A student at the Institute of Chemistry and Chemical-Pharmaceutical Technology of Altai State University, Ekaterina Makeeva, took part in the All-Russian Engineering Competition. It has been held since 2014 on the order of President Vladimir Putin, the organizer is the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, with the operator being the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI.
More than 10.500 final year undergraduate, specialist, master’s and postgraduate students from Russian universities took part in the competition. Ekaterina Makeeva submitted her graduation project to the competition on the development of a biodegradable mulch film based on lignin (a wood derivative) and became a laureate in the “Chemistry” category. Chemical technologies. Oil and gas business".
“Currently, mulching film is made mainly from polyethylene. I propose a film based on a biodegradable mixture that includes lignin, which means that such a film will not pollute the soil after harvesting. The biopolymer will fight weeds due to its dark color - it will prevent the penetration of UV radiation from sunlight into the soil. At the same time, the film will be able to absorb heat during the day, maintain the required level of humidity, and reduce the use of pesticides. This development can become indispensable in agriculture for growing strawberries, grapes, and vegetables in greenhouses,” said Ekaterina Makeeva. “Feedback was important to me in this competition. I was once again convinced that the project is viable. But it needs some improvement. There is such a term - pivot, meaning a sharp change in the direction of a startup with the aim of its further development and maintaining viability. The competition experts suggrsted several options: either change the purpose of the film - for example, for packaging products. Or change the very shape of the product - make granules rather than film. I will continue to develop my project, taking into account the feedback.”
As part of the competition, the Summer School titled “Leaders of New Technologies” and a poster session were held for the finalists and laureates, during which Ekaterina’s project entered the top four.
“A mandatory condition for participation in the competition was the availability of support from an industrial partner. In fact, this allows startups to develop their ideas while considering the needs of the real sector. Our Center interacts with enterprises in the real sector of the economy, and we assist startup teams in finding and collaborating with such partners. I would like to express my gratitude to the company Neo-Sib LLC and its managing partner Ivan Miroshnikov, who acted as a tutor for the project. This company is engaged in the cultivation of agricultural crops and the sale of fertilizers and pesticides. The company expressed interest in the development and provided expert support. We will definitely increase the experience of such interaction, actively attracting new partners,” said Olga Vysotskaya, Director of the Center for the Development of Technological Entrepreneurship.