Home of Future Leaders: ITMO’s Advanced Engineering School Opens New Site

With a total area of 1,200 square meters, ITMO’s new space is already home to seven laboratories within the university’s Advanced Engineering School (AES). Among them is the Center for AI in Chemistry, a cell and molecular biology laboratory, the laboratory “Photolithography of Functional Materials,” and an applied genomics laboratory.

“One of the space’s main tasks is to provide a training ground for leading engineers who, in the future, will be able to ensure the country’s technological independence – and technological leadership, which is harder to achieve. Technological leadership is not about technology per se, but complete products that outperform foreign-manufactured ones. ITMO’s AES is engaged in developing such products, as well as research conducted on the scientific frontier,” said ITMO Rector Vladimir Vasilyev.

Within the renovated building, ITMO faculty and students will be able to work on dry chemistry and biology, making calculations on powerful computers and brainstorming, as well as conduct studies in wet labs. Every lab is fitted with cutting-edge equipment, with the necessary clean conditions strictly maintained. Among the equipment is an optical table for the creation of high-precision holograms, a powerful scanning electron microscope that allows for the observation of experimental results, a Fujifilm Dimatix inkjet printer, a laser lithographer, and other devices.

“It’s instrumental that students and scientists get the opportunity to conduct wet research, because it validates the results of their studies. The opportunity to confirm your hypotheses in such a way is very motivating, as it’s further proof that you are working on something truly significant. And now, ITMO’s AES has everything for frontier research: the objectives, the working environment, and the partners,” stated the Vice Governor of St. Petersburg Vladimir Knyaginin. 

The new building will also be used in the development of strategic projects in collaboration with the university’s partners. One step towards this ambition is the launch of the endowment fund ITMO. Engineering Leadership – it started operating within the university’s main endowment fund four months ago. To date, the sum total of donations amounts to 24 million rubles.

It’s the first such project in Russia, aimed primarily at supporting the research of AES students and faculty and organization of events, as well as providing funding for conference fees, scholarships, and grants. The fund was launched in partnership with Genotek,  Medtechservice, and other Russian companies.