Electrical Engineering Students Visit the Ioffe Physical-Technical Institute
In late December 2025, students from the «Electric Power Engineering «program visited one of the country's leading scientific centers—the Ioffe Physical-Technical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
The tour for the future energy specialists was led by Vladimir Minaev, Deputy Head of the "Globus-M Spherical Tokamak" facility and Candidate of Physical and Mathematical Sciences. In a lively and engaging lecture, he outlined the prospects of thermonuclear energy, explained in detail the physical principles of a tokamak (a toroidal chamber with magnetic coils)—a device capable of confining superheated plasma using extremely powerful magnetic fields—and discussed the results achieved by the institute in its research.
Theory came to life when the students saw the modern "Globus-M2" installation with their own eyes. For students whose future profession is inextricably linked to the generation, transmission, and distribution of energy, it was particularly interesting to examine the installation's large-scale power supply system. Pulsed high-power sources, complex control systems—all of this is a direct application of the knowledge they gain in lectures on electrical engineering and power electronics.
Equally impressive were the high-precision diagnostic instruments that record dozens of plasma parameters in real time. This is a vivid example of how engineering solutions make it possible to "see" and measure processes occurring at temperatures of tens of millions of degrees.
The emotions and reflections sparked by this trip are best conveyed by the students themselves.
"When the opportunity arose to go on an excursion to the Ioffe Physical-Technical Institute, I immediately decided I had to go and that it would be interesting. I wasn't mistaken," shares student Nikita Ostrovsky. "The Physical-Technical Institute is a place that brings you closer to science. When we entered, it felt like we had stepped into a slightly different world, with its own atmosphere. The most vivid impression was when I saw the Globus-M2 tokamak; I seemed to freeze for a moment. Seeing such things in person has a special impact. You realize that this is the future we are moving toward, and that the people working in this place are laboring to make that distant, bright future a reality. You also come to understand what a person can achieve if they channel their efforts in the right direction, as scientists work for the benefit of all human society. You suddenly realize that science, particularly physics, is a most worthy goal in a person's life."
These words accurately reflect why such excursions are so important. The students saw firsthand that electric power engineering specialists are in demand not only at traditional power plants and grid companies but also at the forefront of fundamental and applied science. Furthermore, exposure to leading scientific institutes is a powerful incentive for learning and development. When you see the global challenges Russian scientists and engineers are tackling, it makes you want to study your subjects more deeply, seek out additional materials, and start thinking now about your own contribution to science.