Its participants stated that the remote format for presenting scientific research proved to be highly effective.
On Friday, April 17, the All-Russian Contest of Young Scientists "Current Issues in Subsoil Use" concluded. For the first time in eighteen years, due to the pandemic, it was held online, meaning that all 817 participants presented their scientific projects from their home computer screens. Their presentations were observed by another 1,500 people, including experts and external viewers.
This year, the forum featured 17 parallel sectional meetings. The most attended session among users was "Current Issues and Contradictions in the Development of Modern Society," which was included in the conference program for the first time. Over two days, it attracted 324 virtual visitors. Among the traditional categories, the most popular sessions were "Development and Operation of Oil and Gas Fields" (209 participants) and "Information and Telecommunication Technologies and Digital Transformation" (239 participants).
"We achieved a far greater effect than we expected. Thanks to our partners from Cisco, who generously provided us with the Webex platform for organizing the event, young researchers were able not only to participate in discussions but also to present their scientific research," noted Vladimir Litvinenko, Rector of the Mining University, during the closing ceremony, which also took place in a virtual space.
Commenting on the current decline in demand for hydrocarbons and other mineral resources, he emphasized that this is a temporary phenomenon. Oil and gas, after consumption levels recover, will remain the foundation of sustainable global economic development for many years to come. This means that the industry will experience an even greater demand for highly competent professionals than before.
"Over these two days of the competition, I have seen many talented young people with sharp minds and burning eyes. This is a great opportunity for them to prove themselves. But employers are just as interested in such events as students because it allows them to identify promising young specialists and invite them to our enterprises. It is today's students and graduate students who will lead the mineral resource sector forward in the future, implementing their innovative ideas and working with the most modern equipment. That is why it is very important that, even in such a challenging time, the Mining University and the UNESCO International Competence Centre for Mining Engineering Education found an effective format for engagement that allowed young researchers to showcase themselves," said Andrey Guryev, General Director of PJSC "PhosAgro," during a live broadcast.
What scientific directions are of interest to future engineers and scientists today? For example, the winner in the "Well Drilling" category, Shakhboz Kodyrov, a graduate student at South Ural State University, is developing an artificial neural network model for predicting drill string sticking—one of the most severe and costly types of accidents. His proposed project allows for the prediction of potential failures with up to 93% accuracy. Its implementation in production should enable personnel to respond to potential risks in a timely manner, preventing economic and environmental losses.
"This is my first time participating in a conference in this format. And honestly, the results exceeded my expectations several times over—I didn’t expect such productivity; everything was just fantastic. The organizing team demonstrated true professionalism, for example, by quickly and efficiently helping to resolve technical issues during the preparation for the competition. In the future, I would actually prefer to participate in online forums because this way, I won’t lose several days traveling. On one hand, of course, live communication, new acquaintances, and cultural programs are great, but on the other hand, time constraints and other circumstances don’t always allow for in-person participation in such events," shared Shakhboz Kodyrov, reflecting on the new competition format.
The jury included representatives from leading technical universities, research institutes, and major extraction and energy companies from Russia and other countries. Among them were "PhosAgro," "SIBUR Holding," SUEK, "Gazprom," Caterpillar (USA), "Schneider Electric" (France), "Orica" (Australia), and others. They noted the high level of most presentations and the strong technical elaboration of the reports.
The most victories in various categories were secured by students and graduate students from MISiS, Tyumen Industrial University, St. Petersburg Mining University, and Ufa State Petroleum Technological University. All competition laureates will have the right to publish their articles in a separate collection of the prestigious Dutch publishing house CRC-Press, indexed in the Scopus database. To do so, they must submit their articles in both Russian and English to the organizers by May 15.
Additionally, all prize winners have the opportunity to participate in the second, international stage of the forum, which will take place in June. A mandatory requirement for participation will be English proficiency at a level of at least B2 and a minimum of two published articles in journals indexed in the Scopus database.