“A state can only create the necessary conditions. “I am a Professional” creates these conditions like every other project of the “Russia – the country of opportunities” independent nonprofit organization. These projects are often referred to as social elevators. But to catch a ride with such an elevator, you must first get in and press the button at the very least, and you have to do it yourself. I recommend everyone in this room and those who are watching this on TV or the Internet to go to the competition’s webpage and press the registration button,” adressed Sergey Kiriyenko those attending the opening ceremony.
Alexey Komissarov, CEO of the “Russia – the country of opportunities” independent nonprofit organization, greeted students and colleagues underlining the competition’s significance among other projects of the organization.
“It’s our third launch of the “I am a Professional” competition”, he noted. “And I can surely say that it is one of the most sought-after projects of our organization. If we added up the number of applications we’d received over these two years, we would get a number over 800,000. Thousands of students became winners and hundreds won medals. The most important thing, however, is that these young people have found themselves, have found new opportunities, new scientific fields, some of them have completed their internships and are now working in top-tier companies. It is a priority for us to support our participants even after the end of the competition. One of the ways to do it is through our mentorship program that was launched in December 2018. It was created for those taking part in our projects and competitions. Now the finalists and winners of our key project, “Leaders of Russia”, serve as mentors, but we want you, students taking part in “I am a Professional” to become mentors for younger people, for those who are still at school. I wish you a victory in our competition, I wish you to never give up and strive for success.”
In the 2019-2020 academic year, the contest includes dozens of disciplines from Medicine and Health Care to Computer Science and Engineering. The list of disciplines is updated every year. At the official closing ceremony Valeria Kasamara, head of the “I am a Professional” competition, reported on the way the competition had changed over the years.
“Today we are opening the third season of the competition. It is a landmark for us, we already have experience but there is still a lot left to do. Over these two years, more than 5,500 people became winners of the competition. Some of them have changed their career paths, some of them have found a job, some of them took a sharp turn in their lives. Having taken last season’s demands into account, we added new disciplines this year. Now there are 68 of them. I hope that these and other improvements will attract even more participants, helping them to demonstrate their professional skills,” shared Valeria Kasamara.
The number of organizing universities has increased reaching the striking 26 (there were only 11 back in the first season). This year, “I am a Professional” intensifies their career track, offering young people more opportunities for growth, which is why the number of partnering companies has tripled compared to the first season with over 300 organizations supporting the competition this year. Aleksandr Shokhin, the RSPP president elaborated on this achievement.
“The organizers effectively collaborate with top-tier Russian companies, including Russian Agricultural Bank, ROSATOM and TMK. The RSPP participates in this development. This year, the partnering companies have already sent our certificates over 700 internship offers. This, however, is not their only contribution. The partners also create practice-oriented tasks and host winter schools, they do everything to give students an introduction to their future career,” says Aleksandr Shokhin.
Yaroslav Kuzminov, rector of the National Research University Higher School of Economics, discussed the unique function of the competition
“There are many ways to measure the input quality in higher education, like the UST and school competitions, but there is almost no way to measure the output quality. The main outcome of “I am a Professional” is creating an open and independent system of evaluating every university in the country, no matter where it is. These universities get a chance to establish themselves as a place that provides knowledge that is now in demand in the economy,” notes Yaroslav Kuzminov.
Last year’s winners also spoke at the opening ceremony. Their stories are a real-life example of a social elevator that made their dreams come true, giving them opportunities to pursue their studies at a high-ranking university, move to a new city or land a job at a big company.
Ksenia Chaban, a “Business Informatics” winner, moved from Orenburg to Moscow, got into Higher School of Economics and received an internship offer from Sberbank, while another winner, Nikita Popov (“Materials Science and Technologies”) got an internship at TAGMET, TMK Group. A Tomsk student, Aleskandr Andreev, became a winner in two disciplines and is now doing an internship at the Yandex Moscow office.
These stories as well as outstanding results of the competition were mentioned during the opening ceremony by representatives of the partnering companies.
Herman Gref, Chairman and CEO of Sberbank
The most important thing to be learned at a university or during such competitions, is that hard work is key. You have to constantly improve yourself. We are happy to welcome those passionate at heart and ready for a challenge.
Elena Bunina, CEO of Yandex in Russia
For over 12 years, Yandex has been conducting projects in the field of education. We improve our programs and support other educational initiatives. It is important to give students as many opportunities as possible to apply their talents. That is why we support “I am a Professional” within the framework of our “Education Initiative”. It is a good way for students to show their skills and begin a career in the field of their interest. Last year’s participants are now doing internships at our office and we would be happy to welcome new interns.
Tatiana Terentieva, HR Director of ROSATOM
Last year we were partners of only one discipline track, but this year we serve as strategic partners for seven of them. Internships and mentorships are part of ROSATOM’s story, so we invite you to join, it will be great!
Andrei Kaplunov, member of the Board of Directors of TMK
Metallurgy is a complex field for a young intern, which is the reason why companies in this industry have to work with young specialists. This year, only two students did an internship at our company. It gives food for thought, to try and understand why they don’t opt for us, to look into what we are offering to them and what we do to attract them.
Marina Borovskaya, Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of Russia, greeted the participants and underlined the importance of mentorship for young people.
I am talking to our partners, business representatives: mentorship is crucial. There are 4 million students today who already know what they need. They need professional support and experience of a mentor, who will send them down a career path.
Rectors of HSE, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Bauman Moscow State Technical University and RANEPA, the founding fathers of the competition, have also offered their advice to future participants.
Russian students will be able to sign up for the competition on the official website till November 18. The first online round of the competition begins on November 22.
Those students who successfully complete the online round and pass additional selection will be able to take part in a winter school. Winter schools are educational forums, annually bringing together talented young people from all over the country. They attend lectures and workshops of the best professors and specialists in the country. This season will include 18 winter schools in different Russian cities.
The best participants will get to the final round which will be hosted in every federal district, meaning that the participants will be able to choose the city that is the most convenient for them. The winners will be announced in spring 2020. They will receive benefits if they decide to get into Master’s and PhD programs and will also get an opportunity to become an intern at a big company. Gold medalists will also be awarded with special prizes: 200,000 rubles for the Bachelor’s track and 300,000 rubles for the Master’s track.
Press Office of the competition I Am a Professional
Translated by Catherine Zavodova
