First Stage of the PMCup Championship Begins at SUSU

The opening ceremony of the 11th Championship in Project Management among 10th-11th-form pupils within the Chelyabinsk Region Governor’s PMCup was held in the beginning of February 2020.

On that day, the SUSU Sigma auditorium gladly hosted teachers and upperclassmen of schools from Chelyabinsk and the Chelyabinsk Region. As per tradition, the geography of the participants spanned the whole region: Chelyabinsk, Miass, Zlatoust, Karabash, Kyshtym, Ozyorsk, Snezhinsk, Tryokhgorny, Kopeysk, Magnitogorsk, and other cities.

The gathering was opened by Professor of the Department of Industrial Economics and Project Management, the long-time head of the PMCup Championship, Leonid Bayev. He spoke about the changes that occurred over the last year. This year, the championship has gained new partners: the Ministry of Economic Development of the Chelyabinsk Region and the Ministry of Industry, New Technologies, and Natural Resources of the Chelyabinsk Region. In addition, this year, 9th-form school pupils will also be allowed to join the competition. In addition, the attendees gained the opportunity to earn additional points by answering questions from the organizers.

The participants of the championship were welcomed by Marina Potapova, Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs, who wished all of the pupils good luck in creating their projects:

“I’m very glad that the championship is opening today, February 4th, in particular, because it is exactly on this date that one of the grandest and most advanced projects was launched. On February 4, 2004, Mark Zuckerberg created and launched his unbelievable startup, and this was a student project! I wish you all the same successes; be daring, creative, and do not be afraid to change our society and our life.”

The Deputy Minister of Education for the Chelyabinsk Region Elena Sidorchuk noted that the Championship is prepared to accept a huge number of participants from all over the Chelyabinsk Region:

“It is of course very difficult to produce a good idea, but I’m sure that the brain storming sessions will definitely help you. And I hope that the projects that we see in the final will be significant for society and important for the Chelyabinsk Region.”

Director of the Foundation for Industrial Development of the Chelyabinsk Region Sergey Kazakov expressed his interest in the future workers who will sprout from such championships and make their contributions to the development of industry:

“The championship can be a social elevator for us; the skills of project management are invaluable and increase your worth with future employers. We are developing industry; not just at Mechel and Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works, we also have a number of modern businesses, the creators of which also went through the project management school in their time and are using what they were taught at SUSU in their work today. This is a unique opportunity, use it, and we are waiting for you in the business world.”

The First Deputy Chairman of the Board of Sberbank for the Chelyabinsk Region Vladimir Antonov noted that there are no losers in this championship, because the experience gained by its participants is invaluable:

“We are entering this project with the SUSU team for the 11th time. In the championship, we will have winners, but I dare say that there will definitely be no losers, and the knowledge and skills that you gain during the various stages of this championship will absolutely be beneficial for you in your future studies and in life.”

It is worth noting that the PMCup project does not stand static; with each year, new participants are joining, and graduates are growing and developing, creating their own projects and solving important issues. Let us not forget about the work of the teachers and mentors who traverse this whole path with their students. Elena Nagornova, who teaches technology at School No.108, Tryokhgorniy, came to the championship with two teams:

“Our students earn great skills in both project management and in the ability to communicate with one another. My daughter also participated in the championship in previous years, this year she enrolled at a branch of MEPhI, and asked me to send her regards to SUSU. After all, the skills that she earned here over her three years of participating have been successfully applied in project management in her career in the mass sector.”

Natalia Dzenzelyuk, Head of the Department of Industrial Economics and Project Management, spoke about the structure of the championship and the stages which await the participants. Afterwards, the organizers held a small lecture on project-based approaches to work, setting goals, and the correct choice of goals, after which the winners of one of the championships demonstrated their “Green Farm” project for growing strawberries, which immediately drew questions from the crowd.

“I decided to participate because my friends told me about the prospects of taking part in it and about the experience they gained. So I came here with a certain amount of knowledge. In the Chelyabinsk Region we have the Kamenny Tsvetok (Stone Flower) hotel, they want to relaunch this business, and we decided to create a SPA there,” shared Viktoriya Boykova, student of School No.108, Tryokhgorniy.

Besides gaining unique experience in the creation and development of projects, the winners of the championship and their mentors can expect monetary prizes for the 1st-3rd places, as well as bonus points in the Unified State Examination (EGE) when applying for the university. So, the winning team will earn 10 points towards their overall EGE score, and second and third places — 8 and 6 points, respectively.

At this time, applications are being accepted to participate in the championship. Applications are accepted until February 26th.

You can watch video from the championship in the VK group.