The XI season of the International Engineering Championship "CASE-IN" has been launched at TASS

On February 28, at a press conference in TASS, the X was launched.I the season of the International Engineering Championship "CASE-IN" – one of the projects of the presidential platform "Russia – The land of opportunity". The tasks for the current year and the opportunities for professional development of industry youth were discussed by the organizers, partners and participants of the championship.

"The championship is entering the new decade with great ambitions and plans. The theme of the season is extremely relevant in the new realities – this is "Technological Leadership." It is directly related to one of the most important tasks for our country. – strengthening Russia's technological sovereignty, – said the First Deputy Director General of ANO "Russia – the land of opportunities" Alexey Agafonov. – The participants of the new season will have to solve engineering cases and perform engineering and technical tasks related to artificial intelligence, computing and data transmission, robotics, and industrial technologies. Following the results of the championship, the organizers want to see a non-standard view of the problems facing the fuel and energy sector and the whole country today, a pool of innovative ideas and a willingness to put them into practice. So the choice of the main topic is justified, and we will continue to move in the direction indicated by the state.".

The number of partner universities of the championship has almost doubled in the new season: 117 universities will host the strongest participants of the championship on preferential terms.  According to Alexey Agafonov, this is a very important indicator: school graduates will be able to get an education without leaving far from home, and the regions will develop thanks to the influx of talented and motivated applicants.

Founder of the project, co-chairman of the organizing committee of the CASE-IN championship Artem Korolev He told me about significant updates and new projects within the framework of the competition: "This year we are launching the CASE-IN Academy, an online project that accumulates educational courses and career guidance programs on one platform that will help improve in the engineering professions. The CASE-IN Academy is an open project, we invite everyone to join us in replenishing the library with useful materials."

The most popular league of the championship will traditionally be the Student League. This year, participants were offered a choice of 9 industry areas: geological exploration, mining, mining machinery and equipment, metallurgy, oil and gas, petrochemistry, design engineering, thermal power engineering, electric power industry.

The partner of the "mining" directions is invariably the ALROSA company.

"The second decade of CASE-IN is not only about great responsibility and increasing commitments, but also about accumulated experience and lessons learned from past mistakes.  ALROSA is a member of it with great enthusiasm and has already prepared interesting case solutions for the participants of the "mining" areas., - explained by the Head of the Personnel Selection and Development Department of ALROSA (PJSC) Natalia Petukhova. - We hope that the contestants will focus on the latest technologies and offer promising projects for the industry. The company will be ready to continue cooperation with the participants of the championship, who possess teamwork skills and digital competencies, are able to think analytically and do not stop in their development."

Students-geologists According to the company's instructions, a method for searching for kimberlite bodies using aerial photography will be developed. Before the future mining engineers a new task has been set related to the Yubileyny quarry in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), which is already familiar to the participants of the "CASE-IN": It is necessary to offer advanced mining technologies that will ensure safe and uninterrupted operation of the quarry. The task of the participants of the direction "Mining machinery and equipment" – develop measures that will reduce the maintenance time of self-propelled vehicles and increase the efficiency of repair personnel. All solutions should include the use of IT technologies.

Direction "Electric power Industry" They are supervised by two leading industry companies – JSC "System Operator of the Unified Energy System" and JSC "Federal Grid Company – Rosseti". The system operator invited future power engineers to participate in the development of the Russian hydropower industry. Students will develop a plan for the development of Russian hydrogenation facilities in technologically isolated power systems for the coming years and for the long term. Rosseti specialists have set an equally interesting task related to the Unified Energy System of Siberia. The participants of the competition will select an electric grid facility and develop a plan for its development until 2030, taking into account the introduction of domestic innovative technologies on it.

For future specialists petrochemical industry SIBUR has commissioned Kazanorgsintez, the only polycarbonate manufacturer in Russia, to develop the company. Students will offer ideas aimed at improving the efficiency of polycarbonate production.

"SIBUR traditionally supports school and student leagues."ASE-IN"by submitting case studies, experts to the jury and inviting finalists to their production sites. This year, the cases of both leagues are dedicated to the company's enterprises in the Republic of Tatarstan. Participants will have the opportunity to explore the production facilities and the technological process of production facilities, as well as offer solutions for optimization and efficiency improvement based on the company's existing digital products., - the manager of the HR Communications and Brand Development Practice of the employer SIBUR LLC told Oksana Mustafina. - We will be waiting with interest for the decisions of the participants, because they have a fresh look and can present technologically significant ideas that are worth taking note of. In order to find ambitious, purposeful and ready for multitasking and intensive work guys who meet the requirements of the new EVP of the company at the championship, we invite HR specialists and production engineers to the qualifying stages. This synergy will allow us to objectively evaluate the participants and invite the best to become part of the company."

Referral participants "Oil and gas business" On behalf of YATEK, they will develop cost-effective technologies for the production of liquefied petroleum gases (LPG) from by-products of oil extraction and refining, gas condensate, natural gas purification and other sources at oil and gas fields in the East Siberian region. Students will also offer lucrative uses for liquefied petroleum gases.

Head of the Project Office of the Yakut Fuel and Energy Company Public Joint Stock Company Ayrat Khusainov He noted that the search and attraction of the most promising young specialists in the fuel and energy sector and the popularization of engineering and technical education are among the interests of the company.

"This year, our experts, according to tradition, are waiting for extraordinary solutions and a creative but economically sound approach. Undoubtedly, one of the challenges for the participants of this season will be the technical and technological limitations and the availability of certain engineering solutions. For us, the championship is an opportunity to look at existing tasks with fresh, young eyes and, perhaps, jointly see non–trivial solutions.  We are sure that the analysis of our proposed cases will be useful not only for YATEK, but also for the economy of the whole country"- says Airat Khusainov.

Partner of the direction "Project engineering" the company NIPIGAZ performs. Future builders and design engineers will present ideas to eliminate technical and economic barriers in design and construction activities and ensure the efficiency of facility design.

Students-metallurgists On behalf of RUSAL, import substitution mechanisms will be developed that will reduce the cost of aluminum production, ensure high product quality standards and implement ESG principles.

"Reducing the cost of production, as well as increasing independence from imported resources, will increase the production of Russian aluminum, and reducing the cost will strengthen Russia's export opportunities., - the Director of the Department of Personnel Development and Corporate Culture of RUSSIAN ALUMINUM Management JSC tells about the relevance of the case Marina Derevleva. - Aluminum is called the metal of the future for a reason! After all, it is used in almost every digital device, in construction, in the aviation and automotive industries. The areas of aluminum use can be listed for a very long time, which only confirms the importance of stable and efficient production of this metal within the industry of the whole of Russia. We expect the participants to take a comprehensive approach to analyzing the problems of the case, interesting and unconventional approaches to solving problems, and, of course, a fresh look from students who have the future."

In 2023, at the initiative of Gazprom Energoholding, the new partner of the championship, the following direction will be launched: "Thermal power engineering". The participants of the competition will tell you how to identify defective areas of thermal and mechanical equipment using modern methods and equipment.

Advisor to the Staff at the management of Gazprom Energoholding LLC Elena Rusina She said that the company's experts will take part in each qualifying stage of the competition.

"We will be able to assess the quality of the training of future specialists, invite the best of the best for an internship or internship.- Elena Rusina explained. - More than 1,500 students practice with us every year and, of course, the best become employees of the company. I am sure that the champions and prize–winners of the Teploenergetika field will be able to complete internships and internships, including paid ones, with subsequent employment at the company's enterprises, as well as receive privileges upon admission to graduate and postgraduate studies at partner universities, and, of course, there are opportunities to conclude targeted contracts."

The Metropolis company participates in the CASE-IN championship for the first time and acts as a partner of the special student league "Architecture, design and construction". The participants of the competition will be bachelor's, specialist's and master's degree students from four universities: the National Research Moscow State University of Civil Engineering, St. Petersburg University of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Kazan State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering and Nizhny Novgorod State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering.

Marketing Director of the Metropolis Company Alla Seregina She expressed hope that as a result of participating in the CASE-IN championship, the company will be able to identify talented students in order to invite them for internships and hire them.

"With the help of the championship, we want to reduce the gap between academic education and business needs, - underlined Alla Seregina. –  We are ready to invite the winning and finalist teams for internships at the company's offices in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan or Nizhny Novgorod. The internship will allow the employer and the future employee to take a closer look at each other, assess the potential for development, understand the complexity of projects, the specifics of corporate culture, and the general working atmosphere."

The Student League competitions will start on the first day of spring with qualifying stages at Magnitogorsk State Technical University named after G.I. Nosov, National Research University "MEI", Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas and Saratov State Technical University named after Yuri Gagarin.

The best youth teams of the qualifying competitions, which will be held on the basis of 60 partner universities, will receive tickets to the industry semi-finals of the championship. The winners will be determined at the final on May 30 – June 1, 2023.

School League it will unite the youngest participants of the "CASE-IN". Teams of high school students in grades 9-11 will compete in solving a case developed by SIBUR, a traditional partner of the School League.

In addition to the case for high school students, the organizers offer students interesting engineering tasks related to the development of the most modern technologies. Students in grades 3-8 will prepare projects in the form of essays, studies, presentations, and mockups. Children from grades 6-8 will make digital drawings, and young engineers from grades 9-11 will make technical devices using modeling, 3D printing, IT project and other formats.

The authors of the best works in the field of engineering and technical creativity will be named in April 2023, and the authors of the strongest case solutions will meet at the finals in May 2023.

In League of Young Professionals employees of industrial companies who have already accumulated production experience will compete. In the course of solving the case, the teams will test their experience, and the best participants will face finals in Moscow, professional and career growth.

The press conference was also attended by the champions of the CASE-IN -2021 School League, graduates of the Center for Children's Scientific and Engineering Creativity at the Kuzbass State Technical University "UniqUe", who have already become students. 

Maxim Makhankov He is studying applied computer science at Kuzbass State Technical University and plans to become a specialist in 3D design.

"Participating in the championship gave me an important skill of working in a team, and also taught me to look at any task from different points of view and not give up seemingly unsuitable solutions., - counts Maxim Makhankov.

Student of the Moscow Aviation Institute Konstantin Vorotkov He specializes in applied mathematics and computer science, and plans to complete a summer internship at Yandex and work in the field of big data.

"Thanks to the championship, we were able to visit the largest plastic recycling plant in Russia, ZapSibNeftekhim, and see with our own eyes the entire polymer processing process at SIBUR.", " He told me Konstantin Vorotkov.

"The strongest participants of the championship will receive a worthy reward, – noted Artem Korolev. – The students will be rewarded with internships and employment in partner companies of the championship, admission to postgraduate and master's degrees at partner universities on preferential terms. Schoolchildren will receive new educational opportunities: additional points for the Unified State Exam when applying to partner universities of the CASE–IN championship. Champions among young professionals will join the managerial personnel reserve of their companies and gain new career opportunities. The winners will also participate in industry youth educational forums."

The organizers of the CASE-IN championship are the Reliable Change Foundation, the Non-profit Partnership Youth Forum of Mining Leaders and AstraLogica LLC.

The project is being implemented using a grant from the President of the Russian Federation for the development of civil society.

The CASE-IN project is being implemented within the framework of the federal project "Social Elevators for Everyone" of the national project "Education".

The CASE-IN Championship is included in the initiative "The science of winning" And the plan The Decade of Science and Technology, which will be held in Russia in 2022-2031.