On 13 April 2021, Secondary School No. 36 in Veliky Novgorod opened the doors to its new Education Centre for Natural Sciences, with chemistry, biology, physics, and computer science classrooms, as well as the resources of the Novgorod Chemical Industrial College’s laboratory, Novgorod State University, and Kvantorium. Students in upper grades will use the centre to study natural sciences in greater depth, participate in national competitions, perform experiments and research projects, and interact with leading companies in Novgorod region.
The centre includes the chemistry lab and classroom, repaired with Acron’s financial support. The Company allocated RUB 2 million to purchase essential equipment and upgrade computer hardware and software. Students will benefit from the lab’s new workbench, titration cabinets, state-of-the-art ventilation hood, and instrument storage cabinets. The lab was brought up to code with an additional sink and a metal safe for chemical reagents. The classroom was also refurnished. With the updated lab and classroom, students will have the opportunity to carry out chemistry research, and the school will be able to host national academic competitions and extracurricular activities beyond the general education program.
Acron’s Head of Social Affairs Maksim Bombin understands that optimal conditions in schools can directly improve the quality of education and spark students’ interest in chemistry, both as a subject and as a promising profession. ‘The new centre is a unique platform that will allow Acron specialists to interact with young people, find out what they need, and, potentially even help them choose their future profession’.
Veliky Novgorod mayor Sergey Busurin stressed the positive effect of Acron’s cooperation with schools, which gives students the opportunity to take on interesting projects and make their dreams come true. ‘With the Company’s significant support, we have already replaced the equipment and materials for chemistry classrooms in almost half of the schools in Veliky Novgorod, and we expect to upgrade the chemistry classrooms in the rest of the city’s schools over the next two years’, he added.
Career guidance for school students is an essential component of Acron’s solid professional training system. For years, the Company has been providing stewardship for two vocational schools in Veliky Novgorod. In 2018, Acron and the city education committee established a grant called ‘Together with Acron to Success in Learning and Career’ for chemistry and physics teachers at all the city’s schools. In the past two years, 12 teachers received grants totalling RUB 1.44 million.