Support and development of young IT specialists is one of the key priorities of the Moscow City Government. Since 2019, Moscow Agency of Innovations hosts an annual international competition for the Moscow Mayor's award "Leaders of Digital Transformation" to support talented developers of digital products and services.

The project unites IT specialists from Russia and other countries to solve urgent tasks for the development of Moscow during a special hackathon. All participants work on actual tasks from customers and test their developments in real conditions. The organizers support the teams in further development of their projects, helping bring them to the market.

Since 2019, more than 15,000 IT specialists from 79 regions of the Russian Federation and other countries have participated in the competition. This competition allowed to form a strong and motivated IT community, that includes more than 21,000 participants who have achieved outstanding results:
• more than 1,000 relevant digital products and services developed, including AI and machine learning technologies;
• more than 50 startups founded;
• more than 20 pilot tests and implementations conducted;
• more than 3 thousand publications published in the mass media.

https://leaders2022.innoagency.ru

• China
• Indonesia
• Israel
• Kazakhstan

• Youth
• Students, graduates, and young IT specialists

The competition "Leaders of Digital Transformation" has proven its effectiveness. Due to the fact that such events are simple and easy to set up they can be replicated on several scales:

1. At the enterprise level: The practice of holding contests to support the best solutions to problems can also be implemented at the company level. In this case, employees will solve problems of a local nature for a prize. This mechanism will increase employee motivation, identify and implement best practices, and improve the efficiency of the company.

2. At the city level: Similar contests can be held in other cities with the support of the city authorities. These contests will help find new solutions to pressing problems of urban importance. Promising areas for holding competitions may be: the introduction of ICT in the city's infrastructure, waste management, the development of smart cities, decision-making support and others. Holding competitions to find solutions to these issues will contribute to the development of ICT skills of young people, the accumulation of knowledge and the exchange of experience.

3. At the level of the regions of the world: Governments of different countries can hold international contests to find the best solutions to global problems: climate change, poverty, cybersecurity, etc. International cooperation, exchange of best practices can accelerate the development of these areas.
The wider use of such mechanisms contributes to the expansion of the interaction of young professionals and organizations. It creates a synergetic effect and contributes to the implementation of socially significant projects for the development of the society.

The competition provides conditions and opportunities for cooperation between ambitious IT specialists, city authorities, corporations, educational, research and youth organizations to build resilient infrastructure, foster innovation and promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth.
In other words, contests contribute to the sustainable development of the innovation environment, thanks to which main actors of triple helix obtain benefit:
— government: Contests allow to find the best solutions to urgent problems. Besides, as a result of the support of promising projects, the country's economy receives an impetus to development.
— universities: Students and professors can get hands-on experience in project implementation and expand their network of acquaintances;
— industry: Companies can explore new innovative ideas that will allow them to gain competitive advantages.

Within the framework of the competitions, universities, industry and government form new connections, which contributes to the dissemination of new ideas, the acquisition of new skills and the formation of a new way of thinking. The result of these processes is a synergistic effect that can bring the country's economy to a new level of development.

The annual international competition "Leaders of Digital Transformation" makes a significant contribution to the promotion of the values of the WSIS. Within the framework of the competition, talented IT specialists from Russia and other countries receive support from experienced mentors to solve urgent urban problems and introduce new digital products for the city. Comprehensive support for the development of IT specialists and their involvement in the implementation of significant social projects makes such values as cooperation, partnership, free access to information and knowledge much more achievable. All in all, the project is guided by the spirit of the open exchange of ideas and knowledge, teamwork and peer-to-peer education.