MMK Holds R&D Conference for Young Specialists
Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works (MMK) held its 23rd annual research and development conference that helps the Company identify young experts to take part in its R&D work.
A total of more than 300 people took part in this year’s conference, according to Oleg Yezhov, Chairman of the Union of Young Metallurgists, a civic organisation based in Magnitogorsk and one of the organisers of the event. As usual, the event took place in three stages: the first stage – the qualifying round –identified the strongest candidates from MMK’s various business divisions, while the second stage, held in April, identified candidates from throughout the Company.
The open third stage brought together a near-record number of participants. 152 specialists under the age of 35 presented to an expert commission projects and developments aimed at improving metal production, solving specific technical and organisational problems, and producing competitive, high-quality products at the lowest-possible cost. Participants’ presentations spanned 11 thematic sections, including sintering and blast furnace, coke-chemical, metallurgical, rolling, energy, transport and logistics, and analytical, among others. Each section was chaired by the head of one of MMK’s departments or one of the Company’s chief specialists. The work of most of the sections took place at the Multidisciplinary College at Magnitogorsk State Technical University; the metalware section took place at MMK-METIZ, Magnitogorsk’s metalware and calibration plant.
Young specialists from St Petersburg, Nizhny Tagil, Yekaterinburg and Novokuznetsk participated in the third stage; participants from Belarus and Uzbekistan also took part, making the conference an international event. Two young specialists from the Almalyk mining and metallurgical plant, in Uzbekistan, were named the winners in two separate categories. Projects by specialists from the Belarusian Metallurgical Plant, in the city of Zhlobin, were presented in the metallurgical and rolling sections and also won prizes.
Andrey Kartunov, Chairman of the conference’s organising committee and the head of MMK’s research and development centre, took part in the award ceremony for the conference’s third stage. Prizes were given out for the best research, originality and economic impact, among others.
According to Igor Derevskov, the head of MMK’s HR Department, defending their projects at the conference is the first serious opportunity for many of the Company’s young specialists to show their expertise. Participation in these conferences helps them to become leaders and advance in their career.