UMNIK Cherkizovo competition comes to an end

Moscow, Russia – June 24 – Cherkizovo Group and the Foundation of Assistance to Small Innovative Enterprises (FASIE) have completed their joint UMNIK Cherkizovo competition, which provided grants to young scientists for their promising food manufacturing projects. Thanks to the competition, one of the finalists was able to start a career at Cherkizovo’s R&D.

Launched in November 2020, UMNIK-Cherkizovo brought together students of agricultural universities from across Russia. They submitted projects related to the manufacturing of meat products, plant- and animal-based feeds, feed additives, as well as biotechnology and genomic selection. Organizers received a total of 168 submissions, out of which the jury comprising experts from Cherkizovo Group, FASIE, Gorbatov All-Russian Meat Research Institute and the Innopraktika foundation shortlisted seven finalists in March 2021. Each of them received a RUB 500,000 grant from FASIE, with Cherkizovo awarding an additional RUB 300,000.

The finalists included students from the Moscow State University of Food Production, Razumovsky Moscow State University of Technologies and Management, HSE University, Biysk Technological Institute (Altai Territory), Samara State Technical University, Skryabin Moscow State Academy of Veterinary Medicine and Biotechnology. The competing projects covered a variety of areas, were practice-oriented and of great relevance to the livestock and meat processing industries. Those implemented focus on improving production technologies, increasing product shelf life, and enriching feed.

Of the seven finalists, two completed internships at Cherkizovo Group facilities, and one was hired full-time by the Company’s R&D Directorate. “UMNIK-Cherkizovo produced excellent results, and we are very happy about it. It proved to be particularly useful given the shortage of skilled professionals in the meat industry. The competition showed that young Russian scientists are capable of putting forward innovative ideas and helped us identify talented researchers with great potential of contributing to Russia’s agricultural industry,” said Anastasia Mikhailova, Head of Communications at Cherkizovo Group.

“FASIE’s experience of holding joint competitions with major Russian companies has always been positive. UMNIK-Cherkizovo was no exception, opening up new opportunities for young innovators and helping develop the industry. The event’s success was also the result of a keen interest and openness demonstrated by Cherkizovo and the unprecedented RUB 800,000 grant,” commented Anton Sorokin, head of the UMNIK project team at FASIE.