“Children do not need to be motivated”: how young talents are supported in Crimea

In the Republic of Crimea, talented children are supported through the Impulse Regional Center, which operates using the Navigator system. This was told on the air of the TV channel “Crimea 24” by the teacher of additional education of the center Svetlana Starchikova.

According to her, the work of the institution is focused on three key areas: sports, science and art. It is important for teachers to identify those children who show a sincere interest in a particular field of activity.

Starchikova stressed that there are many capable and purposeful children in Crimea who independently express their desire to engage in scientific activities.

“Children don’t need to be motivated, they come up and say they would like to write a scientific paper,” she said.

The Impulse Center is part of the structure of the gymnasium-boarding school for gifted children. Over the past year, students of this institution successfully participated in all-Russian competitions and defense of their scientific projects.

The regional center for identifying and supporting gifted children “Impulse” was created on the model of the educational center “Sirius”. About 400 children study in the gymnasium, and the center itself accepts schoolchildren from all over the Crimea for intensive shifts.

In March 2025, a fair of scientific ideas was held on the basis of the Impulse Center, where gifted children presented their research works and design developments. In 2025, 1,182 schoolchildren took part in 14 intensive profile shifts of the center.

In October 2026, on the basis of the Crimean boarding school for gifted children, a center for preparing for the All-Russian Olympiads began to work. It was created for systematic training of participants of the Olympiad movement and methodological support of teachers working with gifted children.