Following a long-standing trend, the most popular subject areas among competition winners are IT-related: Systems and Applied Software, Software Engineering, and Computer Technologies. Among the top subject areas are also life sciences, as ITMO annually welcomes future physicists and chemists. AI360: ML Native, the new Bachelor’s program at ITMO developed in collaboration with Yandex and Sberbank, was also a popular choice among applicants.
“The number of enrolled academic competition winners is one of the key results of the admissions campaign. Traditionally, students who have the right to enroll at any university in the country opt to study at ITMO. This means that they value a strong end-to-end training in IT, individual learning tracks, the opportunity to work at the country’s leading companies already during their studies, and, of course, the unique atmosphere that our university is famous for,” says ITMO Rector Vladimir Vasilyev.
In 2023, ITMO welcomed 565 academic contest winners and in 2024 – 681. Two thirds of them enrolled via competitions in math and computer science; other prominent competition fields include physics, chemistry, and information security. The majority of applicants were admitted to the university thanks to victories in the Open Competition and various subject fields of the National Technological Contest.
ITMO supports young talents among its students and applicants. This year, the university launched ITMO PRIORITY, a program for competition winners and those with high Unified State Exam scores. Program participants enjoy monthly stipends up to 25,000 rubles, personal admission managers, dormitories in the city center, personalized career consultations, and additional mentors.
