKP “SKIF” during 2025–2026.
The interuniversity consortium helps improve the skills not only of students, teachers, and scientists, but also of school teachers and pupils. For example, it organized the first professional development program for teachers in Russia based on megascience class facilities and began developing a methodological guide for teaching synchrotron radiation topics in schools.
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