Darya Maksakova is senior researcher in the department of complex and regional energy problems at Melentiev Energy Systems Institute of Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. She participated in this competition twice. In 2018, Darya received special award “High Potential Scientist” – participation in the 15th Conference of The Northeast Asian Gas and Pipeline Forum (NAGPF), where she presented her research work. In 2021, Darya was awarded a one-month internship at NIIgazeconomika LLC. This internship was extended to two months. Moreover, Darya was engaged in the institute’s current projects on her research topic in the lab in Irkutsk.
Interview with Darya Maksakova
– Darya, how did you learn about this competition?
– I learned about I this competition in 2018 from my supervisor. He always encourages me to participate in competitions, conferences and scientific events, as it benefits my research and provides opportunities to share information and experience. I was completing my master’s thesis, when he suggested that I apply to the competition, as the topic of my research matched the Young Scientists Awards’ research areas. In 2018, I won a special prize. Since then, I have been following the competition. I subscribed to the newsletters and decided to also participate in the 2021 competition.
– How difficult was it to prepare an application for the competition: what nuances would you highlight?
– Everything is clear – information that should be included and recommendations on what exactly should be paid attention to when preparing an application, etc. By the way, I did not have any difficulty preparing my application as I only needed to present my research in the required format.
As for the nuances, your ideas should be presented in clear language and you should provide clear definitions or explanations of unfamiliar or highly specialized technical terms. As there is a page limit, you should make the most of it to provide information about your research, its significance and results.
– Why did you decide to participate in the competition for the second time?
– I consider participation in the competition as an opportunity to systematize the results of the study and streamline my thoughts, ideas and methodologies. In addition, it so happened that the problems of my research are being widely discussed today, so it would be logical to participate in the competition again.
– What, in your opinion, gives participation in the competition to young professionals?
– This competition provides opportunities for professional development. In addition, it helps systematize the research findings and present them to a wide audience in a fairly short period of time. For example, if we are talking about publication in scientific journals, preparation of the manuscript and its publication take up a lot of time. Finally, preparation of the application helps further develop the research as in the process of the work on the project, new ideas arise. Analysis of the study leads to a deeper understanding of the topic.
– What are your plans for the future?
– I am a third-year PhD student, completing my dissertation. Any research is continuous, multi-stage process. There are always new directions and it is great that research has practical applications. Undoubtedly, emerging oil and gas technologies require new research and improvement of methodology.