Fr om November 24 to 28, the annual Festival
of Science organized by Rosatom State Corporation in cooperation with the
Ministry of Science and Technology of Myanmar was held in the Republic of the
Union of Myanmar. The Festival was aimed at promoting nuclear technologies and
engineering disciplines. The event was held at key educational venues in Yangon
and Naypyidaw, including the Nuclear Technology Information Center, opened with
the assistance of Rosatom in 2023, Naypyidaw State Polytechnic University, and
Yangon University of Technology.
At the festival's official opening ceremony, Dr. Myo Thein Cho, the Union Minister of Science and Technology of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, and Iskander Azizov, the Envoy Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to Myanmar, addressed the guests with welcoming speeches. The high point of the opening was the awarding of prizes by the Union Minister and Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the students who won the Splitting Colours art competition, whose works were dedicated to the ways in which nuclear technology is changing people's lives across the globe for the better.
Iskander Azizov noted that the Science Festival was an opportunity for Myanmar students and schoolchildren not only to expand their knowledge in the field of science and nuclear technology, but also to learn directly from professors at leading Russian universities about educational opportunities at Rosatom's anchoring universities. As early as in November, 30 participants from among the country's best applicants will go to study in Russia, and for them, the Festival will become a platform for establishing contacts with future teachers even before the start of the academic process.
Myo Thein Cho declared that young people's growing interest to nuclear science and engineering lays the foundation for Myanmar's bright future. He stressed that personnel training for the nuclear industry is not just development of human potential, but a strategic contribution to the country's technological sovereignty and sustainable advancement.
One of the key events of the festival was the HackAtom competition, conducted by lecturers from the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI. During the event, student teams presented their vision of the future of Myanmar's nuclear city and the application of “peaceful nuclear energy” not only in power engineering, but also in agriculture, medicine, and information technology.
Furthermore, festival participants were able to take part in quests and interactive games promoting science and the application of nuclear technologies in all areas of life. Educational seminars on the advantages and prospects of using small nuclear power plants (SNPPs) were held for leading teachers of Myanmar's universities and schools.
The festival also included a meeting between schoolchildren and students from Yangon and a schoolgirl from Myanmar, who became one of the winners of the "Icebreaker of Knowledge" scientific and educational project and the first representative of Myanmar to visit the North Pole in August of this year as part of Rosatom's VI International Arctic Expedition "Icebreaker of Knowledge" on the nuclear icebreaker "50 Years of Victory."
In March 2025, the Russian Federation and
the Republic of the Union of Myanmar signed an intergovernmental agreement on
the principles of cooperation in the construction of a land-based small nuclear
power plant (SNPP). The agreement regulates the terms and main areas of
cooperation between the parties in the implementation of a 110 MW SNPP project,
with the possibility of further expansion to 330 MW, and is an important step
in the development of the partnership between Russia and Myanmar in the field of
nuclear power engineering.
HackAtom is an international competition wh ere teams of participants attempt to find the best solution to a problem in the nuclear industry within 24 hours. Over three years of its existence, the HackAtom project has been implemented in 12+ countries around the world. The total number of participants exceeded 800 persons.
“Icebreaker of Knowledge” scientific and educational project is organized by the Network of Information Centers on Atomic Energy (ICAE) with the support of Rosatom State Corporation. The project aims to promote natural sciences and nuclear industry technologies, identify and support talented and gifted children, develop their abilities, and provide career guidance. Schoolchildren from 21 countries took part in the sixth international Arctic expedition. The expedition followed the route Murmansk — North Pole — Franz Josef Land — Murmansk.
