«Everything remained the same; the program is on schedule», — confirmed Arsen Tomsky. 

Working with the new reality is vital — we cannot avoid changes. Firstly, we added universities to the list to make it 53, with such universities in Russia as the Higher School of Economics, St Petersburg University, and Bauman Moscow State Technical University. Unfortunately, you cannot take TOEFL on the territory of Russia for now, but it is possible in different countries such as Kazakhstan, Armenia, Turkey, and others. Taking IELTS online is also possible if one has already signed up and made a payment. If the first season finalists have to pass exams in another country, Sinet Spark will provide financial support for the participants. Besides, we decided to give grants not only for the education but also for the tickets and accommodation. 

All selected students of 9th grade will continue participating in the program next year.

There are no changes in the selection among 10th-grade students; it will be done in 2 stages.

During the first stage, the selection criteria will be an ability to speak English fluently, excellent marks at school, participation in extracurricular activities, and the, most importantly, a will to contribute to the development of the world and Yakutia. During the second stage, there will be an interview with the examiners in English. 

Experts will hold individual consultations. They will assist our fourteen finalists (seven participants in 2019 and 2021) in submitting to the chosen universities from the Star Team list. We will provide support if a contestant travels to another country to take the language exams and during visa processing.  

Arsen Tomsky: «In 2022-2023, I will set a grant amount of around 1 million dollars for this project. Every year the sum will grow for the new flow of participants, and by 2026 it will be 4-6 million dollars a year. I believe that the most important thing is to find and support talented students, help them realize their potential, and make a great contribution to the development of the world. After graduation, they can live wherever they want, with total freedom, but the only thing we ask them to do is to help Yakutia as much as they can!»