The Sustainable Future of Russia Platform for Young Professionals has been operating since 2011 and over the past five years it has turned from the competition of students’ works into a federal system of selection and development of young talents. So far, the Platform has supported over 170 projects with more than 2.5 thousand people from 67 regions of Russia having taken part in its events. ACIG and RANEPA are organizers of the Sustainable Future of Russia Platform, while its partners include such top Russian and international companies as Unilever, SAP, HeadHunter, X5 Retail Group and others.

The problem of systematic work with talented young people is rather acute in Russia today. Labor market survey conducted by ACIG in December 2015 revealed a considerable gap between employers’ expectations and the level of university graduates’ education. The platform brings together businesses, authorities, Russian educational institutions and is aimed to bridge this gap. This can be first of all achieved with the help of a practice-oriented approach and involving young people in project and research activities. The Platform’s experts and partners believe that the created system in the best possible way meets the objectives of young talents’ competence development.   

“Social skills are acquired in practice and one of the educational algorithms implies involvement in the process”, Veniamin Kaganov, Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Russia said speaking at the Ceremony of awarding the Platform winners that took place within the framework of the Gaidar Forum in January 2016. “Young and a little older people should join forces to attain a certain socially important goal. The Sustainable Future of Russia Platform is one and maybe even the best of such stories”.

The Platform’s unique technologies ensure integrated development of students and graduates’ potential creating favorable conditions for the implementation of their initiatives and professional growth. The annual cycle of the Platform’s work is based on the methodology that incorporates a model of key competencies sought after by employers.

At the initial stage participants suggest ideas for projects dedicated to relevant themes approved by the Platform organizers and partners. Experts evaluate participants’ key competencies and ideas related to each theme and select the best ten of them. Selected young people are granted access to the educational program designed to develop professional knowledge, leadership and personal skills, as well as value targets. At the second stage, participants finalize ideas transforming them into ready projects. The three best authors and project teams in each category reach the final stage at which they have to defend their work personally before the Platform’s Expert Panel. The winners are conferred education grants and receive offers for probation and employment with the largest employers that are partners of the Platform.

 In 2016, the Platform proposes to participants a number of themes concerned with the most crucial aspects of the country’s strategic development. These include implementation of the lean production concept in Russia, legislative regulation of sustainable development, human potential as a national resource and the state policy factor. Organizers expect participants not only to analyze the existing situation, but also to suggest practical solutions. Young talents willing to win the competition shall present viable models envisaging positive changes and efficient resolution of problems to be assessed by experts.

Applications for participation in the Platform can be submitted until May 10. Within this period young talents with initiatives on the suggested themes can register at www.future-rf.ru or present their ideas during on-site regional selective activities to take place in Russia’s largest cities including Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Sevastopol, Rostov-on-Don, Tula, Kazan, Tomsk, Krasnoyarsk, Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk and Vladivostok. Each of the events will feature educational interactive programs, simulation games, discussions and the possibility to present a project in person and receive helpful recommendations from experts. A detailed schedule of regional selection activities will be posted at the website of the Sustainable Future of Russia Platform for Young Professionals.

You can address your questions to organizers and find out the details of the Platform’s work at tel. +7 (495) 280-01-50 ext. 3227 (Natalya Tagayeva, event producer) and e-mail: future@future-rf.ru