How Nizhnekamskneftekhim brings students of Russia's technical universities together

Future petrochemicals on the same site

Forum participants immediately plunged into the stunning atmosphere of the holiday as they entered the territory of Yunost children's health camp. The guests were met by working youth of the enterprise. Camp counsellors helped to accommodate, answered questions, accompanied during excursions and events.

“It is very pleasant that we can also help our guests in some way, direct them, suggest them, and tell them more about our company, the advantages of working there, social guarantees, and working conditions. I hope that students will be interested in Nizhnekamskneftekhim and will come to work with us," said counsellor Gulia Valiullina.

About 200 people from different parts of Russia came to The Future Belongs To Us youth forum. Most of them are students of 14 educational institutions from Nizhnekamsk, Kazan, Naberezhnye Chelny, Chelyabinsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Ufa, Samara, Yoshkar-Ola, Sterlitamak and Moscow. On the first day, they had a rich programme — a trip to one of the largest petrochemical complexes in Europe.

“When our institute offered to go to Nizhnekamsk, visit Nizhnekamskneftekhim, I agreed without hesitation. I have heard a lot about this enterprise, I wanted to see it firsthand," said Tatyana Shcherbakova, a student of the Kazan National Research Technological University (KNRTU) from Kazan.

“I am glad that today I can be here, among the students of the leading universities of the petrochemical industry, to visit a large enterprise such as Nizhnekamskneftekhim. The forum is also new acquaintances, impressions, everything is so great, I did not expect that we would be so warmly welcomed. They treated us with food and organized comic contests," Yekaterina Tarasova, a student of the South Ural State University from Chelyabinsk, shared her emotions.

“We want to see what conditions are offered to us, get acquainted, learn new knowledge. We are considering different options for employment, this year we are finishing our studies and will decide where we will go to work," said Irina Ivanova, a student at KNRTU from Kazan.

Safety first

Before entering the industrial facilities of Nizhnekamskneftekhim PJSC, young people were given introductory safety instructions, put on special clothing and armed with personal protective equipment. Then they went to the production facilities of Nizhnekamskneftekhim. By the way, the students did not get bored on the road, professional guides worked on the buses, who told in detail about the history of the city.

The future petrochemists visited Synthetic Rubber Plant, Plastic Plant, Butyl Rubber Plant, and biological treatment facilities. Here, the forum participants were able to clearly see the production from the inside, ask troubling questions to the management. At Butyl Rubber Plant, young people not only saw the technological chain of manufacturing butyl rubber, but also felt it with their hands.

“I have come to the forum for new knowledge, I heard a lot about Nizhnekamskneftekhim, I wanted to see how everything is arranged here, it is not always possible to visit a chemical production facility. I liked everything, I do not rule out the possibility that I will return here as an employee," Tatyana Skvortsova, a student of the Kazan federal University from Naberezhnye Chelny, said inspired by the tour.

No less impressive was the trip to the biological treatment facilities. The unique nature protection facility meets the most advanced technologies, all urban and industrial wastewater flows here, and the treatment efficiency reaches 98%.

“Mechanical cleaning is small. To be honest, I imagined it differently," admitted Ilnaz Sagdeev, a last-year student at KNRTU. “I always thought that the treatment plants occupied a large area. And here everything is compact. The main thing is that the cleaning stage is very high. Everything was explained in detail, in a very interesting way.

On the way back to Yunost children's camp, the participants of the youth forum got acquainted with the main sights of Nizhnekamsk. At the end of the tour, the students met at the intellectual game Quiz Time. The first day of the forum ended with a meeting with the guest of honour — famous blogger, showman, and founder of a stand-up club in Kazan, Artur Shamgunov.

Heated discussions and unusual master classes

The second day was no less eventful for the forum participants. It began with “chemical” exercise in the fresh air. Charged with positive emotions, the young people went to a meeting with a popular Russian presenter, correspondent of the program Evening Urgant, Vladimir Markoni. The appearance of the famous showman caused a flurry of applause in the hall. The host lit up the audience from the first minute.

“I am here for a reason. Do you want to know why I'm here?" Markoni asked the students, and answered immediately. “If you remove some of the letters from my first and last name and add some, you will get the word Nizhnekamsk.

The young people appreciated the joke, and loud laughter rang out in the hall. On that cheerful note, the host invited the guests of honour to the stage of the event: First Deputy Director General — Chief Engineer of Nizhnekamskneftekhim PJSC Irek Aglyamov, Deputy Director General -Commercial Director of the company Timur Shigabutdinov, Deputy Director General for Personnel and Social Issues Rodion Bulashov, Chairman of the Trade Union organization of Nizhnekamskneftekhim Fanis Murtazin, head of the Youth Affairs Department of the Executive Committee of the Nizhnekamsk Municipal District Aygul Aitova.

Irek Aglyamov took the floor first. He told about the history of Nizhnekamskneftekhim, products manufactured at the enterprise, sales markets, as well as about the workforce, thanks to which it is possible to achieve high results.

“Nizhnekamskneftekhim employs more than 15,000 people, slightly less than half of them are young people under 35 years of age. At all times, young people remain the most progressive part of society and are its driving force. Thanks to the maximalism of young people, the wildest dreams and projects are realized. We called our forum The Future Belongs To Us. The future belongs to you — smart, hard-working, bold, active, creative people who want to make the world a better and safer place!” Irek Aglyamov said with joy.

On behalf of the head of the Nizhnekamsk Municipal District, Mayor of Nizhnekamsk Aydar Metshin, Aygul Aitova, head of the Department for Youth Affairs of the Nizhnekamsk Municipal District, spoke on stage. She conveyed greetings from the Nizhnekamsk authorities to the forum participants and words of gratitude to the company's management for its large-scale organization.

“I am sure that this forum, organized by Nizhnekamskneftekhim, will be your starting point. He will attract you to work for us in the city, in this company. You saw the day before how beautiful and clean city it is. Our city-forming enterprise employs the best minds in the city. You'll like it here," she said confidently.

When the guests took their seats on the stage, a heated discussion began. Young people spoke on a variety of topics: about the pros and cons of living in small cities, the advantages of working at large enterprises, the level of wages, and the scientific potential of Nizhnekamskneftekhim PJSC. Video questions were also received from Tatarstan honored artist Elmira Kalimullina, stand-up comedian Artur Shamgunov, and host Timur Raga. By the way, they all come from Nizhnekamsk and made their first steps to success in this city.

Participants of the forum, however, as well as the management of Nizhnekamskneftekhim, entered into a lively dialogue, put forward arguments, and defended their point of view. Speaking about the prospects for career growth at Nizhnekamskneftekhim, company's chief engineer Irek Aglyamov noted that he started his career as a fourth-class apparatchik at the age of 18 immediately after graduation. Rodion Bulashov, in turn, said that his career began with the position of a part-time worker. He is sure that everyone can climb the career ladder, the main thing is to have the desire and hard work.

“We succeeded”

In total, during the forum, students received dozens of questions, and each received a detailed answer. At the end of the discussion, the managers of Nizhnekamskneftekhim PJSC thanked the young people for their active life position and invited them to try their hand at the petrochemical enterprise.

“Today was a great opportunity to communicate with young people, find out what they think, what they care about, answer their questions, and we did it," said Timur Shigabutdinov, the commercial director of Nizhnekamskneftekhim PJSC, in a conversation with a correspondent of Realnoe Vremya. “The cadres decide everything. Similar events for the company are very important. There are a lot of rumours, stories about petrochemicals, about production, that it has some negative factors, and there is a lot to do with the environment. One of our tasks is to explain and show that this is not the case. It is necessary that young people themselves see the picture, our company, how you can work here, what prospects there are, how the social package works, what sports and leisure activities there are. And to show what your favourite city of Nizhnekamsk is like.

“It's nice to be at such an event. You see the eyes of the young people, there is interest in them. We need to continue the tradition, and we will look at the effect. Maybe they will decide to come or tell their friends and acquaintances. They receive communication, see our production, show themselves, the very atmosphere of the holiday and our moderators help them to open up and not be shy, there are hundreds of raised hands to any question raised. I would like to see this sparkle in the eyes never fade," Irek Aglyamov, chief engineer at Nizhnekamskneftekhim, shared his impressions of the forum.

After the discussion, many more pleasant surprises awaited the students. Young people took part in various master classes, where they learned to perform in public, to act, to pass an interview, to make leather bracelets, cocktails, to promote a YouTube channel and many more. The programme of this day continued with a concert of famous Kazan cover groups Progulschiki and Doratti.

Surprises don't end there

The final third day of the youth forum was no less memorable. A real racing car of TAIFmotorsport team, a bus of Neftekhimik football club, and the mascot of Neftekhimik hockey club — the wolf cub and the cosmonaut, symbolizing the flights of the future, entered the camp.

Sports starts were held on the same day. The best student teams won prizes and gifts. The most active participants of the forum were awarded iPhone 11 Pro, Apple Watch, and EarPods.

The three-day holiday marathon ended with the final flashmob and video shooting.

“For about 6 months, we were discussing how everything would be organised, discussed and planned. The path from an idea to execution is usually long, we managed to do it in the shortest possible time, we did it perfectly. We chose this format for a reason. We wanted young people to be able to meet, make friends, communicate, exchange their opinions and impressions, talk to the leadership of Nizhnekamskneftekhim, and ask any questions. We tried our best to answer all of them. We invited students from all over Russia for a reason because Nizhnekamskneftekhim PJSC is a global company that seeks to enter international markets. We want to see the best graduates of specialized Russian universities in the Nizhnekamsk petrochemical cluster," said Rodion Bulashov, the deputy director general for personnel and social affairs.

He noted that they have already received several offers of cooperation.

“We've agreed with representatives of the Ufa State Oil Technical University that our delegation will go to Ufa on March 19. The anniversary oil and gas forum will be held there. We will communicate and exchange experience. A delegation from Ufa will also come to us, and a number of graduates will be in our walls in the near future," he said with some pride, summing up the first results of the large-scale forum The Future Belongs To Us.

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