"Zvezda" Multidisciplinary Engineering Olympiad, held by the Russian Engineering Union with the support of South Ural State University, has set records in all key indicators in the current cycle.
In the 2024/25 academic year, 580963 schoolchildren took part in the competition (by 27% more than the year before). More than 77000 schoolchildren reached the finals, and 7639 became winners and prize winners − this makes "Zvezda" the largest non-state engineering Olympiad in our country.
"Competition for hiring the best personnel is so intense today that it starts at school. It is in schools that we begin to search for talented people and support them. With the support of Rostec, more than 200 engineering classes have been opened, the graduates of which are awaited by more than 140 partner universities of the corporation in a variety of training areas," the project initiator, Chairman of the Russian Engineering Union, Head of the State Corporation Rostec Sergey Chemezov commented the results.
He also noted that "Zvezda" Olympiad is another opportunity for schoolchildren to get involved with engineering and scientific research long before university and employment.
"Moreover, in the widest range of areas: the list of tasks includes Natural Sciences, Transport Engineering, Aviation Technology, Materials Technology, and many other areas consonant with the activities of Rostec enterprises. We are pleased that the number of Olympiad participants is growing rapidly. This indicates that engineering specialties are interesting, in demand, and captivate children. This means that industry has a future," summed up Sergey Chemezov.
The competitions were held at 202 venues in 84 regions of Russia. The top ten regions by number of participants were Rostov, Chelyabinsk, Samara, Ulyanovsk, Tula, Tambov, Penza and Voronezh regions, the Chuvash Republic and the Republic of Dagestan.
""Zvezda" Olympiad is becoming not just an intellectual competition, but a part of a new national personnel policy. It is here that our country's engineering reserve is born − motivated, prepared, with an early professional orientation. These guys already today understand why they need higher technical education and what role they are ready to play in the industrial system of Russia," said Vladimir Gutenev, First Deputy Chairman of the Russian Engineering Union, Chairman of the State Duma Committee for Industry and Trade.
He also emphasized that the Olympiad is actively developing internationally. Schoolchildren from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Mongolia, Vietnam, the Central Asian republics, South Ossetia and Georgia took part in the current cycle. In-person rounds were also held abroad.
Next season, the Olympiad will enter a phase of active modernization: increasing the level of difficulty of tasks and expanding the scope of disciplines, especially in mathematics and natural sciences, are being discussed.
Congratulations to all participants, their mentors and regional teams! Engineering sovereignty begins with motivation and systematic training. "Zvezda" Olympiad is the path to the profession of the future.
"Zvezda" Multidisciplinary Engineering Olympiad is held by the Russian Engineering Union with the aim of developing and stimulating the interest of schoolchildren in research activities and their future profession. South Ural State University is the main coordinator of the Olympiad. More than 60 leading universities in Russia, as well as key corporations of our country's defence industry complex, are involved in holding the Olympiad. Given the large contribution of "Zvezda" to the training of engineering specialists, President Vladimir Putin instructed to include the Olympiad in the co-financing plan of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation No. Пр-1344 from 2018.