AiF Tomsk: the "CASE-IN" championship is for starting a successful career

 The main season of the International Engineering Championship "CASE-IN", which was attended by more than 5.5 thousand people from Russia and Belarus, has ended. Cases on the nuclear industry, fuel and mineral resource complexes were proposed for the solution. The winners and prize-winners were contestants from 19 regions of the country. 

Competitions among the young minds of our country were held in four leagues: the school league, the student league, the league of young professionals and the special league. Future and current engineers developed case solutions for the nuclear industry, fuel and energy, mineral resource complexes, and related industries. And the overall theme of the ninth season was "Sustainable Development." 

The CASE-IN Championship has been held since 2013. And since 2019, the project has been included in the presidential platform "Russia – the land of opportunities". It should be recalled that this organization was created on the initiative of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Currently, the platform unites 26 projects, including the Leaders of Russia management competition, the I am a Professional student Olympiad, the Your Turn competition, the Professional Training 2.0 project, the Big Change All–Russian competition, and many others. 

 "The platform provides a wide range of opportunities for self-realization, helps you decide on a profession, complete an internship or find your first job, get a mentor or new knowledge, – notes Alexey Agafonov, Deputy General Director of ANO "Russia – the Land of Opportunities". – The CASE-IN Championship provides an opportunity for young people from different regions of Russia to develop by solving real production tasks, engaging in scientific and technical creativity and receiving an engineering education. Last season, the championship's competitions brought together a record 10,015 schoolchildren, students and young professionals. The ninth season is in full swing, which this time is dedicated to "Sustainable Development". The example of several thousand project participants proves that the championship is a ticket to the future, allowing you to move up the career ladder, find your dream job and become a true professional." 

Tomsk residents also fought for the opportunity to get a "ticket to the future" – to complete an internship at a well-known company, enroll in a leading university or climb the career ladder. AiF in Tomsk talked with the winners, finalists and organizers The International Engineering CASE-IN Championship from our region. 

The Educational capital of Siberia

It is not for nothing that Tomsk is considered the cultural and educational capital of Siberia, because students and scientists constantly maintain this status. 

"Tomsk is a special point on the CASE-IN championship map. The Reliable Change Foundation, which organizes the championship, has been in partnership with Tomsk Polytechnic University since 2007. Together, we provide career guidance to schoolchildren and prepare students to work in the electric power industry and other sectors of the fuel and energy complex and the Moscow Energy Complex.  Since 2017, Tomsk State University has joined the team of participating universities of CASE–IN, and this season the competition of the new field of Design Engineering was held at Tomsk State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering., " He's telling me Artem Korolev, founder and Co-chairman of the Organizing Committee of the CASE-IN Championship, - The students are not far behind the students either: the guys from the schools of Tomsk and Seversk have repeatedly become winners of the School League Championship." 

Students of Tomsk State University became the best team at the championship among future specialists in the field of petrochemistry. 

Maxim Remchukov, Director of Sustainable Development at SIBUR awarding the winners at the finals in Moscow, he emphasized: "One of the main objectives of the championship is to create cases that will be scaled and applied in the industry. Our company welcomes the development of this way of implementing global projects. Working on the project, coupled with support from universities, partners and organizers, is a real road to the future for students who are ready to achieve significant results today." 

The Colleagues team from TSU is taking part in the championship for the second time. Last year, the students won the qualifying stage and reached the finals, and this season turned out to be the most successful for the guys. A team of petrochemists from Tomsk solved the problem from SIBUR, the partner of the championship, and proposed a set of technological solutions for processing petroleum products in order to achieve waste-free production, which has no analogues in Russia yet. According to the calculations of the students, the project can bring 29 billion in 8 years of payback. 

Captain Mark Khainovsky Admits that winning is not the main thing here. "When you're involved in something big, it's an invaluable experience. The format of the championship itself is convenient for comprehensive development. It's not just teamwork, brainstorming, an unconventional approach to problem solving, and developing something new," says the event participant.  

In addition to prize medals, a three-kilogram cup and memorable prizes, students received a unique experience and communication with representatives of large companies, experts and specialists.  

"Despite the fact that we won the engineering championship, none of us is an engineer. We are chemists and physicists. But we managed to successfully form one team, and we were able to win., – says Mark. – The most original solution wins this competition, so it's important to think outside the box." 

On the second day of the finals, the strongest were identified among future mining engineers, specialists in geological exploration, the nuclear industry and the electric power industry. And here our Tomichi won the winning medals. In the field of Geological Exploration, the bronze medal went to Tomsk Polytechnic University. 

Presented awards to the winners Grigory Fedotov, Head of the Department for Work with Educational Institutions and Methodological Support of the MYCROMINE division: "This year's final is being held in person. I'm sure we've all been waiting for this very much. CASE-IN helps participants to develop and master new skills and competencies. This is very important for you, as professionals in your field. By no means stop there. Be sure to take part in the new season of the championship, which promises to be no less exciting." 

The Tomsk Polytechnic University team got the task of ALROSA: to find the most economically attractive and promising site in a given area. The students successfully completed the task and declared themselves as serious competitors. 

"This is our first time participating in the championship, " He's telling me team captain Igor Karchevsky. – Our teacher informed me about this event, and I decided to create a team with which I can participate in the competition. There were many expectations from the championship, and all of them were fully fulfilled. CASE-IN is not only the expansion of knowledge and the acquisition of experience, but also useful acquaintances, good advice and recommendations from experts. I already work as an engineer, so it was especially important for me." 

The student admits that there were difficulties during the solution of the case. "We had a real work task – to study and answer the questions that arise during the development of the site before the subsurface use, starting from the search stage. – our interlocutor comments. - And with each new stage, more and more detailed work was required. At the same time, the speed of the solution is also important - as they say, briefly and in fact. We named our promising site "Tomna-Lonyar". The main useful components on it were noted: phosphorus, niobium, tantalum and rare metals of the yttrium group. I have never had such problems in my practice, so it was doubly interesting for me to work on the assignment." 

The pandemic has made its own adjustments to the event. As you know, all the stages, except the final one, were held in an online format. 

"Unfortunately, we were unable to communicate with the participants of other teams due to the remote format of the event and the intense work in the finals. But I would like to note that the level of training of specialists in our field is very high now. And the CASE-IN championship confirms this once again. There are a lot of talented guys with out-of-the-box thinking involved here. The thirst for new knowledge and the desire to solve similar problems (but in practice) after participating in such events increase", - Igor shares. 

The start of a successful career

This year, 17 leading Russian enterprises became partners of the championship. The organizers admit that there are many examples when the "CASE-IN" championship was the start of a successful career and a job. 

The championship is organized by the Reliable Shift Foundation, ANO Russia – Land of Opportunities, the Non-profit Partnership Youth Forum of Mining Leaders and AstraLogica LLC.  

Artem Korolev, Founder and Co-chairman of the CASE-IN Organizing Committee, Director of the Reliable Change Foundation He tells me"This year, 134 teams reached the finals, which also participated in previous seasons of the championship. This is a real desire to win, a manifestation of willpower, endurance, which CASE-IN develops. The participants overcame a lot of difficulties before reaching the finals: artificial, indicated by the rules of the championship, epidemiological, personal. Regardless of the outcome of the decisive test, the contestants will return home as CASE-IN heroes who have acquired new knowledge, strengthened their competencies and are ready for new great achievements." 

Tomsk is an annual participant in the championship, and it is not the first time that Tomsk students have won the status of winners and prize-winners of the competition. Graduate of TPU, and now specialist of the 1st category of the electrical modes service of the Branch of JSC "SO UES" Krasnoyarsk RDU Julia Pitko participated in the "CASE-IN" five times. And in 2020, she took silver with the Tomsk Machines team. Yulia admits that the project of the presidential platform "Russia – the land of opportunities" became a great experience for her, helped her to master skills that were useful in her future work.  

"The main thing is never to give up, set goals and go towards them. Failures must be taken with fortitude, because that's the only way we learn.", – the girl advises the future participants. 

Energy of education

During the final, the participating universities of the championship are awarded special awards "Energy of Education" for organizing the best qualifying stage of the "CASE-IN" in universities. This year, for the sixth time, the National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University received it. One of the Elena Vorontsova, the organizer of the qualifying stage of the championship at Tomsk Polytechnic University It holds the championship for the seventh time. In addition, Elena participates as a moderator and organizer in the qualifying stages of other cities.  

"CASE-IN is one of the events that benefits absolutely all participants: organizers, moderators, students, as well as experts who evaluate solutions., – Tomichka comments. – The highlight of this championship is the engineering case. This has never happened in Russia before. Business cases are usually used, but here is an engineering case with a task to be solved. This is a practice-oriented event and the company's partners receive practically ready-made personnel. Employers can look at the guys, their abilities and invite them to work."  

The main season of the CASE-IN championship has been completed, but the engineering competitions in 2021 will not stop there. The Autumn Cup will start very soon, the final of which will traditionally bring together talented and young people. 

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