"St. Elmo's Lights" were "lit" at the qualifying stage of the "CASE-IN" in Ivanovo

Undergraduates of the Ivanovo State Power Engineering University named after V.I. Lenin (IGEU), studying in specialized programs of the System Operator, became the winners of the qualifying stage of the Student League of the International Engineering Championship "CASE-IN" in the field of "Electric Power Industry".

The system operator, the partner of the championship, has been participating in the development of cases in the Electric Power Industry area for the ninth year in a row, and representatives of the UES are part of the expert commissions for the qualifying games, semi–finals and finals of the competitions. A leading expert joined the expert committee of the Student League selection stage at IGEU Representative offices of JSC SO UES in the Ivanovo region Yuri Kutumov.

12 teams took part in the fight for a ticket to the semi-finals, which presented their solutions to the engineering case "Technological leadership in the electric grid sector". For the qualifying stage, the System Operator has developed a case study on the development of the Unified Energy System of Siberia. The students had to develop a program for the modernization of energy facilities in the context of import substitution of equipment and the use of domestic innovative technologies.

Andrey Murzin, Dean of the IGEU Faculty of Electric Power Engineering, in his welcoming speech to the participants, experts and guests of the championship, noted the relevance of wider implementation of domestic innovative technologies in the electric grid complex.: "The Russian electric power industry currently needs to be updated, primarily on a mental level. It is necessary to realize that in the current situation there is no alternative to the use of domestic technologies. And this important idea needs to be conveyed to our students, in which the solution of the tasks outlined in the proposed case can effectively help.".

The winner of the stage was the team "Lights of St. Elmo", which included 1st year undergraduates of IGEU Lilia Vlasova, Peter Pokrovsky, Maxim Fokin and Ekaterina Yagodka. The students are enrolled in a two-year specialist training program for JSC "System Operator of the Unified Energy System". Lilia Vlasova and Peter Pokrovsky took part in the championship last year and reached the finals as part of their team.

The representative of the System Operator in the expert commission, Yuri Kutumov, has been included in the pool of experts of the championship for the third season. According to his observations, "CASE-IN" helps the participants of the championship to structure their knowledge and teaches them to apply it in practice.

 "First of all, solving the case allows student participants to learn how to analyze information in the source data, as well as in the data they received as a result of the search, draw the necessary conclusions, and form a methodology for solving a particular problem. Secondly, the proposed case study is primarily an educational product that allows students to gain insight into current trends in the Russian electric power industry, the properties and characteristics of the UES of Russia, thereby going beyond the basic educational program. Third, defending the case solution allows participants to practice their skills in public speaking and answering questions. And finally, it is an opportunity for students to receive feedback from the experts of the jury ‒ representatives of IGEU and leading industry corporations.", – said Yuri Kutumov.

He noted that the "CASE-IN" is also useful for industry experts: the championship provides an opportunity to get to know the younger generation, their thoughts, touch their inextinguishable energy, create continuity between experts of the older generation, expert youth and university student participants.

"For me personally, this is also an opportunity to see how the participants of the IGEU championship, many of whom I meet at lectures, seminars and laboratory classes, apply their knowledge when solving a case assignment. After all, sometimes it is important to give feedback not only in class or exam, but also beyond them.", – added Yuri Kutumov.

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