The 500 winners of the UMNIKE competition have been determined – a project of the Foundation for Assistance to Innovation that helps young scientists launch their own technology projects. This year, authors of 500 best scientific developments will receive a grant of 500,000 rubles each. Among the winners are students and postgraduates from Yugra!

Oil and gas technologies and new materials:

• Margarita Yuryevna Mitina (Yugra State University) with the project "Development of an indicator for determination of organochlorine compounds in oil";

• Alina Fidusovna Gilfanova (Yugra State University) with the project "Development of a blocking kill fluid composition based on pre‑crosslinked polymer gels for reservoirs with abnormally high formation pressure";

• Valeriya Kuandykowna Zhumukova (Yugra State University) with the project "Development of a method for obtaining graphene quantum dots from petroleum asphaltenes for sensor materials";

• Ksenia Radievna Zakirova (Surgut State University) with the project "Development of a dispersing additive for production of low‑solidifying diesel fuels".

Medicine and health preservation:

• Alfred Yulayevich Biek (Surgut State University) with the project "Development of a portable device for non‑invasive diagnosis of liver fibrosis and steatosis".

Education and digital technologies:

• Eva Leonidovna Pustovit (Siberian Institute of Economics, Management and Law) with the project "Development of a hardware‑software educational platform for teaching school students programming of ESP32 and Arduino microcontrollers".

Also, subject to additional funding, Georgy Yuryevich Buryachok (Surgut State University) may receive a grant for the implementation of the project "Development of a digital support platform for UAV operators of mass up to 250 grams".

The grant under the UMNIKE programme is provided for conducting scientific research that will in the future become the basis for creating a small technology company. 85% of the supported projects belong to key industries – medicine, means of production, bioeconomy, and others. The competition was held at 17 venues across the country, with winners representing 66 regions, and a quarter of them will work together with industrial partners.

We congratulate the young scientists of Yugra on their victory! We wish them successful implementation of their ideas and new achievements!