Reliable Shift trains a new generation of Russian miners

The training of future miners and geologists is a responsible task, because the progressive development of the Russian mineral resource complex depends on them. The Reliable Shift Foundation has been making a great contribution to the training of a new generation of mining workers. Since 2007, it has been consistently working to provide career guidance to schoolchildren, develop the professional and personal competencies of students and young professionals, and, in general, train a new generation of Russian miners.

pupils

Starting a profession begins with career guidance. Founded in 2015, it serves this purpose. Interuniversity Academic Navigation Center for Mining and Geological specialties. The Center was established on the basis of the Vernadsky State Geological Museum of the Russian Academy of Sciences (GSM RAS) jointly with NUST MISIS, Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas and Sergo Ordzhonikidze Russian State Geological Exploration University.

The Interuniversity Academic Navigation Center for Mining and Geological Specialties has become the boiling point of career guidance initiatives for children and youth. The key initiatives are competitions for Russian schoolchildren from 1st to 11th grade.

"The museum is your home, where you can hold various youth events", " he said Yuri Malyshev, President of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, addressing the participants and experts of the First Mining Case Solving Championship in 2013.

Director of the Reliable Change Foundation Artem Korolev highlights: "We actively support the Museum's initiatives aimed at introducing children to natural sciences, the mining and geological industry, and early career guidance for young people."

students

The next stage is to work with future miners at leading Russian universities. A key project in terms of working with students – International Engineering Championship "CASE-IN", launched in 2013 The project, which has grown into an international competition system for solving engineering cases and has become the largest educational and communication platform for the youth of the Fuel and energy Complex and the MSC, began as a case-solving championship in the field of mining, in which 11 mining universities participated. Today, more than 25 universities compete in the two oldest "CASE-IN" areas – mining and geological exploration. The championship covers five leagues (School, Student, League of Young Professionals, League of Working Specialties, Special CASE-IN League) and seven industry areas: geological exploration, mining, metallurgy, oil and gas, petrochemistry, digital atom, electric power industry. Since 2013, more than 10,000 students from 55 universities from more than 35 regions of Russia, as well as CIS countries, have participated in the project.

Solving engineering cases as a way to increase the competitiveness of mining engineers was supported by the President of the Vernadsky State Geological Museum of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Yuri Malyshev: "The Russian mining industry is entering a new period of development, a period of fierce competition. The task for young specialists is to think about how to become a leader in the global energy market."

Since 2019, the CASE-IN International Engineering Championship has been one of the projects of the Presidential Platform "Russia – the Land of Opportunities", which led to a new impetus in the development of the project: for the first time, the CASE-IN Autumn Cup competitions were launched, which attracted students from more than 200 universities in all federal districts of Russia, as well as high school students of Russian schools. "Our goal is to make it possible for every student, student or young professional anywhere in Russia to join the project!"- notes the Deputy General Director of ANO "Russia is a country of opportunities" Vladislav Davankov.

Each season of the championship is united by a common theme. In 2019, digital transformation became one of the most pressing topics on the global agenda.

So, future geologists solved the case "At the dawn of innovation 2.0". They had to develop a project for geological exploration within the Zarnitsa kimberlite pipe in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). To calculate the number of stocks, the finalists used digital technologies (GIS), and then compared the results with the results of calculations obtained using classical methods. The fulfillment of this task made it possible to assess in practice the effectiveness and importance of increasing digitalization in the mining industry.

The champion of the season was the Zhilka team of the Ural State Mining University (Yekaterinburg). "Well-coordinated work, curiosity, responsibility, the desire to solve the issues raised and the ability to manage our time helped us to win., – tell the team members. – The main prize was the opportunity to complete an internship at ALROSA. The dream of being a competent engineer at a large enterprise is becoming a reality."

The participants of the Mining field solved the Diamond Valley case: the students analyzed the mining and geological conditions of the Solur Vostochnaya placer deposit of ALROSA in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) and during the final proposed the most effective mining technology using digital technologies and ensuring safe working conditions. The Granite team of Magnitogorsk State Technical University named after G.I. Nosov became the leader in this direction.

The opportunity to personally evaluate a new generation of miners, geologists, power engineers, oilmen and engineers of other profiles annually attracts the leaders of all the leading companies of the mineral resources and fuel and energy complexes of Russia to the final of the "CASE-IN".

ALROSA became a partner of the Championship for the first time, and its specialists participated in the preparation and evaluation of cases in two areas – Mining and Exploration.

"We have never regretted this decision, because we saw so many bright eyes, heard so many new ideas – the guys who worked on our cases reacted with trepidation to the tasks and felt like part of our big company. I want to invite them to practice, after that they will be able to refine their talent directly in our company."- said the Head of the Personnel Selection and Development Department at ALROSA Natalia Petukhova.

And the director of the Scientific Research Geological Enterprise of the ALROSA company Alexander Tolstov He admitted that before coming to the Championship, he perceived the term "case" ambiguously.:

"For me, as a person of the Soviet school, it was not entirely clear what this method was. However, after taking part in this event, I realized that the case method is quite progressive and allows the guys to immerse themselves in the problem. I would especially like to mention the participating teams in the "Geology" field. There is a geologist named Oleg Mikhailovich Kuvaev, who says that you and I are doomed to one thing – to work, and the work of geologists is the best doom in the world. We will definitely meet with you and cooperate outside the Championship."

Director of LLC "IBM SI Montan" Sergey Nikishichev Evaluating the performances of the finalists, he stressed that the level of performance of the teams has increased significantly this year.: "It can be assumed that this is due to the release of the rock formation from the peak and its rise. There is a chance that in 5-7 years we will not experience such a large shortage of mining specialists. Moreover, in my opinion, the mining industry is leading our country forward. There were actually a lot of strong teams. Therefore, I urge losers not to get upset – defeats make us stronger."

It is not the first year that Rosgeologiya JSC has been supporting the engineering championship. "The project is getting brighter and more interesting every year, and, of course, it gives participants opportunities for further development. We saw a lot of interesting performances in the final. I would like to thank the teachers of the universities where our future colleagues study, and the organizers of the Championship. The implementation of such projects contributes to solving important tasks related not only to the popularization of the profession, but also to the development of students' competencies that will help them enter adulthood.", – noticed Sergey Surenkov, Director of the Department of Geology of Solid Minerals of JSC Rosgeologiya.

YOUNG scientists

One of the key directions of the Reliable Change Foundation in working with youth is the reproduction of scientific and pedagogical personnel and the preservation of generational continuity in science and education. To this end, in 2014, the Academy of Mining Sciences established a system of adjuncts, a professional trajectory for young mining scientists, designed to replenish the Academy with promising scientific specialists trained in accordance with modern international standards, to popularize mining science and mining engineering education and, as a result, to form a high–quality scientific and pedagogical personnel reserve of the mining industry.

The Youth Forum of Mining Leaders and the Reliable Change Foundation promote the adjunct system in the youth and industry community and select promising participants from all over Russia during key projects for mining youth – the International Engineering CASE-IN Championship and the All-Russian Youth Scientific and Practical Forum Mining School. At least 25 CASE-IN and Mining School participants are included in the adjunct system every year.

YOUNG SPECIALISTS

The basis for working with young specialists is the All-Russian Youth Scientific and Practical Forum "Mining School", a leading communication and educational platform for young workers in the mining sector of Russia.

The Forum has been held since 2012, and more than 200 future and young miners and over 50 experts take part in it every year. The project takes place in the format of an off-site summer camp and includes practical seminars on the most pressing issues of mining with the participation of industry leaders and leading scientists; solving engineering cases; leadership development, personal effectiveness, team building, as well as sports and creative competitions.

Deputy Director of Production Operations for Personnel Management of JSC SUEK Sergey Volkov I am convinced: "Our young talented employees can prove themselves at the Mining School. Here we gather the best of the best, motivated guys, determined to succeed. Mining school is a stage of development, the starting element of moving up the career ladder".

In 2019, the Mining School was held in the Khabarovsk Territory. For four days, 135 young miners from 9 regions of Russia participated in educational, sports and creative team competitions. All the events within the framework of the forum program were united by the theme "Digitalization of the mining enterprise".

"The experience is amazing, it's great to feel like winners in such a hard fight, because we fought for every point, every 0.5 points. Of course, it's very nice that everything happened like this, we are incredibly happy and worthy of it!", the champions of the Mining School 2019, young specialists of Urgalugol JSC share their emotions. The winners of the project received a worthy award from SUEK: certificates for co-financing training under the Presidential Program for Advanced Training of Engineering Personnel.

"SUEK needs result-motivated specialists who are able to work in various conditions that are not always comfortable physically and mentally. To do this, we have created a system that allows young people to develop and grow professionally. The mining school is one of the elements of this system, it involves teamwork and getting to know the guys from other regions.", – comments Anatoly Fomin, Head of the Department of Personnel Recruitment and Development of JSC SUEK.

In 2020, the Mining School will be held in the Moscow region and will once again become a center of attraction for young, active, purposeful children who will develop the industry.

"Youth projects for future and current miners certainly play an important role in developing the competencies of the new generation. Thanks to them, young people come to the industry who are able to solve problems of varying degrees of complexity and are focused on results; they understand what the employer expects and are ready to make a real contribution to the development of the industry. This means that a truly decent shift is growing."- the director of the Reliable Change Foundation is sure Artem Korolev.

A source: Journal "Gornaya Industry" №6/2019.