On April 15–16, the V International Championship BELAZ CHALLENGE-2025, a practice-oriented educational project for students of polytechnic universities specializing in mechanical engineering or mining, took place.

This year, ten teams from technical universities participated, including Gomel State Technical University, St. Petersburg Mining University named after Empress Catherine II, Belarusian National Technical University, Ural State Mining University, MISIS (Moscow), Gubkin Branch of NUST MISIS (Belgorod Region), NUST MISIS Branch (Almalyk, Uzbekistan), Murmansk Arctic State University Branch (Apatity), Kuzbass State Technical University named after T.F. Gorbachev (Kemerovo), and Siberian Mining and Metallurgical Alliance.

GSTU’s team consisted of third-year students from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering specializing in "Hydropneumatic Systems of Mobile and Technological Machines"—Alexandra Busel, Vyacheslav Dubinsky, and Valery Krivenkov.

The team was accompanied by senior lecturer of the Department of "Oil and Gas Development and Hydropneumatic Automation," G.S. Kulgeyko. On the first day of the championship, participants were given a tour of BELAZ, showcasing production, equipment samples, and technologies. In one of the production workshops, teams solved the first case, and three teams earned their first bonuses.

The second, competitive day was the most intense and exciting, consisting of three stages: team presentations, case-solving tasks (1 – improving the thermal performance of the engine, 2 – technical and economic optimization of mining equipment operations), and an engineering quiz. The competitions were launched by Natalia Mikhailovna Kholodulina, Marketing Director of BELAZ Trading House.

GSTU students were awarded for winning the technological brainstorming "Assemble BELAZ."

Defending their case solution was a challenging task as students had to respond to tough questions posed by an expert panel, which understandably made them nervous.

The expert panel included Alexey Grachev, Deputy General Director for Strategic Development at BELAZ, Artur Kaptyug, Head of the Design Bureau of External Engine Systems at NTC named after A.N. Egorov, and Andrey Terekh, Design Engineer of the Design Bureau of External Engine Systems at the Scientific and Technical Center.

Each team received prizes in various nominations. The championship's final stage—summary and awards ceremony—was held at the "Astoria" restaurant in Minsk.

The results were concluded by Alexey Grachev, Chairman of the Jury. The winner of the BELAZ CHALLENGE-2025 Championship and recipient of the Grand Prix, as in the previous year, was the team from St. Petersburg Mining University. As the main prize, the students receive a unique opportunity to intern at BELAZ.

Senior Lecturer Department of "Oil and Gas Development and Hydropneumatic Automation" G.S. Kulgeyko Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, GSTU