League of Young Professionals CASE-IN: results of the final qualifying stage

The final finalists of the League of Young Specialists of the International Engineering CASE-IN Championship have been determined. Employees of PJSC ROSSETI MES of the North-West and PJSC Nizhnekamskneftekhim, which presented innovative solutions to the case, will compete for victory with their colleagues from the largest industrial companies in Russia at the decisive competition.

This year's League of Young Professionals is dedicated to the topic "Technologies of the Future". As part of the final qualifying stage in the field of Digital Solutions and the introduction of new technologies, 13 teams developed adaptive, secure and cost-effective systems of measures to implement a digital business model that will be sustainable in the long term.

The final decisions of the expert commission, consisting of representatives of companies and relevant organizations, were remotely presented by employees of the Branches of JSC "System Operator of the Unified Energy System" ODU of the North-West and Khakasskoye RDU, Branch of PJSC "Rosseti" MES of the North-West, PJSC "Slavneft – Megionneftegaz", PJSC "Nizhnekamskneftekhim", LLC "Energoset", LLC IC PhosAgro, LLC Gazpromneft - CR, LLC Gazpromneft-Energoservice, JSC Zarubezhneft, LLC RN-Vankor, LLC Siberian Generating Company and LLC Bystrinskoye GRK.

The Energy of the North team (a branch of PJSC ROSSETI of the Ministry of Energy of the North-West) was recognized as the champion of the qualifying stage: young specialists Artemy Koptelov (captain), Ekaterina Lobanova, Roman Pavlov and Svetlana Egorova will represent their employer in the final CASE-IN.

The participants noted that they were able to make it to the finals thanks to well-coordinated teamwork, enthusiasm and zeal for high results. "When developing the solution, we moved towards innovative diagnostics of 220 kV power lines using high-frequency noise. The pilot project is being implemented at our company's real site in the Far North," the team captain said about the decision. Artemy Koptelov. – The main benefit of the proposed solution is to increase the reliability of the energy system, efficiency and environmental friendliness of the project."

At the championship, the company's employees were able to hone their communication skills, learn how to visualize information, think outside the box, work in a limited time and remain stress-resistant in different situations. "The skills acquired here will be useful not only in carrying out work processes, but also in everyday life," they are sure.

The "Challenge Accepted" team was recognized as the silver medalist and the winner of the second ticket to the finals. Roman Huseynov (captain), Daria Kaledzhi, Karot Avetisyan and Karina Grakhova, employees of PJSC Nizhnekamskneftekhim, presented a project on predictive equipment diagnostics.

 "We have developed an intelligent system that automatically calculates the operating hours of equipment based on sensor data without human intervention," the team captain revealed the nuances of the development. Roman Huseynov. – Previously, this data was entered manually and often contained errors, which caused repairs to be skipped and accidents to occur. Our system predicts when the unit may fail and creates a repair request in advance. The benefit to society is that the risk of man-made accidents is reduced, harmful emissions into the atmosphere are reduced, and enterprises operate more stable and safer."

The key success factor was the synergy of the participants' competencies. "Each participant was clearly responsible for their own area: strategic analysis, industry expertise, economics and project management. We didn't just assign roles, but worked in constant contact, testing each other's hypotheses," Roman said.

In their debut season at the championship, young specialists learned how to structure large amounts of information into a coherent solution in a short period of time, and also gained experience in public defense and answering acute questions from experts.

They see the main effect of the competition in the acquired skills of processing theoretical knowledge into a real and working project: "We have gone through the full cycle: from problem analysis to a ready-to-defend model, and this is an invaluable experience. The participation also gave a powerful impetus to professional growth: we became more confident in our expertise, learned how to convey ideas to management and experts. And this will certainly have an impact on our career – the competencies acquired here are in demand in any high-tech company."

 From the final, the specialists of PJSC Nizhnekamskneftekhim expect a meaningful dialogue with industry experts to further refine the solution. "We want to establish ourselves as a team that is able to solve complex production tasks at the intersection of data, economics and ecology. And, of course, to establish professional contacts for future projects." – Roman Huseynov shared his expectations.

At the final of the CASE-IN championship, which will be held on May 20-22, 2026 in Moscow, specialists from leading Russian companies will not only present their final solutions to experts, but will also be able to strengthen professional contacts and participate in interactive events.

The winners and prize-winners of the League of Young Professionals will be included in the managerial personnel reserve of companies, as well as invitations to industry youth educational forums.

The organizers of the CASE-IN championship are the Reliable Shift Foundation, the Non-profit Partnership Youth Forum of Mining Leaders and AstraLogica LLC. The project is being implemented as part of the Science to Win initiative and the Plan for the Decade of Science and Technology in Russia (2022-2031).