«Go further and do better»: tips from last year’s winners

We Asked the Winners of the Previous Future Makers: Junior Cup What Helped Them Achieve Such High Results

The first part of this feature was published earlier. Today, we’re continuing the conversation.

Vyacheslav Vizilo, 19 (in the photo second on the left)

Student at ITMO University,
Faculty of Technological Management and Innovation

Vyacheslav currently lives and studies in Saint Petersburg. He is originally from the Kemerovo Region and a graduate of the Melnichenko Foundation Talent Center.

As part of the “11_11” team, Vyacheslav reached the finals of Future Makers: Junior Cup 2025, where the team won 1st place in the City Cup category. He shared his insights with current participants of Future Makers: Junior Cup.

Life Hack #1: Do More — and Do It Better

“In my opinion, the biggest mistake in any competition project is doing exactly what AI suggests — just following a neural network’s answer and stopping there. That’s not enough.

Our team approached the task from multiple angles, proposed different options, tried combining ideas, openly criticized our own solutions, and worked to minimize risks and weak points.

Creating just a single app seemed too simplistic to us. That’s why our solution wasn’t just an app — it was an entire system: integration with the city planning committee, integration with Yandex Toloka, with the app serving only as an intermediate layer.

Because we aimed to do more and do it better, our final solution turned out to be comprehensive, well thought-out, and balanced in terms of all team members’ interests.”

Life Hack #2: Build Your Hard Skills

“It’s important to have strong hard skills and a solid understanding of a specific field — and then take those skills into competitions.

For example, if you’ve been studying robotics in extracurricular programs and have already gained knowledge and experience, you can apply those skills in a case competition where they are truly useful.

My advice is to dive deep into one area, understand what interests you most, and only then start participating in competitions. Begin with smaller ones: test yourself, observe others, make mistakes, analyze them, and gradually move on to regional, national, and international competitions.

Jumping straight into a major competition without sufficient knowledge and experience carries a high risk of disappointment — and that can discourage students from participating further.”

Life Hack #3: “What’s the Power?”

“Our strong project wasn’t built on hard skills alone — coordination and clear responsibility distribution played a huge role.

Each team member clearly understood what they were responsible for and how their contribution affected the final result.

We had a great role structure:

• an analyst who worked with regulations, protocols, and recommendations from the city planning committee;
• an economist who calculated project costs and financial efficiency;
• and a developer and team captain — myself.

We also shared a common goal. Everyone was genuinely invested in the outcome and approached the work responsibly: analyzing, discussing, and constantly trying to propose unconventional solutions.”

Life Hack #4: Don’t Mix Personal and Work Relationships

“This advice may sound controversial, but I believe mixing friendship with work is a mistake.

Sooner or later, you’re forced to choose between preserving personal relationships and maintaining productive teamwork. A professional environment involves constructive criticism and feedback — and it should not reduce overall effectiveness.

If a team is formed simply because ‘I’m friends with this person,’ there’s a risk of stalling during the solution development stage. You may accept a weak idea just to avoid conflict, even if you clearly see its flaws — and that will eventually affect the entire project.

Our team had disagreements and even conflicts. But with the right professional mindset, that’s normal. Disputes mean different perspectives and ideas — and that’s a good thing. Each idea can contribute something valuable to the final product.

In such situations, the project manager must avoid acting emotionally or pushing ideas based on personal loyalty. We focused on removing emotions and evaluating each idea logically — deciding whether it truly belonged in the project.”

Life Hack #5: Always Have a Plan B

“No matter how carefully you plan, something can still go wrong. In our case, one team member dropped out during product development. He volunteered initially but later stopped responding altogether.

As team captain, I hadn’t prepared a Plan B, so I had to urgently take over his responsibilities myself.

That’s why it’s important to think ahead — even about scenarios you hope will never happen.”