Organization:Andrey Melnichenko Foundation

Andrey Melnichenko Foundation is a charitable foundation established by Russian businessman and industrialist Andrey Melnichenko. It supports talented children in the sciences and education to promote social mobility in Russia.

The Foundation was established on 10 October 2016. Its mission is to provide additional education opportunities in math, the natural sciences and technology to secondary-school students in the regions where Andrey Melnichenko's companies, fertiliser producer EuroChem and coal energy company SUEK, operate (many are in remote industrial areas of Russia). Melnichenko's companies reportedly spent over $500 million on social and charitable projects in Russia in the last 15 years.

The Foundation operates through a network of nine centres it created. It provides laboratories and technical equipment (tools, computers, video conferencing facilities for remote teaching). Three centers are partnerships with local municipalities and six are based at major technical universities in the regions. The Foundation funds classroom and laboratory space, management and teaching staff salaries and equipment. At these centres, it runs formal after-school programmes with classes in math, chemistry, biology, astronomy, physics and robotics. Students spend an average of 14 hours per week at its centres. The students range in age from 11 to 17 (5th through 11th grades) and come primarily come from lower- and middle-income families. Participation in the programmes is free of charge. In 2019, there are nearly 2,700 students attending the Foundation's centres.

The Foundation's programmes exist in over thirty Russian regions.

Activity

The Foundation created a network of educational centres for schoolchildren in the cities where EuroChem and SUEK have a presence. There, children undertake in-depth study of mathematics, physics, chemistry, engineering and technical creativity, programming, robotics, as well as astronomy and Earth sciences.

According to media reports, since October 2019, the Foundation opened nine Centres of Children's Creativity in Science and Engineering (in cities and towns in Kemerovo region, Altai territory, Stavropol region, Tula region). Most of them operate from universities, 6 of 8 centres are equipped with specialised laboratories and the lecturers are chosen from the most recognised and senior teachers, such as academic staff from technical universities with PhD degrees.

The Andrey Melnichenko Foundation annually supports the International Mendeleev Chemistry Olympiad, and funds Russian national and regional competitions among schoolchildren in the technical sciences. Every year, the Andrey Melnichenko Foundation Summer School is held in Moscow region, according to media reports.

Accomplishments

According to Philanthropist magazine, 95% of graduates of the Andrey Melnichenko Foundation's educational centres enrolled in leading Russian universities on a budgetary basis.

Migran Sharoian and Pavel Khakimov from Kuzbass educational centres won a prize in The Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF), in Pittsburgh, United States , the world’s largest international pre-college science competition. Three fellows won awards at the Beijing Youth Science Creation Competition. Gleb Goling, of the "Heirs of Polzunov" Centre, received a special award at the International Conference of Young Scholars in Belgrade.