NSU Student Became Silver Medalist at the “Alpha-Future” Championship

A total of 895 teams participated in the championship. For several months, the participants worked on a case about attracting young entrepreneurs to the bank: they researched the problem, developed solutions, and prepared them for presentation.

In the final in Arkhyz, 20 teams spent three days refining their projects together with experts, mentors, and entrepreneurs. In addition to working on cases, workshops, discussions with speakers, laboratories, excursions, and team activities were organized for the participants.

— I actively participate in various case championships and hackathons because I enjoy finding non-obvious product solutions and developing them from scratch. The “Alpha-Future” championship is one of the largest, so of course, I wanted to test my skills and compete with the strongest teams in the country., — he explains Elizaveta Cheremisina, a third-year student majoring in Business Informatics Faculty of Economics of NSU.

Elizaveta was joined in the team by students from the HSE MIEM. Luka Ilchakov and Roman Kartavsky, as well as a student at RUDN Olga Gololobova. The competition started with a qualifying round, for which the team was given only a week.

— We worked actively all seven days: conducting analytics, holding calls to generate ideas, developing the solution, creating the financial model, and preparing the prototype and presentation. In the final stage, the work was more measured, as the solution was already in place; only refinements remained., — he says Elizaveta.

Participants were tasked with developing a strategy for attracting and supporting young entrepreneurs aged 17 to 25 for Alfa-Bank’s Payment Business. One of the mandatory conditions was the implementation of an AI agent in the solution.

The team worked entirely remotely: its members are located in different cities. However, according to Elizaveta, this was not an obstacle.

The championship final took place in Arkhyz. The participants were provided not only with an educational program but also with time for rest and socializing: mountain hikes, songs around the campfire, team activities, and a jeep tour. Elizaveta notes that the location itself was especially memorable.

— Mountains of incredible beauty, fresh air, silence, and open space. It felt like being in the right place with the right people, — says Elizaveta.

Based on the defense results, Elizaveta’s team received silver.

— We were very pleased that the experts highly appreciated our solution. But second place is always tricky. Behind the great joy of winning a prize hides the thought that we fell just a little short of first place. Nevertheless, we must try to turn this feeling of dissatisfaction with the result into a motivation to move forward and secure the coveted first place next year., — shares Elizaveta.

According to her, participating in the championship helped to see her own professional capabilities in a new light.

— In the case championship, it is important not to know everything in advance, but to quickly understand a new problem, analyze it, and find unconventional solutions. As we were all told when we enrolled: “We won’t make you smarter, we will teach you to think.”, — shares the student.

Elizaveta notes that the high evaluation from the experts gave her confidence in her own abilities and helped her stop fearing more complex tasks and competition.

— This is the main result from the perspective of professional development: the readiness to move forward and think on a larger scale, — concludes Elizaveta.

Participation of NSU students in such projects allows them to gain practical experience, work with real business challenges, and get acquainted with potential employers while still studying.