đź“ŚRosatom has opened applications for the 2026 Icebreaker of Knowledge expedition, calling on schoolchildren from 23 countries to win a voyage to the North Pole aboard a nuclear icebreaker
On 5 May 2026, Rosatom started the competitive selection process for international participants in its VII international scientific and educational project “Icebreaker of Knowledge”. School students aged 14 to 16 years old from 23 countries, including Egypt, Namibia, Rwanda, Tanzania, and South Africa, are invited to participate in the international stage of the selection process. The project winners from each country will participate in an Arctic expedition to the North Pole aboard the nuclear icebreaker 50 Let Pobedy, which will take place in August 2026. Some of the expedition participants will be the first representatives of their countries to reach the pole.
The selection process for international participants consists of three stages. At the first stage, those who register on goarctic.energy take part in a science-based quiz. The second stage comprises a series of webinars on Rosatom’s innovative solutions, including technologies used to ensure the safe development of Arctic shipping. After watching the videos, each participant takes a test to assess their knowledge and completes tasks based on the presented material. Top 10 finalists from each country with the highest scores in the first two stages present their ideas related to the topic of the final task in a form of a video business card.
“Rosatom has demonstrated its commitment to long-term partnerships in Africa, especially in the nuclear sector. We already see concrete examples of cooperation – in project development, education, and skills transfer. Nuclear energy plays a dual role in Africa’s development: it is both a clean source of power and a driver of technological progress. And it will be built by those who are ready to step beyond the horizon today. The participants of the Icebreaker of Knowledge expedition will see the power of nuclear technology in the Arctic – so that tomorrow they can create it at home. They will not be just passengers. They will be the first link in a new energy chapter for the continent,” highlighted CEO of Rosatom Central and Southern Africa Ryan Collyer.
Russia remains the only country in the world with a fleet of nuclear icebreakers: today there are eight such vessels, all operated by Rosatom.
Rosatom places special emphasis on supporting educational, scientific, and cultural initiatives, including those in Tanzania. The corporation is actively involved in establishing core university departments in Russian and Tanzanian universities, implementing scholarship programmes and large-scale educational projects, and organising internships and work placements for students with subsequent employment. Other notable youth projects open to Tanzanian participants include the annual video contest Atoms Empowering Africa, HackAtom, and other competitions focused on digital solutions in the nuclear industry.
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The Northern Sea Route (NSR) is the shortest shipping route connecting the western part of Eurasia and the Asia-Pacific region. This is a national transport artery of Russia with a long history of development stretching back over 500 years to 1525 when Russian diplomat Dmitry Gerasimov proposed the idea of using a shipping route through the Arctic Ocean.
In 2018, the Russian Government gave Rosatom authority to operate the Northern Sea Route infrastructure. Rosatom is responsible for overseeing the federal project “Development of the Northern Sea Route” also being involved in implementing the plan for developing the Northern Sea Route until 2035 as well as the initiative for the socio-economic development in the Russian Federation until 2030 “Year-Round Northern Sea Route” approved by the order of the Russian Government.
