The final student stage of the International Construction Championship was held at Moscow State University of Civil Engineering with the support of Russia’s leading industry organizations, including the Ministry of Construction of the Russian Federation, the Rosatom State Corporation, PAO “Gazprom”, and Russian Railways (RZD). The competition took the form of a Student League for Fire Protection Systems Design, bringing together 211 students from 26 leading universities across Russia and neighbouring countries. Fifty participants advanced to the final round.
South Ural State University was represented by Dmitrii Matiukhov, Valeriia Menshikova (group П-458), Marat Iusupov (group П-359), and Alyona Khnychkova (group П-558), students of the Department of Life Safety specializing in Fire Safety and Technosphere Safety (Master’s Degree programme in Fire Safety). During preparation for the competition, the SUSU team had rapidly mastered new professional competencies in the design, mathematical and documentation support for fire protection systems of buildings. The participants had been guided by Mikhail Babkin, Associate Professor at the Department of Life Safety. Practical application of the newly acquired knowledge had been made possible through cooperation with OOO “Rubezh” (the city of Saratov), a design and construction company and an industrial partner of the department. This well-established integration of education and industry had enabled the students to prepare for a real-world professional task: calculating, designing, and developing project documentation for fire protection systems based on provided building drawings.
In the Championship final, the SUSU team completed and presented a solution to a new professional challenge in just three hours (half of the allotted six-hour time limit). The high quality of their work secured their first place in the team standings.
In the individual competition, Alyona Khnychkova (group П-558) received a special award “For the Will to Win”.
The students demonstrated the high quality of education provided at SUSU and successfully represented the scientific, educational, and industry-oriented traditions of the Department of Life Safety, outperforming teams from many of the leading universities participating in the International Championship. The university warmly congratulates the students and faculty members of the Department of Life Safety on this outstanding achievement.
Championship winners and prize-winners received monetary certificates from the organizers, as well as job offers from leading Russian companies specializing in the design of fire protection systems for civil and industrial construction projects. South Ural State University was also awarded a separate certificate worth 300,000 roubles.
The competition also highlighted a broader issue: the shortage of qualified fire safety professionals in regional organizations, as well as in related emergency response and supervisory agencies, has become a nationwide concern. The student stage of the Championship demonstrated employers’ growing awareness of the acute demand for highly qualified fire safety specialists with design, research, organizational, and managerial competencies. In this regard, the founders of the Championship and specialized regional organizations expressed hope that the Department of Life Safety at SUSU will continue expanding its efforts to accept students and provide them with high-quality education in the 20.05.01 “Fire Safety” Specialist degree programme and the 20.04.01 “Technosphere Safety” Master’s degree programme (Master’s degree programme in Fire Safety).