The first step towards the victories of engineers is the launch of the All–Russian Championship for solving fuel and energy cases

On February 27, 2015, the grand opening of the All-Russian Fuel and Energy Case Solving Championship took place at NUST MISIS in Moscow.

The All-Russian Fuel and Energy Case Solving Championship, which is supported by the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Education and Science, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation, the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs and the Agency for Strategic Initiatives, is the largest educational project for the youth of the fuel and energy complex. The qualifying stages of the Championship will be held from February to May in more than 30 leading universities of the fuel and energy complex of Russia and Kazakhstan.

On February 27, 2015, the grand opening of the Championship and the first qualifying stage of the mining league took place at NUST MISIS in Moscow. In total, the project includes three leagues in the fields of electric power, geological exploration and mining.

He conveyed his message to the participants and guests of the Championship greeting Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation Alexander Novak"For several years, we have been supporting the holding of the Mining Case-Solving Championship and are pleased to note its development and the creation of a case championship for young people in the electric power and exploration industries. The Championship site is a unique opportunity to test your knowledge. By teaming up and competing with the best future specialists from all over Russia, you will be able to get to know your future profession in depth and bring your level of professional training up to real production requirements."

The Mining Institute of NUST MISIS was awarded the right to open the Championship due to the victory of university students in the Championship last year.

Addressing the participants, Alevtina Chernikova, Rector of NUST MISIS, stressed the importance of the Championship for the formation of a professional community of future engineers from all over the country: "The Championship gathers students from all over Russia, this gives a synergetic effect that allows future specialists to take another step in their profession."

Representatives of the national partners of the project noted in their greetings: Sergey Mochalnikov, Director of the Coal and Peat Industry Department of the Russian Ministry of Energy: "The tasks that the Government sets for us are becoming more difficult every year. Therefore, the more difficult such professional competitions as the Championship will be, the higher the level of training of specialists will be" and Vladimir Solodov – Head of the Department of Projects and Practices of the "Young Professionals" department of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives"The championship allows you to gain a new level of motivation, compare your strengths in practice, get a real assessment and see a benchmark worth focusing on, including at the international level."

Representatives of the general partners of the Championship and the partners of the MISIS stage came to the company to support, evaluate and look after future specialists: Boris Kurtsev, CEO of Mycromine Rus LLC: "It is important that the best young people, future specialists who care about the development of the fuel and energy industry and who are interested in the prosperity of our country, participate in the Championship. Good luck with the Championship!" Dmitry Cherepanov, Mining Engineer at the Technical Control Department of the EuroChem – Usolsky Potash Plant Mine Construction Department: "We are pleased with the growth of the Championship, we hope that new leagues will join the Championship soon, for example, the chemical sector. I would like to wish the participants to boldly propose new ideas, no matter how incredible they may seem at first glance. Good luck to you!"

Representatives of more than 15 universities, those who have yet to host the Championship, also came to learn from the experience and get acquainted with the format of the event.

Artem Korolev, Chairman of the Management Board of NP Youth Mining Leaders Forum, Director of the Reliable Change Foundation, thanked the experts and representatives of partner companies for supporting the Championship. He noted the growth of the Championship and expressed confidence that the format of interactive education and the case study method, which the Championship develops, will eventually become part of the standards for training young professionals in all industries.

14 teams of the NUST MISIS Mining Institute took part in the first qualifying stage. The university students presented to the experts and guests the solutions of the case "Choosing the most effective option for a mining complex and improving its efficiency."

The decisions of the participants were evaluated by a competent jury consisting of representatives of the general partner companies of the Championship – JSC SUEK, JSC MHC-EuroChem, and Micromine, partners of this stage - LLC IMC Montan and DMT, as well as universities and the industry as a whole: the Academy of Mining Sciences, CJSC Rosinformugol; the Project The Karakansky cluster; JSC TSNIIeugol; NUST MISIS; JSC Vist GROUP, etc.

The winner of the mining league stage at NUST MISIS and the first finalist of the Championship was the Crack the case team consisting of:

• Maxim Sidorenko (Mining Institute, 4th year, Department of Surveying, team captain)
• Ekaterina Burba (Mining Institute, 5th year, Department of Open-pit Mining)
• Stepan Vorotylo (Ecotech, Master's student)
• Albert Abrahamyan (Mining Institute, 3rd year, Department of Surveying).

The next stages of the Championship will be held at Moscow Power Engineering University, which opens the League for Electric Power Industry on March 2, 2015, and Northeastern State University in Magadan on March 3, 2015, which hosts the mining and exploration leagues.

The organizers of the Championship are the Reliable Shift Foundation, the Non-Profit Partnership Youth Forum of Mining Leaders and the Non-Profit Partnership Russian National Committee of the International Council for Large High Voltage Electrical Systems (RNC CIGRE).

The general partners of the Championship are: JSC Siberian Coal Energy Company, JSC System Operator of the Unified Energy System, Micromine Company, JSC MHC EuroChem, EVRAZ, JSC Yuzhkuzbassugol, LLC RUSSDRAGMET.

The partners of the stage at NUST MISIS were: EVRAZ, IMC Montan Group and DMT company.