Miory Regional Executive Committee
A conference was held at the BELTA Press Center on the topic"The industrial sector is the foundation of the country's strategic development and technological sovereignty. The "Leaders of Industry of the Republic of Belarus" competition is a platform for identifying and promoting innovations."
The launch ofthe IIIRepublican Competition for the Award for Achievements in Industrial Technologies and Management "Leaders of Industry of the Republic of Belarus - 2025" was announced.
New opportunities that the competition opens up for further promotion of advanced experience of domestic industrial enterprises,growth points and prospects for the development of Belarus's industrial potential – these and other relevant issues were discussed by participants within the framework of the conference.
"Leaders of Industry" Competition: preliminary results and innovations
About the results of the competitive project and the opportunities it provides to participants, Tatiana Sakhanovich, Deputy Chairman of the Expert Council of the Competition, Head of the Department of Engineering Economics of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the Belarusian National Technical University, spoke.
She noted that the "Leaders of Industry" competition has been held since 2023, and its popularity has grown significantly over the first two years. If in 2023, 29 enterprises participated in the selection process, then a year later the number of participants increased to 52 and 62 awards were granted.
- Experts not only evaluated the materials submitted to the competition but also visited many enterprises in person. It was highly valuable to see with one's own eyes how the projects we evaluate within the framework of the competition were being implemented, and to ask questions directly to the developers.
Tatiana Sakhanovich explained that the competition categories are divided into groups: "Enterprise of the Year", "Project of the Year", "Product of the Year", and "Equipment of the Year". This year, winners will be selected in various industries: machine building, energy, light industry, machine building, electronics industry, chemical, food, processing industries, etc.
In assessing the potential of competition participants – to identify innovations across various industrial sectors, representatives of domestic science will be engaged more actively. For the first time, following the competition, alongside traditional evaluations and decisions on awarding winners, experts will prepare a ranking of innovations that have received approval within the competition framework.
The technological foundation embedded in the competition submissions themselves is highly important, she emphasized.
In 2025, the expert panel is being expanded, with more active engagement of specialized experts from various industries. Areas such as chemistry, light industry, industrial design, marketing, foreign economic activity, and others will be strengthened.
A key innovation this year is the introduction of an expert consultation system during the application preparation stage, which will help applicants more accurately determine what they can submit to the competition. Furthermore, specialized experts will be assigned to each application if the main expert panel lacks specialists with the required profile.
"Organizing professional competitions helps synchronize efforts, set industry trends, and promote the work and achievements of leaders across various sectors," she concluded.
The competition is open to all interested participants, with 14 applications already submitted.
Among the first registered competitors are: JSC "Vitebskie Kovry", JSC "Krasnoselskstroymaterialy", LLC "MVT", State Enterprise "Vitebskoblgaz", JSC "Mogilev Meat Processing Plant", JSC "Management Company of the Beloruskie Oboi Holding" branch "Dobrush Paper Mill 'Hero of Labor'", JSC "Belsolod", Polimir Plant of JSC "Naftan", JSC "Grodno Mechanical Plant".
All other companies may submit their applications until April 14. The competition results will be announced at the end of May.
On May 20, the Second Business Conference "Industrial Complex of the Republic of Belarus: Innovations, Import Independence, Effective Management" will be held in Minsk, followed by the award ceremony for the competition winners on May 21.
What Helps Light Industry Ensure National Security
Irina Shvaikova, acting director of the Light Industry Research Center, competition expert, emphasized that the light industry plays a significant role in ensuring the country's social security. The area of responsibility of light industry enterprises includes, among other things, meeting the domestic market's needs for clothing, footwear, and textile products.
"Domestic light industry enterprises continue along the established course, actively modernizing and technically upgrading their production facilities while focusing on the automation and robotics of processes," the light industry representative said.
Among them, the speaker noted the Baranovichi Production Cotton Association, Belvest Factory, and the Orsha Flax Combine, where robotic complexes and automated lines are being implemented.
Irina Shvaikova emphasized that light industry enterprises successfully participate in the republican competition "Leaders of Industry" while setting specific goals for themselves: presenting new production developments and analyzing them.
How corporate science influences industrial development
Oleg Elovoy, deputy General Director for Scientific Work and Innovation at the Joint Institute of Mechanical Engineering of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, stated that the final catalog of competition winners indicates that there is much to showcase, and it is encouraging that these achievements are formed through the interaction between manufacturers and corporate academic science.
"If you do not support your own science, you fund someone else's economy," O. Elovoy emphasized, stating a well-known truth.
"Corporate science is a concept that, in principle, takes shape at factories and production facilities. And it is precisely from corporate science that sectoral science is formed," he explained.
The institute representative noted that all domestic manufacturers are focused on implementing innovations: MAZ, MTZ, Gomselmash, Belkommunmash. In particular, the Institute of Mechanical Engineering, together with BelAZ, has developed an unmanned version of a quarry dump truck.
"BelAZ specialists and personnel who service equipment directly at the quarry monitor operations in real time and evaluate actual resource life," shared Oleg Elovoy. This is how collaboration should function. Only then will there be something to showcase at the competition.
The Floor Goes to the Grand Prix Winner of the Competition
The Grand Prix winner of the "Leaders of Industry of the Republic of Belarus – 2024" competition was recognized as JSC "INTEGRAL" – the holding company's management company. Deputy General Director for Quality Alexey Tsivako believes that the development of any enterprise is a continuous process. It must be constant.
"We must keep pace with the times, implement new technologies, upgrade equipment, and produce in-demand, high-quality products. That is the path to success. In 2025, INTEGRAL will participate in the competition. We have plenty to showcase in several categories," concluded A. Tsivako.
Which Personnel Are Capable of Ensuring the Development of Enterprises and Industries
Andrey Safonov, First Vice-Rector of the Belarusian National Technical University, Chairman of the Competition's Supervisory Board, spoke about the interaction between higher education institutions and industrial enterprises in training highly professional engineering personnel.
The representative of the education sector highlighted three components that enable industry to serve as the foundation for the country's strategic development.
First, the presence of proprietary advanced technological production facilities and active design developments. Second, viable academic science, which serves as the engine of progress in industry. Third, the educational component, which enables the training of highly professional personnel.
The quality of our domestic product, its competitiveness, strategic development, and the technological progress of the country directly depend on the quality of engineer training. What mechanisms does he see for solving the tasks of high-quality engineering personnel preparation?
-First of all, the establishment of branches – departments at leading enterprises, under which leading specialists of these enterprises, utilizing the enterprises' material and technical base, are directly involved in the educational process. This enables us to jointly train specialists, so to speak, for specific cases and the practical tasks of actual manufacturers.
The second aspect related to addressing the task of improving the quality of personnel training, according to Andrey Safonov, is the development of targeted enrollment and training. Over the past two years at BSTU, there has been very significant growth and demand for this type of training.
Emphasizing the importance of joint work with enterprises on personnel training, Andrey Safonov noted that as one of the criteria for evaluating any enterprise applying for the competition in the "Enterprise of the Year" nomination category, the quality of its collaboration with the university will also be assessed.
Registration of applications from enterprises for participation began on January 13 and will continue until April 14, 2025.
The conference "Industrial Complex of the Republic of Belarus: Innovations, Import Independence, Effective Management" will take place on May 20, 2025.
Awards ceremony for winners - May 21, 2025.
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