MINISTRY OF EDUCATION OF THE REPUBLIC OF BELARUS

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In accordance with the Decree of the Head of State of April 12, 2019 “On the creation of the educational institution “National Children's Technopark,” the Technopark was inaugurated on January 1, 2021.

The Republican Center for Innovation and Technical Creativity became its base.

From 2021 to November 2022, the work of the National Children's Technology Park took place in testing mode. At the moment, all its facilities have been put into operation and the institution is operating fully as usual. The educational laboratories are 100% equipped with cutting-edge high-tech equipment.

It is worth noting that there is a positive trend in the selection of motivated students for training. So, if on January 1, 2021, the selection of students was carried out in 3 educational areas, then from November 1, 2022 it increased to 15. Today, 150 gifted students within each shift have the opportunity to study in the Belarusian children's science city. The most popular educational areas among children are: “Biotechnology”, “Information and Computer Technologies” and “Robotics”.

Also of great interest are “Aerospace Technologies”, “Architecture and Design”, “Virtual and Augmented Reality”, “Green Chemistry”.

The curriculum for each educational area is designed for 72 hours. Classes for girls and boys are held 6 times a week and last 4 hours each. The curricula are designed in such a way that students can master the entire source of knowledge to implement and defend a research project, work on which will take place during the training period.

From January 2021 to December 2023, 29 educational shifts were organized, during which 2,530 students in grades IX-XI from all regions of Belarus and Minsk studied at the National Children's Technopark. There is quite a high competition for training in the technology park - more than three people per place.

According to director Sergei Sachko, there is a clear increase in the achievements of educational and research activities of students of the Children's Technopark. There are certain results: 249 educational programs have been developed and implemented in the educational process (161 of them in 2023); 1,742 research or inventive projects have been developed (921 in 2023); 97 articles published in scientific journals and conference proceedings (69 in 2023); 199 theses and reports published (140 in 2023); won 78 prizes in republican and international competitions; received a patent for a utility model “Device for protecting information from leakage through acoustic and vibration channels”; 2 certificates of the National Center for Intellectual Property of the Republic of Belarus on voluntary registration and deposit of copyright objects of student developments were received.

Based on the results of their studies in 2022/2023, 58 students received recommendations from the supervisory board of the National Children's Technology Park for enrollment in universities and secondary lyceums without entrance examinations. Of these, 47 students - for enrollment in institutions of higher education exam-free in the specialties of the education profiles "Engineering and Technology" and "Natural Sciences", including 34 students - in institutions of higher education located in Minsk, 13 - in other institutions of higher education.

Since January 2023, the National Children's Technopark has been hosting educational and enlightment projects “Scientific Weekend” and “Science Begins with the Teacher” for students of general education institutions in the country. A total of 21 projects were carried out, in which 965 people took part.

Taking into account the instructions of the Head of State and Government, the tasks facing the Children's Technology Park have been updated and expanded. In December 2023, a meeting of the supervisory board was held, following which a new concept for the development of the institution until 2025 was approved. Ways to increase the efficiency of building an individual educational trajectory for students have been thought out, and “roadmaps” for developing cooperation with line ministries and departments have been agreed upon. The key idea is not only to find and prepare the most gifted schoolchildren from all over the country, but also to accompany them to their first job. The individual educational trajectory will be structured so that the enterprises receive students who are able to generate new ideas and improve the production process. The main goal is the practical application of student developments in factories, plants and enterprises.

At the meeting of the supervisory board, roadmaps for cooperation with such departments as the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, the Ministry of Health were approved; roadmaps with the Ministry of Transport and Communications and the Ministry of Communications and informatization are in the final stage of preparation.

Currently, direct connections have been established with more than 30 high-tech enterprises in Belarus, such as Peleng, Planar, MTZ, MAZ and a number of other enterprises.

A special role in the development of the National Children's Technology Park is played by interaction with large science and technology parks. First of all, these are the Belarusian-Chinese Industrial Park “Great Stone”, Hi-Tech Park Belarus, Minsk City Technopark. Today, there are 170 support points of the National Children's Technopark in every region of the country, in which the selection, training and subsequent support of children trained at the institution are carried out, in cooperation with regional institutes for the development of education, regional universities, and industrial enterprises.

Thus, the priority task of the National Children's Park today is not only to identify gifted youth and build an individual educational trajectory, but also to support and practically implement the developments of young researchers in the real sector of the economy, up to providing young talent with a promising job in the future.