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Higher School Teacher's Day
November 19 is Higher School Teacher’s Day. The professional holiday was officially established by the RF Ministry of Science and Higher Education just 2 years ago in honor of the birthday of the outstanding Russian scientist Mikhail Lomonosov. Out of the USUE teachers who are not yet forty, 35 candidates and doctors of sciences chose our university as their principal place of work.
Today we will speak to the youngest doctor of sciences at USUE. On November 13, he turned 35. Professor of the USUE Department of Quality Management and Expertise of Goods and Services, native of Tajikistan, Boisjoni Tohiriyon, told us about his way to the world of science, coping with the language barrier and plans to conquer the Russian Academy of Sciences.
— Boisjoni Takhirovich, did you move from Tajikistan to the Urals just with an eye on a scientific career?
In 2006, after graduating from school, I faced a choice between a medical university in Dushanbe or moving to Russia. I decided to take a risk, alyhough I didn’t know Russian well. I arrived in Yekaterinburg and went to the Admissions Committee of Ural State University of Economics. They asked me what my hobbies were, I talked about my passion for cooking, and the decision came by itself. I submitted documents to the specialty Technology of Public Catering Products. The first years I studied at my expense, had A-level results, and eventually transferred to the state-funded studies. The major difficulty was the language barrier. At home, they taught me Russian, but I spoke it mainly at school. Serious practice began at the university: lectures, homework, communication with groupmates. I read a lot of fiction and over time I began to think only in Russian. However, scientific texts fired my greatest enthusiasm, so, having received my master’s degree 5 years later, without any hesitation, I entered postgraduate school, where I began working on my Ph.D. dissertation.
— You became a Candidate of Technical Sciences in 2015, and at the age of 33 you received your doctorate. What was your research focused on?
During all 3 years of full-time postgraduate school, I developed a new type of combined vegetable oil for national oriental cuisine. The passion for cooking never left me! I chose national dishes because since childhood I have known all the features of cooking and can accurately describe the technology.
After the defense, I felt stronger and immediately started working on my doctorate. The topic was scientific and practical aspects of the development and use of specialized products with systemic effect. This is a fundamental study of dietary supplements. At the same time, I began teaching, and to this day, I teach students how to evaluate the quality of products and execute examinations.
It was a journey of 6 years. During my work, I encountered skepticism because of my young age, but I listened none and confidently walked towards my goal. It is important that my scientific consultant, Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation, Doctor of Biological Sciences, Professor of the Department of Quality Management and Expertise of Goods and Services, Valery Mikhailovich Poznyakovsky, saw my potential. And with him, we successfully defended our dissertation in 2021. And since this September, I myself became a member of the dissertation council.
— What tasks do you set for yourself in the near future?
Now I am training three postgraduate students. We are working on their candidate dissertations and publishing articles in Russian and foreign scientific journals. One of my supervisees will defend next year, so I consult him with special excitement. I have ambitious plans: I’m going to receive the title of professor of the Higher Attestation Commission (HAC), and then I can force my way to the Academy of Sciences!
