The first NIS Russian Language Olympiad for pupils and students of primary and secondary schools from Serbia, Montenegro and the Republic of Srpska has taken place earlier today at the Novi Sad Business Centre. NIS j.s.c. endorsed the initiative launched by the Russian Centre of the Ј. Ј. Zmaj High School in Novi Sad to organise a competition which would contribute to the promotion of the Russian language in schools in Serbia and the region. The Russian Language Olympiad was supported by the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development as well as the Serbian Association of Slavists. 490 pupils and students from 78 schools from Serbia, Montenegro and the Republic of Srpska took part in this year's Russian Language Olympiad. They competed in four categories, grouped per age and the level of language competence. The competition was staged in two rounds: the first round was held at each school individually, when the pupils and students took the test provided by the organiser. The best ranked pupil/student from each school qualified for the NIS Olympiad finals, i.e. the second round of competition, but only if he/she achieved the Olympiad standard set to 40 points this year. Thus 80 finalists were shortlisted and they had the opportunity to apply their knowledge in today's competition at NIS j.s.c. headquarters. Previously NIS j.s.c. had hosted the mathematics and physics competitions as a part of its Knowledge Olympiad Programme. The participants of the three Olympiads will have the opportunity to take part in NIS campus in Bečići this August and acquire knowledge from the most prominent lecturers from Serbia and Russia. Supporting this competition is only a part of the NIS j.s.c.'s Energy of Knowledge Project, which includes various forms of cooperation with universities and other scientific institutions. Through the Energy of Knowledge Project, the Company strives to support the best and most talented young persons in order to hire them as Company employees in future not only in Serbia and the region, but also throughout the entire Europe. In 2012, NIS j.s.c. sponsored this programme with more than 35 million dinars, most of which went to the Petnica Research Centre, Belgrade and Novi Sad Universities, as well as the NIS Chance Programme and Internship Programme.
