Press conference at the opening of the season: Lyudmila Morshchakova, Olga Petrova, Andrey Betin, General Director of the Presidential Platform "Russia – Country of Opportunities", Artem Korolev, and TASS representative Anna Lukyanova
The 14th season of the CASE-IN International Engineering Championship, supported by the Presidential Platform "Russia – Land of Opportunities," has started. The announcement was made on 3 March at a press conference at TASS. Schoolchildren, students, and young professionals will develop effective projects to ensure the full digitalization of leading industries, implement artificial intelligence, and digital twins. The best candidates will receive preferential admissions to master's and PhD programs, additional points on the Unified State Exam, paid internships, and opportunities to launch and develop their careers.
The current season of the championship is dedicated to the theme "Technologies of the Future." Artem Korolev, founder and co-chair of the CASE-IN organizing committee, notes: "The CASE-IN Championship today is more than just a competition, but an international ecosystem for the early identification of talent and the training of professionals ready for practical work. In the new season, participants will work on solutions focused on the digitalization of key industries, the implementation of artificial intelligence, and digital twins."
The competition will be held in three leagues: school, student, and young professionals. The Student League, which has the largest number of participants, will start first. The championship opening ceremony will take place simultaneously at several universities in different cities.
The 14th season Student League includes 12 industry areas: architecture, design, construction and housing and public utilities; biotechnology; geological exploration; mining; mining machinery and equipment; metallurgy; petrochemistry; oil and gas; project engineering; thermal power engineering; digital automation; electric power engineering.
In-person selection rounds will be held at over 60 universities, with students from over 200 participating universities. The in-person selection round at the Saint Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering will take place on 26 March.
Olga Petrova, Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of Russia, noted: "Educational institutions not only facilitate the competition but also provide participants with opportunities for further education and professional development. This season, 161 universities are providing prize winners and champions of the School League with extra points towards their Unified State Exam scores, and 36 universities are offering the best participants of the Student League preferential admission to master's and PhD programs."
At SPbGASU, being a winner of the School League of the International Engineering Championship "CASE-IN" gives 5 additional points towards the results of the Unified State Exam.
Winners from previous years shared their experiences of participating in the championship. For example, Lyudmila Morschakova, the 2022 champion in the Architecture, Design, Construction, and Housing and Utilities category, works as a leading process engineer at Metropolis in St Petersburg. "Thanks to the case, participants develop skills essential for real-world project work: the ability to work in a team, publicly defend their decisions, and withstand a high pace and stress. These are the qualities that enable them to effectively solve problems when designing complex, unique projects," the young specialist admitted. "Participating in the championship was one of the key career decisions of my life. My advice to students is not to try guessing what answer the company wants to hear. There is no single right solution. Independent, well-reasoned ideas and genuine engagement are valued."
The championship is organized by the "Nadyozhnaya Smena" ("Reliable shift") Foundation, the "Russia – Land of Opportunities" Presidential Platform, the "Youth Forum of Mining Leaders" non-profit partnership, and AstraLogika LLC. The championship has been held since 2013 and brings together schoolchildren, students, and young professionals from Russia, the CIS, and BRICS countries. The project is part of the "Science of Winning" initiative and the plan for the Decade of Science and Technology in Russia (2022–2031).