Digital rails for petrochemicals

The qualifying stage of the VII International Engineering Championship "CASE-IN" was held at the flagship Tolyatti State University (TSU). The participants of the Petrochemistry student league defended projects on digitalization of real production. The winner of the stage was the TSU freshman team, which will compete in the finals of the championship in Moscow.

The International Engineering CASE-IN Championship is a system of competitions for solving engineering cases among schoolchildren, students and young specialists in the fields of fuel and energy and mineral resources complexes. The championship is held in 57 universities in Russia and the CIS. During the qualifying stages of 2019, more than 7,000 future and young engineers solve engineering cases on a single topic "Digital Transformation". This is currently one of the priority topics for the Russian and global economies.

The cases in the field of Petrochemistry for the participants from TSU were developed with the participation of experts from PJSC SIBUR Holding and devoted to the work of LLC SIBUR Tobolsk and JSC Voronezhsintezkauchuk. The young petrochemists had to analyze the production processes at these enterprises and identify key areas of digitalization in accordance with the digital transformation program of PJSC SIBUR Holding. Also, at the initiative of the title partner of the championship, Transneftenergo LLC, a question on energy saving and energy efficiency was included in each case.

The participants were given only 10 days to complete the task, after which all 8 teams gathered in front of the expert committee in the business center of the TSU research department. Before the start of the stage, all the participants were greeted by the Vice-rector for Academic Affairs of Tolyatti State University Elmira Baboshina:

– The holding of this championship within the walls of our university is not an accident at all, but quite a pattern. TSU has been implementing a new educational model for more than 2 years, providing project and practical training for our students. In 2 years, students of 1-2 courses have implemented more than 360 projects within the framework of the project session, more than 200 semester projects. Senior students participate in the work of professional design centers, 6 of them have already been created at our university, including the Center for Medicinal Chemistry at the Institute of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering. Dear participants, I wish you today to show your leadership skills and put your knowledge into practice.

The expert commission included employees of SIBUR Tolyatti LLC and representatives of the TSU faculty:

Konstantin Vasiliev – Head of the Department of Economics and Finance, SIBUR Togliatti LLC

Olga Grigorieva – Associate Professor of the Department of Chemistry, Chemical Processes and Technologies at TSU

Sergey Sokov – Assistant Professor of the Department of Chemistry, Chemical Processes and Technologies at TSU

Irina Tsvetkova – Associate Professor of the Department of Chemistry, Chemical Processes and Technologies at TSU

The teams were allowed 6 minutes for the presentation, after which the members of the commission asked questions about the project, and then evaluated it on a five-point system.

The third place was taken by the Petrochemistry – Our Future team. 2nd year students of the TSU Institute of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering presented a project for a unified system for monitoring and technological repair of equipment based on cloud technologies. The third-year students from the Shoguns team became the second. To reduce energy consumption and increase production efficiency, they suggested using a neural network.

But all of them were surpassed by the first-year students from the Fanfics team. They solved their case using predictive analytics services. Data mining includes statistical modeling, studying historical experience, and planning results based on the models obtained. This method makes it possible to reduce the costs of the SIBUR Tobolsk enterprise for repairs and maintenance, predicting accidents and equipment malfunctions. The students not only presented their project, but also brilliantly defended it, answering questions from experts, which earned them top marks. Now the guys will have to compete in the finals of the CASE-IN engineering championship, which will be held in Moscow on May 30-31.

– A storm of emotions and a very useful experience, first of all, the experience of critical thinking and teamwork, – the captain of the Fanfics team shared his impressions immediately after the victory Andrey Kudinov. – At first glance, the case seemed simple to us, but when we started working, we started consulting with teachers, we realized that this is a rather complicated thing, and to solve it, we need to try very hard.

All 8 projects presented at the championship by students of Tolyatti State University are quite viable and can be implemented. I'm sure of it Olga Maslova, a representative of the organizing committee of the International Engineering Championship "CASE-IN", which was the host of the Togliatti qualifying stage:

– There is no right or wrong solution to the challenges that enterprises face today. Especially when it comes to digitalization. This is very important for our country now. Therefore, the main thing for the participants is "CASE IN" It is the ability to defend one's point of view, to present any project. And if you believe in this project, if you invest in it, then it can be implemented.

It should be recalled that the priority national project "Digital Economy" was launched in Russia not so long ago. As part of its implementation, the Samara Region has formed five passports, one of which – "Personnel for the Digital Economy" – is the most important, including for Tolyatti State University. The task of the flagship university is to train specialists with the most modern competencies, primarily specialists in the field of IT technologies.

– In order to make a successful career, it is necessary to improve yourself every day. And such tournaments allow you to do at least 2 things., – says the Director of the TSU Institute of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering Pavel Melnikov. – First, when a case appears and you need to solve a problem that you don't have enough knowledge for, you have to dive into information sources, communicate with professionals, that is, gain new knowledge. And the second important point. Many discoveries and important breakthroughs are now taking place at the intersection of interdisciplinarities. In other words, students learn not only to improve themselves, but also to communicate in order to propose more effective, profitable strategies for business development or projects. It is at this juncture that what moves humanity forward is born.

Head of Isoprene Production at SIBUR Tolyatti LLC Yuri Markov:

– Taking into account the growth trends, our company is interested in young talented specialists, therefore "CASE IN" This is one of those contests that allows you to identify talented young people. That is, those young people who are interested in science are ready to prove themselves in solving non-standard situations in the form of presented cases. In general, the mechanism of this competition is quite effective just in order to establish a link between the university and the employer.

It is worth noting that the rector of Tolyatti State University is responsible for organizing and holding the qualifying stage of the International Engineering Championship "CASE IN" in Tolyatti. Mikhail Krishtal I received a letter of thanks from the Deputy Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation.

A source: Tolyatti State University