The delegation also included Sergey Tutov, Director of Research and Innovation, Denis Shatalov, Senior Project Manager for Microfluidic Technologies, and other representatives of the company. Rector Inna Shevchenko, Vice-Rector for Strategic Development and Research Evgeny Mukhanov, Scientific Director of Materials Science and Synchrotron-Neutron Research at SFedU, Director of the International Research Institute of Intelligent Materials (IIIM) Alexander Soldatov, Deputy Director of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, responsible for cooperation with SIBUR Alexander Guda participated in the meetings., as well as managers and executors of joint projects.

The visit became an important stage in the development of the partnership between SFedU and SIBUR. Previously, cooperation was built around individual scientific and technological projects and specialized departments of the company, but this time the university was visited by members of the Board of SIBUR and heads of the science and innovation unit. The focus was on the results of already implemented initiatives, promising developments of the SFedU and opportunities for expanding cooperation in the field of microfluidic technologies, low-tonnage chemistry and personnel training for high-tech industries.

"It is especially important for us that industrial partners participate not only in evaluating research results, but also in shaping the agenda for future developments. It is this format of interaction that allows the university to create solutions that are in demand by the real sector of the economy, and for students and young scientists to work on tasks that have prospects for practical implementation," said Inna Shevchenko, Rector of SFedU.

The business program began at the SFedU Center for High-Tech Instrumentation, where the guests were introduced to key research areas in the field of microfluidics, materials science and artificial intelligence. Alexander Soldatov, Director of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Alexander Guda, Deputy Director of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Bogdan Protsenko, a graduate student and winner of a scholarship from the President of the Russian Federation in the field of developing new artificial intelligence methods in materials Science, Anastasia Alekseenko, a leading researcher at the SFedU Faculty of Chemistry, and a senior researcher at the Department of Structure and Reactivity of Organic Compounds at the Research Institute of Physics and Organic Chemistry. Pavel Knyazev of SFedU, as well as Ilya Pankin, Head of the Master's program "Artificial Intelligence in Materials Science" at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology.

Then the delegation visited the laboratories of the SFedU International Research Institute of Intelligent Materials, where joint projects with SIBUR are being implemented. The scientists demonstrated their own line of microfluidic equipment, the possibilities of additive manufacturing of chips, as well as software development for microfluidic and chemical technologies. Special attention was paid to the SFedU Center for Micro and Low-Tonnage Chemistry. The parties discussed the current state of the project, forecasts for the end of 2026 and the first quarter of 2027, as well as product pricing and the potential for localization of similar projects at the center.

The business program ended with a round table dedicated to scientific and innovative cooperation. The participants discussed the directions of the educational track, the current cooperation within the framework of the Priority 2030 program and plans for 2027 for future joint initiatives.

"For us, the interaction of science and business is of fundamental importance. The task of science is to look for new solutions, conduct fundamental research and offer promising technological ideas. The task of the business is to assess their potential, scale and bring them to industrial use. It is this kind of cooperation that makes it possible to turn scientific results into real technologies.

Flow and microfluidic chemistry is one of the directions of development in modern chemical technology. The technology is actively used in the pharmaceutical industry, and we are looking at the possibility of its application in the chemical industry.  Together with SFedU, we are testing a number of hypotheses in this direction and see certain potential: increased operational efficiency, more stable technological modes, and improved product quality. Microfluidic systems create opportunities for more accurate modeling of processes, including within the digital counterparts of production lines, and can provide the necessary production volumes with smaller volumes of equipment and on smaller areas. At the same time, the limitation of the technology is working with small volumes and tonnage, as well as its applicability to a certain class of processes. Overcoming such scientific and technological challenges will form the basis for the emergence of new domestic technologies in demand in petrochemistry and other high–tech industries," said Daria Borisova, Managing Director, Member of the Management Board, Managing Director of SIBUR for Research and Innovation, Business Development and Engineering of New Technologies.

Southern Federal University and SIBUR have a long-standing and multifaceted partnership that includes joint research, educational projects, and the creation of advanced infrastructure for the development of new materials. As part of the Priority 2030 program (the Youth and Children national project), the partners launched projects to develop microfluidic synthesis technologies, the results of which have already significantly reduced the time needed to launch new products from laboratory samples to industrial applications. In February 2026, with the support of SIBUR and other industrial partners, the SFedU opened the Center for Micro and Low-Tonnage Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, a unique end–to-end technological platform controlled by artificial intelligence. In the field of personnel training, SIBUR is an industrial partner of the SFedU joint Master's program in microfluidic synthesis, in which students are involved in solving real production problems from the very first days of their studies. In addition, the university and the company actively participate in the projects of the University- RAS School of Leadership Researchers, based on the SIBUR PolyLab Moscow Research Center, forming roadmaps for promising areas of the petrochemical industry.