Rector Volodymyr Smolanka met with this year's winner of the GENIUS Olympiad held in the USA Valentyn Frechka
On Tuesday, June 26, Professor Volodymyr Smolanka, the Rector of UzhNU, met with a pupil of the Minor Academy of Sciences, a graduate of Sokyrnytska Secondary Comprehensive School Valentyn Frechka, who recently became the winner of the GENIUS Olympiad in the USA. He was awarded for the technology of manufacturing paper from dry leaves developed by him. In addition to the gold medal, Valentyn Frechka also received a special award of the competition, which was given only to two participants.
Volodymyr Smolanka congratulated the young talent on the outstanding victory in the GENIUS Olympiad and briefly described the main directions of scientific and educational work of the most powerful higher educational institution of Transcarpathia. The Rector asked Valentyn about his plans for the future, about the choice of his future profession and offered him to become a student of UzhNU. Valentyn Frechka replied that he had already decided on a specialty, it would be genetics and biotechnology and Uzhhorod National University was among the universities he was considering to join. According to Valentyn, tangible assistance in the development of the technology was provided by the assistant professor of the Department of Entomology and Preservation of Biodiversity of UzhNU Vladyslav Mirutenko.
"1300 participants from 87 countries took part in the Olympiad. Our work turned out to be interesting and relevant,” says Valentyn Frechka. “It solves two environmental problems, including processing of dry leaves, which are mainly burnt nowadays polluting the environment and the manufacture of cellulose from other materials than wood. Oak, birch, hornbeam and willow leaves are the best for manufacturing paper."
The winner of the Olympiad won the right to participate in an international exhibition in South Korea. "I take an active part in international contests where I present my project. In general, I have six gold medals and one silver. But the victory in GENIUS is special for me, it is my highest achievement so far." says the young inventor.
"This year we want to introduce a rector's scholarship for the students who prove to have the best scientific achievements," says Volodymyr Smolanka. “We have held a competition of student innovative ideas for a third consecutive time and I am pleased that the level of student scientific creativity is getting higher every year. We are going to develop and encourage this trend."
Valentyn Frechka thanked the Rector Volodymyr Smolanka for a pleasant conversation and noted that, regardless of the final choice of the place of studying, his cooperation with UzhNU would evolve.
