Within Study Committee B5 — Protection and Automation, the paper Training in Digital Energy: Insights, Methodologies, and Solutions (Paper 11182), prepared by Alexey Anoshin, Alexander Golovin, and Natalia Mararakina, was presented during the poster session. The paper was included in PS1 — Knowledge Management in the Field of Protection, Automation, Control, Metering and Monitoring.

The paper addresses one of the key challenges of the digital transformation of the power industry: the growing gap between the pace of development of digital substation technologies and the level of specialist training. The study is based on an analysis of 112 educational programmes, surveys of lecturers and representatives of power utilities, as well as more than 15 years of practical experience in training specialists in protection and automation, substation control systems, IEC 61850, and digital substation technologies. The findings demonstrate that the problem is systemic in nature.

Among the key factors reducing the effectiveness of specialist training, the study identified a lack of up-to-date educational programmes — 93%, the absence of mechanisms for the rapid updating of knowledge — 89%, and the gap between theoretical and practical training — 82%.

As a solution, the authors presented a comprehensive practice-oriented training model combining a structured educational programme, modern laboratory infrastructure, instructor training, and digital educational tools.

The practical experience underlying the study includes the training of more than 3,500 engineers and technical specialists. One of the authors’ international online IEC 61850 courses has reached participants in 87 countries and 24 languages, further confirming the global scale of the challenge of preparing specialists for the digital power industry.

From Training to Effective Engineering Tools

High-quality education, however, is only one component of a successful transition to digital power systems. During the session The Advancement of PACS Architectures with Focus on Process Bus Implementation and Virtualization of Protection IEDs, particular attention was paid to the development of protection and automation system architectures, the implementation of the process bus, and the virtualization of protection functions.

As digital substation architectures become more complex, specialized software and software-hardware tools are playing an increasingly important role in making engineers’ work with digital systems simpler, more transparent, and more efficient.

This is also directly related to specialist training. Learning IEC 61850, digital substation technologies, testing methods, and diagnostic techniques becomes significantly more effective when training is carried out using the same professional tools that engineers will subsequently use on real power facilities.

For this reason, a significant part of the professional discussions at CIGRE focused not only on training, but also on TEKVEL’s software and software-hardware solutions for the engineering review, testing, and diagnostics of digital substations.

During the meetings, TEKVEL specialists discussed the capabilities of:

• Tekvel Park Server software — SSD and SCD quality assurance tool;
• Tekvel Park software and hardware platform — IEC 61850 communications monitoring system;
• Tekvel Magic software — a tool for automating the testing of protection, automation, and control devices in digital substations;
• Tekvel Manipulator software — a tool for analyzing and testing IEC 61850 devices and MMS client-server communications;
• Tekvel MultiScopeX software — a digital substation multimeter..

These solutions cover various stages of the digital substation lifecycle — from the analysis of engineering solutions and IEC 61850 configuration to testing, troubleshooting, and analysis of digital system performance.

This approach is also consistent with TEKVEL’s concept of practice-oriented training: specialists should not only understand the principles of IEC 61850, SCL, GOOSE, Sampled Values, and MMS, but also be able to use them to solve real engineering tasks.

The paper specifically emphasizes the need for training based on real industry equipment, tools, and workflows used by specialists at operating power facilities.

International Professional Exchange

The poster session served not only as a platform for presenting the study results, but also as an opportunity for meaningful knowledge exchange with international experts.

During the session, discussions and consultations were held with specialists from Schneider Electric, Transpower New Zealand, OMICRON Academy, Eskom, and other organizations.

The discussions focused on specialist training, practical implementation of IEC 61850, the development of laboratory infrastructure, the evolution of digital protection and automation architectures, as well as the use of modern engineering tools for the design, engineering review, testing, and diagnostics of digital substations.

Of particular interest was the relationship between educational methodologies and engineering tools: the use of professional software and software-hardware solutions can simultaneously improve the efficiency of engineers’ work and strengthen the practical component of their training.

Meetings with Global Protection and Automation Manufacturers

TEKVEL’s active participation continued throughout the CIGRE exhibition programme. The company’s specialists held a series of meetings with leading international suppliers of equipment and solutions in the fields of protection, automation, and substation control systems.

The discussions covered the development of digital substation technologies, IEC 61850, new protection architectures, virtualization of protection and automation functions, testing and diagnostics, as well as opportunities to integrate TEKVEL’s software and software-hardware solutions into the engineering processes of manufacturers and power utilities.

As a result of the discussions, detailed presentations and practical demonstrations of TEKVEL solutions are planned with a number of international companies.

“The CIGRE Paris Session is a very important event for us. It provides a unique opportunity to align with global practices in the development of protection, automation, and control systems, to identify and discuss the key directions of technological development in the industry, and to understand the challenges they create for the engineering tools of the future. For TEKVEL, this is an opportunity not only to benchmark our own technological vision against the international professional community, but also to adapt the development of our products in line with the directions in which the global power industry is moving today,” said Alexander Golovin, Deputy General Director of TEKVEL.

Participation in the CIGRE Paris Session 2026 provided TEKVEL with a platform to present its own expertise, exchange practical experience, and develop new areas of international cooperation.

Education, engineering tools, and practical experience with real digital substations form a single ecosystem of competencies. TEKVEL believes that it is the combination of these elements that will enable the industry to respond effectively to the emerging technological challenges of the digital power sector.