Practical session "Youth for Sustainable Future" takes place on the platform of the 11th Krasnoyarsk Economic Forum
On February 27, 2014 within the framework of the Krasnoyarsk Economic Forum 2014, the practice session "Youth for the Sustainable Future" took place as part of the youth platform "Generation 2020". The moderators of the event were Board member of ACIG Group of Companies, Director of the Contest of Research and Project Works of Students and Post-Graduates "Young Professionals for Sustainable Future of Russia" Aleksei Shipov and Head of External Social Programs of the Public Sector Practice of ACIG Elena Ivanova will act as moderators of the event.
The session program consisted of two organization blocks. The first part was constituted by the presentation of the global project "Sustainable Future of Russia" - area for youth ideas and projects.
Opening the session work, Aleksei Shipov greeted the event participants and told about the role of the youth in the country’s sustainable development. Using the example of the figures of the last Olympic Games in Sochi, the expert stressed the importance of such criteria as the pride for the country’s achievements and the patriotism which are to be the basis for implementing socially significant initiatives.
During the presentation of the project "Sustainable Future of Russia" - area for youth ideas and projects, Aleksei Shipov described in details the idea of creating an organizational and management structure and the global platform. "The principles of sustainable development are based on improving economic, social and implementation of the best practices in the field of environmental protection. Socially responsible companies take measures conducive to the effective and operative solution of the current and future challenges of the country’s modernization. These companies adopt lean management, care for the environment and development of the social sector," said Aleksei Shipov. The expert believes that young professionals should promote these values. "The principles of sustainable development are being actively incorporated into the educational programs of the leading universities due to the demand for this direction," stressed the expert.
Aleksei Shipov also noted that apart from that, such principles should be incorporated into the schools’ educational system. Implementation of the sustainable development global model can be carried out by joint efforts of the representatives of the government, business community and academia to support talented professionals.
Within the framework of the presentation, the Director of the Contest of Research and Project Works of Students and Post-Graduates "Young Professionals for Sustainable Future of Russia" defined the key goals and objectives of the global socially significant initiative. The annual contest is focused on closing the gap between the expectations of the responsible employers and competences of the young leaders.
The second part of the event was dedicated to the regional selection of the Contest participants. This dialogue format between the representatives of the young people and experts within the framework of the Contest’s selection tour was used for the first time. "We assess the prospects of the student projects and their possible contribution to the development of the country. The Krasnoyarsk Economic Forum has become a starting point for the regional selection. We select the best ideas and suggest to have them developed. To make these initiatives interesting for the potential employers, the developers need to have professional knowledge, as well as management and leadership skills," said Aleksei Shipov. Participation in the Contest provides undergraduate and graduate students with a unique opportunity to obtain the necessary competencies to promote their research and project works further.
The expect jurors were Anton Chuklin, Deputy Executive Director of the Association of Innovative Regions of Russia (AIRR), Aleksei Meleshin, General Director of StartUp-TV and Member of the Sectoral Council for Training of Qualified Personnel in Microelectronics and IT Sector, Oleg Kondratenko, Chairman of the Student Council of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Aleksei Shipov and Elena Ivanova.
In his opening remarks Chuklin Anton spoke about the importance of support of the best regional practices, including in the education sector, by the AIRR. "Over the three years, ever since the AIRR has been founded, it has been actively supporting the Contest and attracted the participants from the member regions of the Association.
Every year the Contest is expanding. Today it is a strong platform, which implements initiatives of the RF constituent entities and helps the businesses to solve the problem of shortage of qualified personnel," said Anton Chuklin, adding that the format of the students’ and experts’ open communications an effective tool for facilitating professional and personal development of young professionals. Aleksei Meleshihin in his speech spoke about the specifics of the StartUp-TV resource - the information partner of the "Young Professionals for the Sustainable Future of Russia" and thanked the organizers for the opportunity to participate in the selection of regional projects, as well as provide useful advice for the novice developers.
During the practical session, the participants submitted the ideas of their research and project works to the jury.
So the young professionals presented to the leading industry experts the trenchless technology for repairs of oil and gas pipelines, a project to create a unique interactive object aimed at enhancing tourism attractiveness of the Krasnoyarsk Krai, an author's methodology for assessing the corrosion resistance of steel and the industrial equipment reliability prediction, a project in the field of dynamic inspection of buildings and structures by standing-wave analysis and a social initiative for establishing a resource center – consolidated "bank" of grants and contests taking place on the territory of the city of Krasnoyarsk.
After the break, the regional selection continued in the format of individual consultations with the experts, during which the students and postgraduates had an opportunity to talk about the proposed initiatives in more details and to gather in interest groups to improve the quality of their projects and adjust their implementation plans. According to the results of the practical session, over 40 young leaders from five regions of the Russian Federation received valuable advice from the expert jury on their ideas’ development.
The jury members commented on good preparation of the students in general and high chances of those whose projects are focused on agricultural development, talent management and study of the macroeconomic situation in Russia to become participants of the unique educational program.
The application deadline to participate in the Contest is May 31, 2014. The results of the selection will be posted on the official website of the global platform "Sustainable Future of Russia".
The organizers of the Contest of Research and Project Works of Students and Post-Graduates "Young Professionals for Sustainable Future of Russia" are ACIG Group of Companies and the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration. Unilever is the general partner of the Contest; the Association of Innovation Regions of Russia is the Contest’s partner.