Orlov Alexey Valerievich Chairman of the expert commission of the competition, Head of the city of Yekaterinburg

Antipin Ivan AleksandrovichScientific supervisor of the competition, Head of the Department of Regional, Municipal Economics and Management of USUE, Doctor of Economics, Professor

The International Competition of Applied Projects by Young Scientists and Professionals "City: Unlocking the Future" is hosted by the Ural State University of Economics (USUE).

The aim of the Competition is to foster analytical, managerial, and research skills, as well as to assist young professionals in implementing initiatives related to urban development forecasting and strategic planning.

Participants in the Competition include students, graduate students, candidates for academic degrees, and young researchers from various universities and academic institutions in Russia, the CIS, and other countries. They must be between the ages of 18 and 25.

Projects submitted for the Competition may be individual or team-based, with a maximum team size of 5 members.

The Competition's thematic areas include: 

• City of the Future: Comfortable and Eco-friendly place to live in (it will have a well-developed transport system, efficient use of urban land, and a carefully planned structure. The city's environment will be safe for the environment and people's health, with reduced noise levels and restored natural areas).
• City of the Future: Attractive, with urban landscaping and green spaces (it will be optimized for the needs of residents, ensuring the quality and availability of municipal services. This will contribute to the sustainable development of the city and its transformation from an industrial to a post-industrial city).
• City of the Future: Safe (creation of a safe and inclusive urban environment; development of mechanisms to create a clean and safe city; improvement of the quality of life and safety of urban residents; issues related to creating a safe living space, etc.).
• City of the Future: Creative (city branding, urban image; creative industries in the city; cultural perspectives in urban development, etc.).
• City of the Future: Technological (new or smart urban economic technologies; smart cities; high-tech cities; conservation of nature, energy efficiency, waste management, and innovative urban construction technologies, etc.).

Applications for participation in the competition, competitive works, and abstracts of works must be submitted by March 20, 2025, through the registration system on the website:

- An individual participant submits an application via the registration system, selecting the category of "individual participation."

- Group participation: Each member of the group must submit an application for participation via the registration system. In the "Team" section, each member indicates their role (captain or member). In the "Work Topic" field, all members indicate the name of the project. The captain attaches the project file to the registration form. All authors of the project must be listed.

The list of finalists who will be invited to the in-person defense of their works and participate in the final events of the forum will be published on the competition's website from April 1-11, 2025.

The following is a formal announcement regarding the final stage of the event:

The organizers of the event would like to invite the authors of the 10-12 most outstanding projects to participate in the final stage, which will take place in Yekaterinburg on April 23rd, 2025. The event will include a face-to-face presentation of the projects, followed by a ceremony to award the winners.

The presentation will take place from 10am00 to 14.00 on April 23rd. The award ceremony will be held on April 24th.

In some cases, remote participation may be possible by decision of the organizing committee.

The winners and prize-winners of the competition are awarded with diplomas and cash prizes:

• 15,000 rubles for first place
• 10,000 rubles for second place
• 5,000 rubles for third place

The winners who are awarded a diploma of the first degree are awarded points for their individual achievements when applying for master's programs at USUE (2 points).

After the final events, we plan to release a compilation of materials from the XIII EEFM, which will include abstracts from the finalists. The compilation will be published at RSCI and on the website of Ural State University of Economics.