Kharkiv Polytechnic held a scientific festival «International Day of Light». The event took place at the Poltava Polytechnic College of NTU «KhPI» and was dedicated to the 80th anniversary of this educational institution. More than five hundred students, their parents and teachers joined the STEM celebration. They saw laboratory and experimental demonstrations and a museum of light at more than thirty exhibition areas, and tested their knowledge in Kahoot quizzes. Everyone took an active part in the charity event «Give Light to a Defender of Ukraine», in which they collected various lighting equipment for the needs of our soldiers. The event was organized as part of the UNESCO World Initiative: Light that Gives Hope.
Young scientists of Kharkiv Polytechnic and teachers of Poltava Polytechnic College of NTU «KhPI» organized a traditional scientific holiday. Our college in Poltava hosted festival «International Day of Light», which was dedicated to the 80th anniversary of this educational institution.
More than five hundred schoolchildren, their parents and teachers took part in STEM events. The results of laboratory and experimental studies and exhibits of the Museum of Light were demonstrated at more than thirty exhibition sites. Everyone was able to test their knowledge in Kahoot quizzes. Interesting questions were dedicated to various scientific areas. These included energy innovations in the economy; the chemistry of light; 17th century optics that changed the way we look at the Universe; rays of light in the world of video games; lightning: shine and danger; food + rays: the light and dark side of power.
The guests of the festival were greeted by Ruslan Mygushchenko, vice-rector of NTU «KhPI», Kateryna Yamshchykova, Secretary of the Poltava City Council and Acting Mayor of Poltava, and Oleksandr Pityakov, Director of the Poltava Polytechnic College of Kharkiv Polytechnic. They presented awards to the best students who had proved themselves in their studies and research activities and to their supervisors.
It should be noted that the festival was attended by friends and partners of Poltava Polytechnic College of Economics and Business: JSC Poltavaoblenergo, LLC «SMS» (Konsort), LLC «Dee Star», LLC «Factorial K», compony «Kernel», Grass Business Labs, «DCS Electric», etc. Representatives of these companies and institutions demonstrated the operation of specialized equipment, held contests and quizzes for visitors with interesting prizes, and provided sponsorship to the college.
For example, companies «Kernel» and «Konsort» presented 3D printers, and students who won international and national competitions and their supervisors received certificates for the purchase of e-books from LLC «Dee Star». Employees of «DCS Electric» helped to make a bright banner for the 80th anniversary of the Poltava College of NTU«KhPI».
The participants of the celebration applauded the performance of the Folk Amateur Choir «Kozachenky» and observed a minute of silence in memory of the college graduates, their parents and relatives who gave their lives in the struggle for a free and independent Ukraine.
Sports competitions in volleyball were also held at the festival, and the winner was the team of the Poltava College of NTU «KhPI». The second place went to the SCYSSOR-2 (Specialized children’s and youth (sports) schools of the Olympic reserve) Poltave city, and the third place to the Children and Youth Sports School (Horishni Plavni city). The table tennis tournament was also interesting, with representatives of the Machukhiv territorial community of Poltava region winning gold medals, students of the Poltava College of NTU KhPI winning silver, and a team of applicants winning bronze.
Everyone took an active part in the charity event «Give Light to a Defender of Ukraine», in which they collected various lighting equipment for the needs of our soldiers.
We would like to note that the festival aims to motivate students of schools, colleges and vocational education institutions to study through visual demonstrations, workshops, quizzes and other STEM education methods; to make participants aware that knowledge is important for the restoration of our Homeland and the improvement of the world.
Note:
International Day of Light has been celebrated every year since the first successful test of a laser. The laser is a great example of how a scientific discovery can bring revolutionary benefits to society in engineering, communications, healthcare, and many other fields.
The broad theme of light allows us to connect many different sectors of society around the world and demonstrate how science, technology, arts and culture can help achieve UNESCO’s goals of universal education, equality and peace. Today, more than ever, this global initiative is important.
NTU «KhPI» has been participating in the celebration and holding of the Day of Light science festivals since 2018 with the support of the following organizations: UNESCO, SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics. Kseniia Minakova, a young scientist at NTU «KhPI» and co-organizer of the events, is a representative of UNESCO, namely its National Hub in Ukraine.