Rector of Volgograd State University Prof. Dr. Alla Kalinina and Director General of OOO RITEK (LLC) Mr. Renat Nurgaliyev signed a partnership agreement on cooperation in the field of science and education, the implementation of joint research projects and the training of highly qualified specialists.

Russian Innovative Fuel and Energy Company (RITEK) is a scientific and technical testing center (subsidiary) of the LUKOIL company, which specializes in designing, testing and implementing new technologies for the development of hard-to-recover hydrocarbon reserves and increasing oil recovery. Being an innovative, technological and social center of regional development,Volgograd State University offers its own scientific technologies that can be implemented in the company's production processes.

Prof. Dr. Alla Kalinina expressed hope for long-term fruitful cooperation and readiness to help with both training the young generation and implementing joint projects in the field of science.

Representatives of RITEK visited the scientific laboratories of the university, met the scientists and learnt about the scientific projects, which correspond to the current needs of the enterprise. In particular, the specialists of Volgograd State University are working on an artificial intelligence system that is aimed at labor protection. The trainable neural network recognizes employees who do not have a protective helmet and then sends a signal. According to the scientists, it is enough to give the system a video from production so that it learns and is ready for further actions.

The guests also got acquainted with the developments of the Institute of Priority Technologies of Volgograd State University: a reinforced road surface designed from carbon nanomaterials, nanolabelling of various metal components and structures, detection of fingerprints on surfaces after exposure to the aquatic environment. The RITEK team visited the laboratories of 3D prototyping and reverse engineering of additive manufacturing of metal and polymer products, as well as the House of Scientific collaboration.

Mr. Renat Nurgaliyev noted that the range of common directions of the two organizations is wide. There are 52 VolSU graduates working at RITEK. He also said that the expertise of RITEK specialists and the VolSU scientific community will complement and enrich each other, and contribute to the dynamic and comprehensive development of both organizations.

Volgograd State University and LUKOIL have long-standing partnership relations. The company employs university graduates, VolSU students regularly do internships in LUKOIL and gain its scholarships. President of LUKOIL Vagit Alekperov is an Honorary Professor of Volgograd State University.