The third republican competition "Leaders of Industry of the Republic of Belarus - 2025" has started in Belarus
A conference on the topic"The Industrial Sector as the Foundation for Strategic Development and Technological Sovereignty of the Country. The "Leaders of Industry of the Republic of Belarus" Competition as a Platform for Identifying and Promoting Innovations" was held at the BELTA press center.
The start of the III Republican 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 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 pressing issues were discussed by the participants within the framework of the conference.
"Leaders of Industry" Competition: First Results and Innovations
Tatyana Sakhnovich, Deputy Chairperson of the Competition's Expert Council, Head of the Department of Engineering Economics at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the Belarusian National Technical University, spoke about the results of the competition project and the opportunities it provides to participants.
She recalled that the "Leaders of Industry" competition has been held since 2023, and its popularity has significantly increased over the first two years. While 29 enterprises participated in the competitive selection in 2023, a year later the number of participants grew to 52, and 62 awards were received.
- Experts not only evaluated the materials submitted for the competition but also visited many enterprises in person. It was very valuable to see firsthand how the projects we evaluate within the competition were implemented and to ask questions to the developers.
Tatyana Sakhnovich explained that the competition nominations are divided into categories: "Enterprise of the Year," "Project of the Year," "Product of the Year," and "Technology of the Year." This year, winners will be determined in various industries: mechanical engineering, energy, light industry, electronics industry, chemical, food, processing industries, etc.
Representatives of domestic science will be more actively involved in assessing the potential of contest participants to identify innovations in various sectors of industry. For the first time, based on the results of the competition, in addition to traditional assessments and decisions on awarding prizes to the winners, experts will compile a rating of innovations approved within the framework of the competition.
- The technological basis laid in the competitive works themselves is very important, she emphasized.
In 2025, the number of experts will be expanded with more active involvement of specialized experts from various industries. The fields of chemistry, light industry, industrial design, marketing, foreign economic activity, etc., will be strengthened.
Among the innovations this year is the introduction of an expert consulting system during the application preparation process, which will help to more accurately determine what can be submitted to the competition. At the same time, special specialized experts will be selected for each application if there are no experts with the required specialization in the general team.
- Conducting professional competitions helps to synchronize efforts, set trends in industry, and popularize the work and achievements of leaders in various sectors, she summarized.
The competition has opened its doors to all interested participants - 14 applications have already been submitted.
Among the first contestants registered are: OJSC "Vitebsk Carpets", OJSC "Krasnoselskstroymaterialy", LLC "MVT", UP "Vitebskoblgaz", OJSC "Mogilev Meat Processing Plant", OJSC "Management Company of the Holding "Belarusian Wallpaper" branch "Dobrush Paper Mill "Hero of Labor", OJSC "Belsolod", "Polimir" Plant of OJSC "Naftan", OJSC "Grodno Mechanical Plant".
Until April 14, all other companies can submit their applications for participation. 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, and on May 21 - the award ceremony for the competition winners.
What helps the light industry ensure the country's security
Irina Shvaikova, Acting Director of the Center for Scientific Research of Light Industry
промышленности, эксперт конкурса, emphasized that the light industry is of great importance for ensuring the social security of the country. The area of responsibility of light industry enterprises includes, among other things, meeting the needs of the domestic market for clothing, footwear, and textile products.- Domestic light industry enterprises continue to move along the intended course, actively modernizing and technically re-equipping their production facilities and focusing on the automation and robotization of processes, - said the representative of the light industry.
Among them, the speaker noted the Baranovichi Cotton Production Association, the Belvest factory, and the Orsha Flax Mill, where robotic complexes and automated lines are being introduced.
Irina Shvaikova emphasized that light industry enterprises successfully participate in the republican competition "Industry Leaders" and at the same time set specific goals for themselves: presenting production innovations and analyzing them.
How Corporate Science Influences Industrial Development
Oleg Yelovoy, Deputy General Director for Scientific Work and Innovation of the Joint Institute of Mechanical Engineering of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, stated that the catalog of competition winners shows that we have something to present, and it is gratifying that these achievements are formed on the basis of interaction between manufacturers and corporate academic science.
- If you don't feed your science, you finance someone else's economy, - O. Yelovoy emphasized the well-known truth.
- Corporate science is a concept that, in principle, is formed in factories, in production. And it is from corporate science that industry-specific science is formed, - he explained.
The representative of the institute 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 created an unmanned version of a quarry dump truck.
- BelAZ specialists and the people who service the equipment directly in the quarry see and evaluate the real-time specific
resource, - shared Oleg Yelovoy. This is what cooperation should be like. And then there will be something to show at the competition.A word from the Grand Prix winner
The Grand Prix of the competition "Leaders of Industry of the Republic of Belarus – 2024" was awarded to OJSC "INTEGRAL" – the management company of the "INTEGRAL" holding. Alexey Tsivako, Deputy General Director for Quality, believes that the development of any enterprise is a continuous process. It must be constant.
- We must keep up with the times, introduce new technologies, update equipment, and produce in-demand and high-quality products. Then there will be success. In 2025, "Integral" will participate in the competition. We have something to show in several nominations, - concluded A. Tsivako.
What kind of personnel can ensure the development of enterprises and industries
Andrey Safonov, First Vice-Rector of the Belarusian National Technical University, Chairman of the Competition 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 allow industry to be the foundation of the country's strategic development.
Firstly, the presence of its own advanced technological production facilities and active design developments. Secondly, viable academic science, which is the engine of progress in industry. Thirdly, the educational component, which allows for the training of highly professional personnel.
The quality of our domestic product, its competitiveness, and the strategic development and technological progress of the country directly depend on the quality of engineer training. What mechanisms does he see for solving the problems of high-quality engineering personnel training?
- First of all, the development of branches – departments at leading enterprises, within which leading specialists from these enterprises, with
using the material and technical base of enterprises, are included directly in the educational process. So that together we train specialists, as is commonly said, for specific cases, for the tasks of real manufacturers.The second point, related to solving the problem of improving the quality of personnel training, according to Andrey Safronov, is the development of targeted recruitment and training. Over the past two years, BNTU has observed very significant dynamics and demand for this type of training.
Noting the importance of joint work with enterprises in personnel training, Andrey Safronov reported that the quality of interaction with universities will be one of the criteria for evaluating an enterprise applying for the "Enterprise of the Year" competition.
Registration of applications from enterprises for participation began on January 13 and will last until April 14, 2025.
The conference "Industrial Complex of the Republic of Belarus: Innovations, Import Independence, Effective Management" will be held on May 20, 2025.
The award ceremony for the winners will be held on May 21, 2025.
All information is available on the website: