{"id":59230,"date":"2025-06-01T23:54:52","date_gmt":"2025-06-01T20:54:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/memos\/we-received-a-grant-from-the-ministry-of-education-and-science\/"},"modified":"2025-06-01T23:54:52","modified_gmt":"2025-06-01T20:54:52","slug":"we-received-a-grant-from-the-ministry-of-education-and-science","status":"publish","type":"memos","link":"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/en\/memos\/we-received-a-grant-from-the-ministry-of-education-and-science\/","title":{"rendered":"We received a grant from the Ministry of Education and Science"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This is our first grant – and, of course, now the amount of 1.6 million rubles looks impressive. Plus, mandatory co-financing is added to it – another million. For the media, which all this time existed exclusively due to my own investments, this is serious support and a new stage.<\/p>\n\n\n

I have long understood: without external funding, without partners and new resources, we will not be able to develop. High-quality content is expensive, and support allows us to do more – deeper, more professional, more stable. Perhaps in a year this amount will seem small compared to other opportunities. But I want to capture this moment – because now it is really important. It’s not just money. This is a confession. Recognition that the concept with which we entered the competition was heard and received support.<\/p>\n\n\n

Next, I will tell you how the preparation went, why I decided to apply in the first place, although at first I was quite skeptical about the word \u201cpopularization\u201d. But thanks to you – our readers – my attitude has changed. I hope my experience will inspire someone else to apply for a grant and support their own project – be it a blog, website or event series. I believe sharing stories like this is important.<\/p>\n\n\n

How it all started<\/h2>\n\n\n

I learned about the grant for authors who popularize science by accident – I saw a story from blogger and geologist Iskhak Farkhutdinov. I took a screenshot so as not to forget, and decided to study the conditions in more detail. At first it seemed that this was something far away – not for people like me, but for \u201cserious\u201d scientific projects with a large background. I don\u2019t have an institute, I don\u2019t have an NGO. But then I remembered: I already have a whole editorial team behind me<\/a>. GeoConversation is not a hobby, but media that requires development<\/a>. This means it\u2019s time to look for real sources of financing.<\/p>\n\n\n

I went to website<\/a>, read the terms of participation and wondered how our project corresponds to the theme of the competition. We do not publish scientific reviews or post articles from academic journals. Our materials are stories about: how expeditions go, how geologists work and geophysics<\/a>, what problems specialists solve in the field.<\/p>\n\n\n

But this is exactly what science is all about. We carry out geophysical research that is based on physical laws, we work with high-tech equipment<\/a>, analyze and interpret the data. Everything we do in the field is applied science, told in living language. But I still had a question: can I be called a popularizer? Yes, I talk about my profession, show how the industry works from the inside, but whether I consider this precisely the popularization of science – that\u2019s where I had my doubts.<\/p>\n\n\n

\"Start<\/a>
The Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation has opened applications for a grant competition for projects that popularize science. Source: press service of the Ministry of Education and Science<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n

I didn’t set out to popularize science. I was just telling you how I work<\/h2>\n\n\n

In my mind, \u201cpopularization\u201d looked like something abstract, artificially invented: someone from above says that it is necessary to develop geological sciences, attract students, cultivate specialists – and somewhere in high offices a decision is made \u201clet\u2019s popularize.\u201d Then boys and girls are hired and start making content.<\/p>\n\n\n

Most often, these people are not from the industry themselves – journalists, editors, content managers. They are afraid of geology as too narrow a topic and try to speak in such a way as to please everyone. Posts appear like: \u201cWhat is geology?\u201d or \u201cWhich mineral is the hardest?\u201d And the result is a strange effect: the mass audience is not interested in it – it\u2019s too abstract and \u201cnot about me.\u201d But for professionals, such texts are primitive and cause confusion. As a result, this approach does not work for any audience. Trying to be \u201cunderstandable to everyone\u201d, you do not receive attention from anyone.<\/p>\n\n\n

I’ve been here for five years I blog about my work<\/a> \u2014 about geophysics. And, probably, this is what real popularization is: when you show from the inside how the profession works. Honestly and without oversimplification. Yes, I talk about how we carry reels, how we live in the field, how we get to work by helicopter. I explain how the gravitational and electromagnetic fields work, but I try not to overload with terms – so that it is understandable and interesting even for those who are far from the industry. I keep a balance so as not to slip into simplification and not to overload with technical details.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Content about tents, bears and life in the field is always welcome. But this is not the main thing. The main thing is to talk about the essence of the work: what geophysicists do and how they help find new deposits<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n

And it seems to me that real popularization only works when it is done by those who actually work in the profession. Because it will always be sincere. Only a person who loves his job can talk about it in such a way that he wants to become a part of it. One subscriber once wrote that he saw a video of geologists riding an all-terrain vehicle and realized: \u201cI want that too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

It was with this skepticism that I applied for this grant. I thought: well, the popularization that the grant organizers have in mind is probably not about me. But we meet the formal criteria, which means we have to try. And then, in the process of preparing the application, collecting documents and especially developing the presentation, I suddenly rethought the entire project. And I realized: yes, what we are doing is the real popularization of geology. Real, living and from within the profession.<\/p>\n\n\n

How geophysicists work in the fields – explains GeoConversation editor-in-chief Maria Kostina<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n

First obstacle: legal entity<\/h2>\n\n\n

The first difficulty I encountered was the requirement to have a legal entity to apply. And at that time I was registered as self-employed. I hesitated for a day or two: registering an individual entrepreneur seemed like a risky step. But if I seriously want to develop media, I had to legalize the project. I issued an electronic signature, submitted an application through State Services – and a few days later I received a notification: now I am an individual entrepreneur Kostina<\/a>. This seemed like a big step forward.<\/p>\n\n\n

\"Screenshot<\/a>
Post in the Telegram channel \u201cMasha and Geophysics\u201d about registering an individual entrepreneur to participate in the grant<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n

However, the joy was short-lived. The terms of the grant directly state: the applicant must be a legal entity, and an individual entrepreneur is not considered one. The minimum form is LLC. And there was less than three weeks left before the deadline. It was impossible to register an LLC and prepare all the documentation during this time.<\/p>\n\n\n

The first reaction was: \u201cWell, that means it\u2019s not fate.\u201d But after a few minutes another thought came: \u201cIf I can\u2019t apply myself, then I need to find those who can help.\u201d I started going through my friends with legal entities in my head and almost immediately remembered Semyon Inozemtsev – Head of the content agency “Strategy”<\/a>. We have known each other for a long time and cooperate professionally.<\/p>\n\n\n

I wrote to him: \u201cSemyon, help. I want to apply for a grant, but I need a company.\u201d And the very next morning I received a short and decisive message from him: \u201cYes, I will help. Write what you need?<\/p>\n\n\n

\"Screenshot<\/a>
Message requesting a grant through a partner organization<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n

Creating a presentation and concept<\/h2>\n\n\n

Support from the content agency \u201cStrategy\u201d and its head became an important resource. There were only two weeks left for preparation: it was necessary to develop a project concept and prepare a presentation. I started working at an accelerated pace.<\/p>\n\n\n

Preparing the presentation took only three days – largely due to the fact that I worked not alone, but in tandem with artificial intelligence<\/a>. Chat GPT helped quickly put together a structure, process ideas, and format the text. But it is important to clarify: I did not use the neural network as a generator of ready-made solutions. I didn\u2019t write something like \u201cmake me a presentation for a grant\u201d in Chat GPT – such template requests don\u2019t work. I interacted with AI as a partner: I dictated ideas, inserted fragments from editorial policy, formulated goals, described the audience and the specifics of our work. At first, the budget was drawn up manually, and the neural network helped with editing, structuring and designing the data.<\/p>\n\n\n

Took over the design and visual part of the presentation Alexey<\/a> \u2014 my partner on the site. Thanks to his work, the presentation turned out to be really strong: concise, visually accurate and professional.<\/p>\n\n\n