RTU MIREA took part in the IV National Interuniversity Championship “Young Professionals” (WorldSkills Russia)

MIREA – Russian Technological University started participating in the IV Young Professionals National Interuniversity Championship (WorldSkills Russia). The championship was held from December 1 to 7. The organizers of the event were the Department of Entrepreneurship and Innovative Development of the City of Moscow, the Agency for Strategic Initiatives to Promote New Projects (ASI) and the Union of Young Professionals (WorldSkills Russia).

In 2020, RTU MIREA participated for the first time in the WorldSkills championship in pharmaceuticals and genetic engineering. From December 4 to 6, the University hosted the finals of the Young Professionals National Interuniversity Championship held with the support of Lomonosov Institute of Fine Chemical Technologies in the laboratories of the Altair RTU MIREA Children’s Technopark where genomic engineering specialty was presented in an exhibition format. RTU MIREA College of Instrumentation and Information Technologies has been actively participating in the WorldSkills movement since 2016. 

Stanislav Kudzh, Rector of RTU MIREA, greeted the participants in the finals of the Young Professionals Interuniversity Championship (WorldSkills Russia) online: “Today, the quality of professional training of future specialists is growing in importance, first of all, for the specialists themselves; and it will be determined by the degree of their competitiveness in the labor market. The speed of modern high technologies development requires an adequate level of personnel training which determines the need for the early introduction of new achievements, standards and tools for training of all these skills. WorldSkills Championships are the place where the most knowledgeable professionals from different countries can exchange expertise, where not only do they learn, but also create modern international standards. Thus, by preparing students for professional skills competitions, we are contributing even more to the development of special competencies and labor functions of professional standards. The quality of secondary vocational education is improving, the proportion of graduates working in their specialty tends to grow.”

The 2020 Interuniversity Championship was held in a remote face-to-face format developed by the WorldSkills Russia that was already tested this year within the framework of the national championships. This technology allowed to ensure compliance with the strict requirements of the competition, but eliminated health risks for the participants. Contestants’ performances were assessed remotely using visual control. At the same time, during the preparation for the Interuniversity Championship, the experts worked out additional formats. So, the results of the work performed by foreign participants did not need to be sent to the competition control center (NCC). They were either assessed by local experts, or an assignment was adapted in such a manner that the Russian experts could conduct the assessment online.

At the Championship RTU MIREA was represented by the Department of Biotechnology and Industrial Pharmacy, specifically, by Mikhail Nikolaevich Tereshin and Ekaterina Romanovna Mitina.

As part of the finals, the participants were requested to solve four independent modules where they had to demonstrate their research skills, namely, conducting cell seeding, planning a gene cloning experiment, analyzing samples for the presence of a target gene by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and DNA plasmid restriction analysis.

On December 8, the results of the Championship were summed up in an online format. Upon the results, Mikhail Nikolaevich Tereshin took the third place in the Planning a genetic engineering experiment module that assesses knowledge and understanding of key concepts of molecular biology, organization and operation of genes, and the essence of key methods of genetic engineering, as well as skills in working with modern bi-informatics programs and databases. 

Interuniversity-2020 has demonstrated good results. The number of participants in the Championship has almost doubled (from 497 to 738 in 2019 and 2020 respectively). 77 educational organizations of the country (in 2019 there were 72) from 39 constituent entities of Russia took part in the Championship. The participants in the competition displayed their knowledge and skills in 63 competencies (a year earlier, the competition was held in 52 competencies). 

The geography of the participating countries has grown 3 times over. Last year, 32 foreign students from nine countries took part in the Interuniversity Championship. In 2020, 130 foreign contestants from 30 countries competed in 15 competencies (out of category). 

The Championship was attended by students of such foreign universities as East Kazakhstan Technical University, Kaohsiung First National University of Science and Technology (Taiwan), Taipei National University of Technology (Taiwan), Tunku Abdul Rahman University College (Malaysia), Ch.V. Ramana (India), Universidad de Las Americas (Ecuador), Xi'an Eurasian Institute (China), Belarusian-Russian University, Francisk Skorina Gomel State University (Belarus), Federal University of Fluminense (Brazil).

The online broadcast of the Сhampionship made it possible for everyone to watch the process from anywhere in the world.

“I would like to heartily congratulate all the winners on their successful performance. The winners are not only those who received medals, but all the participants who could, due to the Сhampionship, get involved in the energy of the WorldSkills, improve their skills and demonstrate live to employers, and first of all to themselves, that the Universities really know how educate professionals (WorldSkills Russia), – said Robert Urazov, – Championships are not a stepping stone, but a launching site from which one can start a career as a qualified talented worker, entrepreneur or a teacher. I wish everyone to make the most of what you have now, so that your career would be successful. If your career is successful, then the economy of the Russian Federation will be stronger.” 

The finals of the IV Young Professionals National Interuniversity Championship (WorldSkills Russia) were organized by the Department of Entrepreneurship and Innovative Development of Moscow, the Agency for Strategic Initiatives to Promote New Projects (ASI) and the Young Professionals Union (WorldSkills Russia). The basis for the preparation and organization of the Interuniversity Championship was the agreement signed by the Young Professionals Union (WorldSkills Russia) on October 26, 2017 with the Government of Moscow and the ASI. 

The Young Professionals Interuniversity Championships (WorldSkills Russia) are designed to promote the development of professional training in the higher education system, update educational standards and training programs in higher educational institutions that meet to the maximal degree the requirements of the labor. Competitors get the opportunity to objectively assess their skills level and increase their chances of finding a job with the best employers.