100 Ideas for Belarus: First agro-robots, ‘warm books’ and self-propelled combine harvester

Innovation, research and development, advanced technologies are the main components of the youth competition called 100 Ideas for Belarus. The eighth season of the popular contest organized by the Belarusian BRSM Youth Union kicked off with selection rounds in the districts on 5 November. In December experts went on a tour around the regional capitals. Mogilev Oblast was the first to host the competition. Then it was joined by Brest Oblast and Vitebsk Oblast.

The 100 Ideas for Belarus project provides an opportunity to talented pupils, students and young scientists to showcase their projects, get recommendations from the council of experts and, most importantly, to enlist the support of partners and sponsors. Besides, the winners will receive assistance in developing a business plan which they can use to take part in the competition of innovative projects and apply for grants.

This year, talented young people from all over Vitebsk Oblast pitched 34 innovative projects at Vitebsk State Medical University. The best solutions of the region included a laser engraver to engrave designs into wood, plastic and fabric as well as a device to transform heat losses of a refrigerator into cheap electric energy to light corridors and staircases.

Brest Oblast also had something interesting to offer. The local youth presented a 3D printer, a Nexu messenger to be used in education and software for a built-in display board. The youngest participants – Oleg Kozulya and Artur Rudich (11 and 13 years) made a wireless Tesla coil that generates electric energy and can be used to light the way while descending into a mine, under water or as a charger or a lighter.

The Minsk lag is scheduled for 28 December. In January the presentations will be held in Gomel Oblast, Grodno Oblast and Minsk Oblast. The results of the contest will be reviewed in February 2019. The most striking solutions for now are a project to automate manufacturing processes using robotics (Brest Oblast), a project to create ‘warm books’ for visually impaired children using textiles (Grodno Oblast) and a self-propelled CNG combine harvester GS4118K (Gomel Oblast). 

Young participants and the most interesting solutions of the 100 Ideas for Belarus contest in our special report.