One of the best engineers in the country works in Nizhnekamsk oil refining

Nationwide for the 24th time

For the first time nationwide, the Engineer of the Year competition was held in accordance with the decree of the government of the Russian Federation in 2001. Since then, it has become, as emphasised on the website of the organiser, the Union of Research and Development Organisations, “the largest social project implemented in Russia in order to identify and disseminate best practices and achievements of engineering personnel, the best in their field of activity”.

In 2023, more than 70 thousand specialists representing 65 regions of Russia submitted applications for participation in the competition. The jury and expert commissions, which included well-known scientists, designers, engineers, and production organisers, identified the best of the best in two rounds, according to two versions: Engineering Art of the Young and Professional Engineers.

In total, more than 400 participants became laureates of the competition in 51 nominations: 280 in the Professional Engineers version and 136 — in the Engineering Art of the Young version.

“I wish you not to stop there!”

The heads of ministries and departments, heads of regions and leading enterprises of Russia sent their greetings to the participants. A message also came from Chairperson of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Valentina Matvienko:

“Congratulations to all those who won the Engineer of the Year 2023 competition and became the winner of the Hope of Russia Award, with well-deserved recognition and I wish you not to stop there, tirelessly improve your knowledge and skills, be successful in your profession, continue to work for the benefit of Russia," her congratulatory message says.

Minister of Science and Higher Education of Russia Valery Falkov stressed:

“It is difficult to overestimate the contribution of inventors and innovators in all spheres of modern human life. Thanks to your initiatives, a breakthrough is being made in solving social issues and ensuring the technological sovereignty of the state.”

Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Economic Policy Andrey Kutepov particularly noted in his congratulation:

“I am confident that the energy, talent and dedication of the participants and laureates will be the key to the successful implementation of one of the strategic priorities of our country's state policy — Strategy of Scientific and Technological Development of the Russian Federation.”

Competition is supported by the regions and the government of Russia

This has been repeatedly emphasised by the organisers of the Engineer of the Year. Tatarstan has held its own Engineer of the Year competition on a regular basis since 2019. Ilnar Karimov, the deputy head of the workshop for obtaining elemental sulphur of the Heavy residue Convertion Complex of TAIF-NK JSC, became one of the participants of the republican stage. He turned out to be among those who accepted congratulations already at the federal level.

“I became the winner of the competition in the version of Professional Engineers in the Chemistry and Chemical Technologies nomination (scientific and technical support). I participated in the competition for the first time. Alexey Khramov, the chief engineer of our company, recommended sending applications to both the republican and federal stages," said one of the country's best engineers in an interview with Realnoe Vremya.

As the hero himself said, when the choice arose — to get a second higher education or to improve skills in exactly the direction in which he works, he did not hesitate — he entered the graduate school of the KNRTU at the department of Processes and Equipments of Chemical Technology. A year ago, Ilnar Karimov successfully defended his PhD thesis on the topic “Improving the efficiency of industrial acid gas plants”. Specifically, we are talking about mathematical modelling of acid gas combustion. He studied on the job. New knowledge formed the basis of the rational proposals made in production. Two of them have already been implemented. The rest are still under consideration.

“My rational suggestions relate rather to the current operation of production equipment. They were partially included in the dissertation for the Candidate degree, for example, obtaining liquefied ammonia — improving the efficiency of the column, but the proposal is still under consideration in the title list of promising activities, because the project is global and requires capital expenditures," the engineer shared with the journalist of Realnoe Vremya.

All these developments formed the basis of the application package for the All-Russian competition Engineer of the Year — 2023, which were highly appreciated by the expert commission and the jury.

As Ilnar Karimov himself admitted, his work colleagues were encouraged by the news of his victory in the federal competition. And almost immediately after defending his PhD thesis, an offer was received from the Nizhnekamsk Institute of Chemical Technology to share experience and knowledge with university students. The engineer has something to tell and teach future colleagues, but…

“I'm still thinking about it: how to combine work in production and teaching. I do not plan to go completely into science," Ilnar Karimov clearly outlined his priorities for the future.