Over 300,000 people took part in the Ticket to the Arctic contest. The jury selected 30 finalists who will compete for the opportunity to go on a scientific expedition to the Arctic region. The finalists included students and researchers from the Moscow Aviation Institute, ITMO University, Moscow Architectural Institute, Russian State Hydrometeorological University, Novosibirsk Sate University, St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, St. Petersburg State University, Urals Federal University and others.

The jury noted how difficult it was to choose the 30 best projects from the over 700 entries that were submitted to the contest. Participants will present their ideas in the final, which will be held in Moscow in late September. Based on the results of public presentations, 10 winners will be selected to go on a scientific expedition to the Arctic region.

The projects proposed by the finalists concern developing hydrographic and digital maps of the Arctic, upgrading polar stations, creating special unmanned aerial vehicles for monitoring the environmental situation and underwater robots that filter microplastic particles, developing an application for tourists to identify local plant and animal species, and much more.

“This contest has shown that we have a contingent of young people who see their future in science and propose fundamental goal-setting projects. The implementation of such projects will not only contribute to promoting science, but will also contribute to the generation of new knowledge,” said Alexei Sobisevich, contest expert and Deputy Director for Research of the Schmidt Institute of Physics of the Earth at the Russian Academy of Sciences.

The contest is being held by the Clean Arctic autonomous non-profit organizationas part of the Promoting Science and Technology federal project with grant support from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation. The entries were assessed by the contest experts – 12 scientists from the Russian Academy of Sciences, institutes and universities. The entries addressed seven priority areas for the study and development of the Arctic. The participants in the scientific expedition will visit nature reserves, operating production sites, key research centers and scientific and technological enterprises of partners.