As part of the "School – University – Enterprise" project, Southern Federal University held an engineering festival "On the Wings of Science" for Mariupol schoolchildren. The event was supported by PJSC Taganrog Aviation Scientific and Technical Complex named after G.M. Beriev (part of the United Aircraft Corporation), the administration of the city of Mariupol.

"For us, Taganrog aircraft manufacturers, representatives of the UAC, visits to you are always a joyful event. It is encouraging to note that in just 1-2 years we have managed to do a lot of work.

A small project aimed at providing targeted assistance to one of the schools in Mariupol, which was initiated by Yuri Slyusar, General Director of the UAC, and now acting Governor of the Rostov region, has developed into a mass movement to involve you, dear students, in engineering. The idea grew from consideration on paper into a high-quality implementation.

Dear children, in the near future you will become engineers, and new jobs will be waiting for you all over the country. I am sure that you have a great and interesting future ahead of you. And special thanks to the Southern Federal University, teachers of Mariupol schools, heads of the education department, and ministries for believing us a year ago," Ruslan Stukan, chairman of the trade union organization of PJSC Beriev TANTK, emphasized in his welcoming speech.

The festival has become a platform not only for summarizing the interim results of the work on the implementation of the Engineering Classes program and the popularization of engineering education among young people, but also for creating a stable partner network and strengthening the academic reputation of SFedU in the region.

"A lot has been done this year. For us, the support and activity with which schools are involved in the project is worth a lot. At all times, it has been science and education that have played an important integrating role. The children sitting here, know that you are the best thing in our country. You are creating both your own future and the future of Russia," said Valentina Shadrina, Head of the ACS Department, Deputy Director of the SFedU Institute of Radio Engineering Systems and Control.

Today, support for engineering education and natural sciences is a priority for the country. Following the needs of the time, the association of educational organizations "Consortium for the Development of School Engineering and Technology Education" was established in the Russian Federation. The consortium consists of 129 educational, professional, higher education organizations and industrial enterprises from the leading regions of the Russian Federation, Moscow and St. Petersburg, and Belarus. The Donetsk People's Republic is represented in the consortium by Nevsky Secondary School and School No. 7.

Victoria Bondareva, Director of the Nevsky Secondary School, shared her experience of how in such a short time they managed to achieve some success in the engineering education of schoolchildren and preschoolers. The members of the consortium, taking an active part in various competitions and projects at the All-Russian level, became winners and laureates of many of them, and the Nevsky School acted as the organizer and venue for five All-Russian competitions.

"Of the 23 clubs and associations of the center for additional education of children of the Nevsky school, four are engineering and technological. The Quantorium Technical Creativity Center is actively attended by preschoolers and schoolchildren of the city district.

Thanks to the implementation of the School – University – Enterprise project, students gain knowledge from the fields of high-tech engineering. I would like to thank the teachers and students of the Southern Federal University for this. As part of our festival today, 22 students will receive certificates of completion of the basic professional training program "3D modeling and 3D Printing".

We are happy to accept invitations to events organized by SFedU. So, young Mariupol residents have already won prizes in robotics and Internet of Things competitions, and Nevsky Secondary School also won medals in the inter-regional Robocup Junior qualifying stage. It is very pleasant to realize that for many children the choice of an engineering profession in the future has become obvious. And this is the main thing in our work," said Victoria Bondareva, Director of the Nevsky Secondary School.

The festival "On the Wings of Science", dedicated to the Day of the Donetsk People's Republic, brought together more than 600 students from 13 schools, including "Nevsky Secondary School", "Secondary School No. 47", "Secondary School No. 59". The rich program of the festival included master classes in robotics, 3D modeling for beginners, creation of simple electrical circuits, digital linguistics and much more. Popular science lectures on physics, chemistry, and UAV assembly were also prepared as part of the All-Russian project "Just about Complicated."

Participants could identify the strongest in drone control competitions, where they had to complete an obstacle course and speed test, as well as in an esports dance simulator. To test their knowledge of science, technology and inventions, the children were offered an engineering quiz, and the festival ended with a bright award ceremony.