Solving the issues of personnel training through science popularisation and early career guidance among schoolchildren in the spheres of agriculture and biology

Abstract

The aim of the study is to summarise the experience of working with schoolchildren in the spheres of agriculture and biology, ranging from work of stations of young naturalists to scientific volunteering, using the example of the projects “Academic Class”, “Agricultural Classes”, “Volunteer Naturalist”, “Green Club” and other initiatives being developed in various regions of the Russian Federation. The paper presents the author’s experience in initiating and developing modern career guidance projects for schoolchildren on agricultural and general biological topics to address global issues of personnel training for the fields of plant breeding, biotechnology and the agro-industrial complex as a whole. The scientific novelty of the paper consists in providing insight into the features and summarising characteristics of the existing practices of pre-professional work with schoolchildren, in identifying problem blocks and possible ways to overcome them in order to accelerate the solution of the acute shortage of highly professional scientific personnel in applied areas of agricultural spheres. As a result, the author has substantiated the need to expand the coverage of career guidance and popularisation work among schoolchildren to form a positive image of such professions as agronomist, plant breeder, plant pathologist and others.