Participants of South Africa Days at JINR visited MLIT On 18 June 2025, within the Days of the Republic of South Africa at JINR> held at the Joint Institute, representatives of the National Research Foundation of South Africa (NRF), South African universities and research centers visited the Meshcheryakov Laboratory of Information Technologies. The guests were welcomed by MLIT Director Sergei Shmatov and his Deputy Dmitry Podgainy, MLIT Scientific Leader Vladimir Korenkov and his Deputy Tatiana Strizh, and the Laboratory’s Scientific Secretary Olga Derenovskaia. The acquaintance with MLIT started with a lecture by Olga Derenovskaia on the Laboratory’s infrastructure and computing power, as well as on the directions of MLIT scientific and applied research. Particular attention during the subsequent discussion was paid to the architecture of the “Govorun” supercomputer, data storage systems, and the organization of access to experimental data, as well as to the functioning of the Tier1 and Tier2 data centers. In discussing possible areas of cooperation, the South African representatives expressed particular interest in artificial intelligence methods. MLIT applied projects in the field of life sciences, particularly, agricultural plant disease detection, soil and air pollution environmental monitoring, and opportunities for collaboration in these areas were considered. Attracting young people to science was also discussed at the meeting. Within the current stage of the International Student Practice in JINR Fields of Research for students from South Africa, Egypt, and Belarus, conducted by the JINR University Center, MLIT became the leader in the number of young specialists who chose the Laboratory's topics for their projects. The acquaintance with MLIT continued during a historical tour and a visit to the JINR Multifunctional Information and Computing Complex. Earlier, on 16 June, MLIT Director Sergei Shmatov and MLIT Scientific Leader Vladimir Korenkov participated in the opening of South Africa Days at JINR. In the International Conference Center, the South African representatives were introduced to JINR’s latest achievements and provided an overview of scientific research areas in South Africa. A number of significant cooperation agreements were signed, presentations by the South African representatives continued on 17 June, and a meeting of the South Africa–JINR Joint Coordination Committee took place on 18 June. More details on the JINR website
