PNRPU team told about participation in the case championships

Marina Alexandrova, captain of the BERGBAU team, multiple finalists of the CASE-IN championship from Perm Polytechnic University, shared her experience in solving student engineering case championships.

How long have you been participating in such events? What results have you achieved during this time?

I have been participating in case championships for 4 years now. During this time, my team and I became All-Russian finalists of the Student Mining League 3 times.

Tell me, what are the tasks themselves?

The meaning of the tasks is that there is a specific task, usually resulting from some problem at a particular mining enterprise. For example, it is necessary to optimize the extraction of ore and at the same time reduce economic costs. The decision takes some time, about 10-14 days. After that, the solution is protected. The tasks are drawn up by the organizer of the championship himself or by the organizer's partners, who are large mining enterprises.

What criteria are used to evaluate solutions?

The technology itself, the novelty of the proposed solution, economic efficiency, team performance and presentation, as well as answers to questions are evaluated.

How is the solution protected?

Defenses mostly take place face-to-face in front of the expert committee and other teams, sometimes the presence of spectators is allowed. Although, in connection with the pandemic, the practice of remote video protection has begun. The teams prepare presentations in advance based on their achievements. A certain amount of time is allocated for the presentation of each solution, about 7-10 minutes. After the presentation, the commission asks questions about the decision. The task of the defense is to confidently present your solution, uncover the problem and propose the most rational ways to solve it, convince experts and competently answer questions.

What does participation in such championships mean?

The first is that you develop a quality such as out-of-the–box thinking, the second is that you learn about the current problems of current industries, gain new knowledge in your specialty, and the third is that you learn to speak in public and present your solutions, since it is difficult to imagine a modern engineer without this soft skill.

Do such events take place at your university?

PNRPU annually serves as a venue for such case studies and championships. In addition to the All-Russian competitions, regional cases are also held at various conferences. This is not surprising, the mining industry is highly developed in the region. There were cases when teams came to us from other regions in order to participate. All this is a great opportunity for every student to test their strength, as well as gain new experience and improve their skills.

What, in your opinion, would improve such championships?

The most important thing is the competence of the commission members. I would like the jury to always include either the authors of the case or people working in this industry who are close to the topic of the case and who know the specifics and problems of the specific production referred to in the assignment. It is also possible, in my opinion, to improve the quality of feedback. It is important to understand your weaknesses and strengths after the performance. When you perform on your own, it's not always clear where it was good and where you need to work more carefully. This applies both to the proposed solution and to the performance of the team itself, how it holds up.

What are your suggestions for beginner teams?

First of all, don't be shy and don't be afraid. Be more interested, discuss and ask questions to teachers, undergraduates, other participants, and production staff. Be able to defend your decisions, no matter how unusual they may be!

A source:  Machines and mechanisms