Champions and prize-winners have been determined in the fifth Special league "Energiya".

6 youth teams of leading energy companies became the winners Special league "Energy" The International Engineering Championship "CASE-IN", part of the the Russia – the Land of Opportunities platform. All participants of the competition gained valuable experience in cross-functional interaction and solving complex cases, and the champions will be able to participate in the League of Young Specialists of the Autumn Cup "CASE-IN".

The fifth anniversary Special League was organized by the All-Russian Industrial Association of Employers of Energy Suppliers (RaPE Union), the Reliable Shift Charitable Foundation and the organizing Committee of the CASE-IN International Engineering Championship.

11 companies delegated cross-functional teams to participate in the competition: Mosenergo PJSC, TGC-1 PJSC, Rusatom Infrastructure Solutions JSC, Novosibirsk branch of Siberian Generating Company LLC, Altai branch of Siberian Generating Company LLC, Krasnoyarsk branch of Siberian Generating Company LLC,Baikal Energy Company, PJSC MOEK, PJSC OGK-2, PJSC TGK-14 and PJSC T Plus.

The overall theme of the XI season of the CASE-IN championship, "Technological Leadership," was worked on by 19 teams, which included both experienced specialists and talented industry youth. While solving cases in engineering or environmental areas, the participants developed projects to improve production activities and eliminate environmental problems.

When working on projects, the teams used specialized software. "CASE-IN Simulator", with the help of which information and methodological materials, a case and appendices to it were used, as well as final versions of solutions were uploaded.

The team's developments were evaluated by experts, representatives of the league's partner companies, government, public and scientific organizations.

In solving an engineering case 12 teams competed. On the instructions of the organizers, the participants proposed a comprehensive design solution to increase the level of automation and digitalization of processes in power plants and heating networks based on import substitution and import conservation mechanisms.

Chairman of the Expert Commission, Associate Professor of the Department of Power Supply of Mining and Industrial Enterprises of Kuzbass State Technical University Vyacheslav Voronin noted: "The teams demonstrated interesting and diverse solutions, which affected almost all modern trends of digitalization in the energy sector: automation, artificial intelligence system, robotic complexes, etc. A number of proposed solutions have already been put into operation or are at the final stage. I would like to believe that all the developments presented at the competition will be put into practice or will serve as a starting point for launching measures to modernize the energy complex."

The first place was taken by the NeAtom team, representing the Branch of Quadra JSC – Belgorod Generation. Svyatoslav Naidenko (captain), Sergey Khomutov, Viktor Belokon and Sergey Kovtunov received a ticket to the Special Energy League thanks to their victory in the case championship among young employees of Rusatom Infrastructure Solutions JSC in May 2023.

«This year, for the first time, we solved problems in the case format and were able to win twice in a row in large-scale projects., - the captain of the team shares his emotions Svyatoslav Naidenko. – The victory in the Special League opened the way for us to join the League of Young Specialists of the Autumn Cup Championship."CASE-IN».  We are waiting for interesting tasks from the competition and want to see the diverse solutions of the rivals. Of course, our goal is to win and gain invaluable experience."

At the Special League, the winners exchanged their experience and knowledge in various fields with colleagues from other companies, mastered teamwork and public speaking skills, and learned how to identify their strengths.

"While solving the case, we conducted a detailed analysis of the current level of automation and digitalization of the main technological processes (generation, transmission, conversion and consumption of heat and electricity) and identified priority areas for the modernization of the Belgorod CHPP., - Svyatoslav Naidenko spoke about the work on the project. – We also analyzed the best Russian and foreign practices in the field of automation and digitalization. The final stage was a comprehensive solution that eliminates the influence of the human factor on technological processes and includes import substitution mechanisms. An important aspect of our solution is the innovation management model based on the concept of a Lean Smart approach."

 The silver medal was awarded to the "Innovators" from Mosenergo PJSC: Egor Leonov (captain), Ilya Koshover, Pavel Yurov and Anton Smirnov.

The Siberian Generation team took the third place - employees of the Altai branch of Siberian Generating Company LLC Igor Malkov (captain), Evgeny Yerdakov, Ivan Serebryakov and Olga Lapina.

"The solution that we have prepared allows us to use proven statistical analysis methods in the context of modern digital technologies to reduce losses on the networks of central heating points. – explains the captain of the bronze medalists Igor Malkov. – In our opinion, projects in the field of digitalization currently lack the final part – there is a voluminous array of data (big data) at the output, the further processing of which is entrusted to humans. Our solution (using an algorithm for analyzing hot water consumption, which makes it possible to quickly identify leaks on networks) helps to eliminate the human factor with its inherent errors and cognitive distortions to some extent and simplify the work of specialists who will operate with a large amount of data."

The strengths of the team are calmness, confidence, optimism, as well as high efficiency of all participants.

"We were thinking in the same vein, we didn't spend a lot of time arguing and discussing, but just got the job done., - Igor Malkov continues. – Such competitions are always primarily about sharing experiences with other participants, getting information about the current state of the energy, industrial and manufacturing sectors in educational blocks. We have updated our knowledge of the best available technologies and practiced developing and presenting our own projects."

Success in the Special League will be a good addition to the portfolio, employees of the Altai branch of Siberian Generating Company LLC are confident.

"I think that all the project participants, having processed such voluminous material in a short time, have trained their cognitive abilities, which will have the best effect on personal development, pumping hard and soft skills. We thank the organizers for the development opportunities provided." – emphasized Igor Malkov.

In the ecological direction 7 teams offered solutions to reduce the environmental impact of power plants and heating networks by improving the environmental friendliness of technological processes and eliminating the influence of the human factor to ensure technological leadership.

The results of the competition were summed up by the chairman of the expert commission, a leading analyst of the Reliable Shift Foundation, a member of the CASE-IN Hall of Fame, a senior lecturer at the Department of Electric Power Engineering and Electrical Engineering of Tomsk Polytechnic University. Vladislav Grechushnikov.

"The comments received at the pre-defense, most teams have taken into account and finalized their decisions. The guys were well prepared for the performances, it was interesting to listen to them. Of course, many projects require detailed work, but these are already promising ideas for the industry. I will be glad to see the new developments of the contestants." – he noted.

The winner was the team of Mosenergo PJSC "Carbon Footprint". The debutants of the Special League "Energia" Timur Alimov (captain), Anna Savchenko, Vladislav Bitney and Oleg Sigitov at the end of 2023 will defend the honor of the company in the finals of the Autumn Cup of the championship "CASE-IN".

The champions tried not to focus on solving one specific problem, thought big and applied future technologies in their development.

"Our solution involves the implementation of a set of measures that can significantly improve the environmental situation of the facility and bring profit., - the captain of the team told about the development Timur Alimov. –  We did not focus on just one solution, because we believe that the problem of ecology should be approached from several sides at once. All our activities are aimed at existing problem areas: nitrogen oxide emissions, noise pollution, personnel errors leading to environmental disasters. At the same time, one of the proposed activities must necessarily bring constant profit."

At the competition, the contestants learned to think creatively, were able to show their leadership skills, improved teamwork skills, and also met interesting and kindred spirits. In their opinion, the Special League is a useful experience for employees of industry companies, which most employers can appreciate.

The second place went to the team of PJSC "MOEK" under the name "Teplosphere". Participants: Andrey Sidorenko (captain), Irina Pechatkina, Yaroslav Karpikov and Anna Strakhova.          

The bronze medals were won by ambitious employees of PJSC TGC-14 Larisa Ivanova (captain), Vladimir Batirov, Bator Tubchinov, Nikolai Berezovsky from the Baigaali team.

During the championship, team captains in each direction were also involved in evaluating decisions, which resulted in a final rating. special nomination "Breakthrough solution". The Molotov Cocktail team (PJSC T Plus) became the winner in the engineering field, and Baigaali (PJSC TGK–14) became the winner in the environmental field.

At the Special Energy League, participants not only got involved in solving real production tasks, but also mastered valuable professional competencies and received advice for further development during lectures on case studies, interactive trainings aimed at developing communication skills and improving teamwork. The winner in the educational block The Teplosphere team (PJSC MOEK) is recognized.

The participants also showed their abilities during the online games on the topic "Occupational safety and industrial safety". Mariana Sizova from the Ecologini team (JSC RIR) was recognized as the most erudite and resourceful.

The winners in each field will be invited to participate in the League of Young Professionals of the Autumn Cup of the International Engineering Championship "CASE-IN". The champions and prize-winners of the competition will be awarded with diplomas and will have the opportunity to implement their developments.