News

For several months, we have been closely examining the reasons behind the slowdown in TRIZ development, reflected most clearly in the lack of applications for Level 5 (TRIZ Master) certification.

Our analysis led to a clear conclusion: the primary cause was a set of Level 5 regulations that no longer reflected contemporary realities and, as a result, discouraged experienced TRIZ Specialists from applying. This prompted a decision to revise the regulations.

A key impulse for change came from certification processes already underway. Two candidates – initially working independently – were encouraged by a shared supervisor to join forces and collaboratively develop a tool addressing a significant gap in TRIZ methodology. The scale and complexity of the task exceeded what a single researcher could reasonably accomplish, while the resulting synergy demonstrated the methodological value of controlled co-authorship. This experience directly informed the decision to allow dual-author theses at Level 5.

Having introduced this pivotal change, we went further and revised additional provisions that artificially complicated the application process. The requirement to publish in indexed journals has been removed, as has the obligation to submit printed copies of the thesis. Online defense is now permitted, including outside the dates of the TRIZfest conference. Copyright and authorship issues have also been formally clarified.

The first Level 5 defense under the new regulations took place on December 23. The joint thesis by Dr. Sergey Yatsunenko and Dr. Yue Lin received very positive evaluations from the examination committee.

The first version of the revised regulations is now available on our website: Level 5 Regulations

At this stage, the changes apply to the category “research-related contribution to TRIZ development.” Work on the remaining Level 5 categories is currently in progress.

We invite the TRIZ community to review the new regulations and share their feedback.