The CASE-IN Championship: More than an intellectual game

The final of the VII International Engineering CASE-IN Championship, one of the projects of ANO "Russia — the land of Opportunities", took place in Moscow. For two days, 540 young specialists and future engineers from 60 regions of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan defended case solutions united by the theme "Digital Transformation". The ideas on digitalization of fuel and energy and mineral resources complexes, voiced by the youth, were noted not only by representatives of leading industry companies, but also by the relevant department.

Awarding champions, Deputy Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation Anatoly YanovskyHe stressed that every year the CASE-IN championship sets new records: the number of participants, universities and even countries is increasing. This means that the interest of the younger generation in the energy industry is growing. The Ministry of Energy, in turn, intends to continue to support the championship, because it is its graduates who will have to form a strategy for the development of the energy industry of the future.

The case studies, prepared based on materials and with the participation of specialists from industry companies, were defended in seven areas: geological exploration, mining, metallurgy, petrochemistry, oil and gas, digital atom and electric power industry. In parallel, their own competitions were held for young specialists from the fuel and energy Complex and MSK companies. The best teams received well—deserved awards - cups, medals and prizes from partners, the rest have a chance to work out the shortcomings and try their hand next year.

About the backstage life of the championship, which in the seven years of its existence has become a social elevator for talented, active and motivated youth, IA REGNUM said the founder and co-chairman of the organizing committee of the CASE-IN, director of the charity foundation "Reliable Change" Artem Korolev.

IA REGNUM : Artem Sergeyevich, how does the current championship differ from the competitions of previous years?

First of all, in 2019, CASE-IN entered the Russia — Land of Opportunities platform and now has the status of a federal project.

If we talk about innovations from the point of view of the internal mechanics of the project, the Student League, with the support of the Rosatom State Corporation, has a seventh direction — the Digital Atom. We also finally held a full-fledged League of Young Professionals: previously, we selected participants from among those who wanted to, since companies were not very familiar with the CASE-IN format, in the same year we organized five full-fledged qualifying stages by geographical area. 15 winning teams came to the finals in Moscow. In addition, we have focused on improving the quality of the regional stages: we have improved methodological recommendations, conducted training webinars for the participants of the championship. As a result, the competition between the teams has intensified, which allows us to identify the strongest and most motivated participants. On the one hand, we tried to make the mechanics of holding qualifying stages in the regions more understandable for the guys. On the other hand, the requirements for universities have been tightened — now at least eight teams must participate in competitions in each field. We also worked with the expert base. To evaluate the decisions of the teams, we invite only professionals with experience in participating in CASE—IN or similar projects.

Another innovation: since last year, all the league championships have been united by a common theme. In 2018, the participants of the CASE-IN offered ideas for the development of the Arctic, and this year the tasks of the cases were devoted to one of the most pressing topics on the global agenda — digital transformation. This topic was chosen together with the partners of the championship who participated in the preparation of the case assignments.

IA REGNUM : Considering these factors, does it turn out that the best really make it to the finals?

Definitely. The point is also that the CASE-IN project requires not only basic knowledge and willingness from the guys to immerse themselves in the topic, but also a sufficient amount of time. Some drop out at the assignment stage, while others only begin to solve the case. But there are still others — those who care about their career and the future of the industry, they want to develop, move forward and are ready to spend more than one day searching for a solution, prepare a high-quality presentation. According to our statistics, every year about 50% of the guys who participated in the championship go to the finals. Moreover, many winners of previous years are striving to win the prize again. Eg, Daria Batueva from St. Petersburg Mining, she is conquering the championship for the fourth time and this year she achieved bronze medals with her team.

IA REGNUM : How much more complicated are the tasks?

In fact, our goal is not to complicate the case, but to make it simpler and more understandable for a wide audience. This year we have gone further: now the cases of the qualifying and final stages in each area have one object of research, which allows the teams to study the topic more deeply.

IA REGNUM : Could you mention the universities whose teams consistently show high results?

Sure. One of them is St. Petersburg Mining University. In 2018, its representatives won or won prizes in several areas at once. Tomsk Polytechnic University and Ural Federal University named after the first President of Russia are also among the excellent students. Boris Yeltsin — teams from these universities regularly win in different directions.

By the way, there are interesting examples where a university that initially showed poor results has increased its competencies over the years. A good example is Tula State University, where, since the foundation of the championship, qualifying stages have been held only in the field of Mining. The university students, although they made it to the finals, did not show much success. However, the TSU team, which came to the CASE-IN finals three years ago, saw the level of its rivals and began to seriously prepare for the next season. As a result, they became silver medalists for two years in a row, and last year the gap with the leaders was minimal.

Wanting to win and winning in reality are not the same thing: every year, new tasks and new competitors await the participants of the championship, and the experience of participating in previous competitions will be a big plus in terms of behavior, presentation preparation, defense, and team positioning, but it does not guarantee victory. Therefore, students should constantly improve their knowledge and communicate more with mentors. The title of CASE-IN champion is honorable, but you will not be able to get it without doing anything.

We generate statistics every year, and universities can see their progress. In addition, each team representing a particular university is its face. It is clear that after losing at the CASE-IN, the guys can say that everyone is to blame for this except them, but there is an expert commission that evaluates the participants impartially.

IA REGNUM : At what point did you realize that the project CASE-IN — is it more than an annual competition for solving engineering cases, that it is a kind of social elevator for young people?

The starting point for us was the fourth season of the championship, when Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak came to award the winners. Then we realized that we were implementing a serious and significant project for the industry. There was an incentive to develop it. The logical continuation was the launch of two new leagues — for schoolchildren and young professionals. Today I understand that we have not created an intellectual game, but a really useful tool that helps solve a large number of tasks. In fact, we have been training personnel for the energy industry since school, helping students improve their knowledge and prove themselves during the championship, as well as meet potential employers. Even if a young man did not become a prize-winner of the CASE-IN, this does not mean that he lost: The guys coming to the finals from the regions have the opportunity to learn first-hand about the working conditions in the leading companies of the fuel and energy complex and MSK, receive an internship invitation or even a job offer. Everything depends, first of all, on them.

IA REGNUM : It is clear what motivates schoolchildren and students, and for what purpose do young professionals participate in the championship?

They are driven by excitement. They are seriously preparing for the presentation, after which they communicate with experts to find out the pros and cons of their presentation, to find out what shortcomings the commission noted.

For them, participating in the CASE-IN is a whole story. So, one of Gazprom's subsidiaries, having decided to participate in the championship, printed a banner with the inscription "Gazprom" in a CASE-IN, regularly posted information on the course of preparation on social networks, and was visible all the time. Many colleagues followed their progress.

There is no doubt that the winners of the League of Young Professionals will be awarded internally at the highest level, because, in fact, our championship is the only inter—corporate competition in the industry. Moreover, some of the teams participating in the League of Young Professionals included graduates of CASE-IN.

IA REGNUM : Are you following the future of the brightest graduates of the championship?

Rather, we're watching the guys who are with us all the time. For example, Daria Batueva from St. Petersburg Mining University made it to the finals for the fourth time in 2019. In addition, she is actively involved in our other projects. Nikita Lipnitsky from the same St. Petersburg State University, the winner of the first championship and already an employee of a consulting company, was so imbued with the idea of CASE—IN that he now prepares teams for the qualifying stages as a mentor, and came to the finals in Moscow.

IA REGNUM : According to your observations, the participants CASE-IN Are you looking to get a job in Moscow and St. Petersburg or are you ready to work in the regions?

Companies that support CASE-IN, including those participating in the Closed Career Day, usually have offices in Moscow, but they are still looking for qualified personnel for regional branches. This is a good school for children: after working in the region for two or three years and proving themselves, they have a chance to climb the career ladder and transfer to another branch. I think there's no need to rush anywhere. Moreover, no one guarantees that it will be easier for a graduate of the championship to find a job — everyone starts from the starting positions.

IA REGNUM : The championship helps to solve the problem of the lack of specialists — many of its participants and finalists get a job in their profession. The question is, will there be an excess of personnel in the future?

The Reliable Shift Foundation was established in 2007 with the global goal of training personnel for the entire electric power industry. At the same time, the company "System Operator of the Unified Energy System", which is the founder of the fund, understood that it would not be able to hire all the talented and promising young people who would be identified through competitions. Initially, the focus was on cooperation within the framework of the foundation's projects with other companies interested in personnel development. For example, the Mining business is traditionally supported by six or seven partners: companies take note not only of the winners, but also of the guys from the teams who did not become leaders. For companies cooperating with universities in terms of training specialists in specialized programs, our championship is an additional element of the search for gifted personnel, for others it is a key tool for finding specialists.

IA REGNUM : In addition to raising professional knowledge, the championship is aimed at developing so-called "soft skills" among young people (softskills). How does this happen?

Indeed, our second goal, after organizing a "social elevator" for the student league, is to develop soft skills. For example, in the framework of the current championship, I met with the finalists Oleg Braginsky — a well-known motivational speaker, founder of the School of Troublemakers or, more simply, problem solvers. Oleg has a thousand different skills that he has upgraded on his own. He told the children how to find time for self-study in such a rapid pace of life. His performance aroused great interest among the audience. I'm sure many guys will take note of the expert's recommendations.

In addition, we have started conducting online webinars to help prepare for the CASE-IN. Companies and universities often apply to the foundation with a request to conduct a webinar in the format of a master class on cases - to clearly explain how to solve them, how to prepare teams, how to make a presentation, etc. Now, with the support of ANO "Russia — the land of opportunities", we are preparing a tutorial on working with cases within the university as part of the educational process and other webinars.

IA REGNUM : During the award ceremony CASE-IN — In 2019, you stressed that the championship does not end after the final. Tell us about your plans for this year?

In the fall, we plan to launch the next wave of CASE-IN school and student league competitions, which will involve new schools, universities and regions. The Digital Transformation season will finally end with competitions for young specialists of the Fuel and energy Complex and the Moscow Energy Complex at the Youth Day of the Russian Energy Week International Forum. By the way, the most active CASE-IN finalists will be able to participate not only in the REN Youth Day, but also attend the events of the main program of the forum.

A source: IA REGNUM