Immersion in the profession

Six third-year students of the Mytishchi branch of the Moscow State Technical University named after N.E. Bauman of "Chemical Technology of Wood Processing" specialty have completed their internship at Metadynea. Over the course of two weeks, they developed their skills in the existing production and in the research center of the enterprise, immersing themselves in the real tasks of the chemical industry.

For greater efficiency, the participants of the practice were divided into several teams. This allowed each student to receive maximum attention from their mentors and work out the tasks in detail. At the Orekhovo-Zuyevo plant, students studied the technological processes of resin and formalin production, and also applied their analytical skills in the laboratory, where they got acquainted with the operation of the equipment and studied the resin brands. Part of the practice at the Metadynea Research and Development (R&D) Center also proved to be intense. Here, students not only modeled chemical reactions to obtain target substances, but also participated in trial "cooking" of new types of products, analyzed the samples obtained, and identified approaches that did not produce the necessary results.

Sergey Ivanov, Head of the R&D Center, noted at the final meeting:

- The practice was successful. The work you have done is fully consistent with our research objectives. We will continue the urea-formaldehyde resin project that you started and we are grateful for the groundwork that you have created. Thanks to you, we can already see the weaknesses of the formulation of this resin, which is about 45% of the required preparation. Even unsuccessful syntheses, which produced products with inappropriate indicators, turned out to be useful. Now we know how not to work with certain substances in this resin. Thank you for your involvement. I hope practice has helped you to better understand the profession of developing synthetic resin formulations. If you need our support in your further studies, do not hesitate to contact us.

One of the interns, Yaroslav Puchkov, shared his impressions.:

- The work at the factory was useful. We mainly studied production chains and prepared reports. For example, I was analyzing the production of formalin. At the research center, we were able to make a real contribution to the development of new products. I am interested in chemistry as a science, and I would like to link my career specifically with research. I am attracted to the resin industry because it allows you to create wood materials and thus save resources. I consider this to be an extremely promising area, including from the point of view of ecology.

The practice has become a useful experience for both students and Metadynea specialists. The company plans to further develop cooperation with leading educational institutions, contributing to the training of future specialists and the development of the industry.