Stavropol Territory hosted the Case Championship for the first time

On March 11, 2015, the North Caucasus Federal University hosted the qualifying stage of the Electric Power Industry League of the All-Russian Fuel and Energy Case Solving Championship.

The qualifying stage was held with the support of the Stavropol Territory Administration.

The Electric Power Industry League has been included in the Championship for the first time, and more than 1,000 future power engineers from 15 leading industrial universities in Russia and Kazakhstan will take part in its competitions.

Opening the qualifying stage, Andrey Likhovid, Vice Rector for Strategic Development of NCFU, noted: "Engineering is a strategically important profession in Russia, and the future of our country depends on you, future engineers. I want to wish you bold decisions and good luck at the Championship!"

No stage of the Championship is complete without the assistance of regional authorities. The NCFU qualifying stage was held with the support of the Ministry of Energy, Industry and Communications and the Ministry of Education and Youth Policy of the Stavropol Territory.

Roman Khutoretsky, Deputy Minister of Energy, Industry and Communications of the Stavropol Territory, emphasized the practical value of the Championship.: "The championship allows you to develop various practical skills in the field of production, technological, managerial and project activities. The Championship is a significant industry platform for the selection of young people with high professional and personal potential. I wish the participants a worthy representation of NCFU at the final stage in Moscow!"

Ivan Skipersky, Head of the Youth Policy Department of the Ministry of Education and Youth Policy of the Stavropol Territory, noted the high quality of training of specialists and engineers at NCFU: "Today, the strongest students of the energy industry gathered at the qualifying stage. The championship will allow you to hone your skills and knowledge, I wish you a worthy fight and victory."

The Joint Dispatching Management of Southern Energy Systems branch of JSC SO UES has been cooperating with the North Caucasus Federal University since 2008, so the branch's support of the NCFU Championship stage has become a logical continuation of the partnership between the System Operator, NCFU and the organizer of the Championship, the Reliable Shift Foundation. Welcoming the participants of the Championship, Fyodor Mikhailenko, Advisor to the General Director of the SO UES Branch of the United Dispatching Management of Southern Energy Systems He emphasized the importance of the Championship for the training of the company's personnel reserve: "We are pleased to note that all the leading Russian energy universities are participating in the Electric Power Industry League, and more and more motivated and educated young people are joining projects with the participation of the System Operator and the Reliable Change Foundation.  The Fuel and Energy Case Solving Championship helps the System Operator evaluate and select the most promising young people who will be able to join the System Operator's team: complete an internship at the UDE of the South, take part in specialized educational programs and, over time, join the personnel reserve of the enterprise. Today, the specialists of the System Operator will participate in the jury, and I hope that we will see non-standard innovative solutions to the case and examples of well-coordinated teamwork of students. I wish you fruitful work, bright solutions, new professional meetings and success in mastering the profession of an energy engineer!"

The key advantage of the Championship is the establishment of direct links between future specialists and employers of the fuel and energy sector and the support of young engineers at the start of their professional careers.  Welcoming the students on behalf of the Stavropol Territory Regional Employers' Association Congress of Stavropol Business Circles, Vasily Travov, President of the Association, said: "The championship is a demonstration of the skills and knowledge of the younger generation of power engineers. This is an excellent form of promotion of engineering and technical education, a very important event for both the Stavropol Territory and Russia."

Alexandrina Klyus, Head of the Graduate Employment and Student Career Design Center of the NCFU Alumni and Friends Association, thanked the organizers of the Championship for creating the Electric power Industry league and noted the importance of the case study method for the professional development of future power engineers.: "We plan to develop case-solving projects at NCFU, and the Championship sets the bar high for such projects."

NCFU is participating in the Championship for the first time, but university students already have experience solving cases in the electric power industry: in the summer of 2014, NCFU students worthily represented the university at the Interregional Educational Forum "Energy of Youth", where they solved the case "Development of the energy system of the Crimean Peninsula".

At the qualifying stage of the Championship, 7 NCFU teams presented the solution to the case "Development and selection of the optimal scheme for the supply of electric power to a thermal power plant during its reconstruction."  The students' ideas were evaluated by an expert commission consisting of NCFU teachers and representatives of energy companies - the Branch of JSC SO UES "United Dispatching Management of Energy Systems of the South" and LLC "Global Energy Conservation".

 A ticket to the Championship finals was won by the Dielectrics team consisting of students from the Department of Automated Electric Power Systems and Power Supply at the NCFU Institute of Electric Power Engineering, Electronics and Nanotechnology Adam Napso (team captain), Kirill Kostyukov, Svetlana Makarova, Olga Mikhailenko.

The All-Russian Fuel and Energy Case Solving Championship is supported by the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Education and Science, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation, the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs and the Agency for Strategic Initiatives.

  The organizers of the Championship are the Reliable Shift Foundation, the Non-Profit Partnership Youth Forum of Mining Leaders and the Non-Profit Partnership Russian National Committee of the International Council for Large High Voltage Electrical Systems (RNC CIGRE).

The general partners of the Championship are: JSC Siberian Coal Energy Company, JSC System Operator of the Unified Energy System, Micromine Company, JSC MHC EuroChem, LLC Siberian Generating Company, EVRAZ Company, JSC Yuzhkuzbassugol, RUSDRAGMET Management Company.

The official partners of the Championship are the Global Energy Non-Profit Partnership, the Russian Independent Trade Union of Coal Industry Workers, Rosinformugol CJSC, the World Mining Congress, the Vernadsky State Geological Museum of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Academy of Mining Sciences, the Scientific and Technical Council of the Unified Energy System Non-Profit Partnership, the Interregional Industrial Association of Employers of Energy Suppliers and others.

The partner of the qualifying stage in NCFU is a Branch of JSC SO UES United Dispatching Management of Energy Systems of the South.

The next stage of the Electric Power Industry League will be held on March 16, 2015 in National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University.  

Stage photo