What happens if your fate changes by a single bit? Artemiy dreams of getting into university to study Dostoevsky – he passed all his exams with flying colors and is set on the path towards his goal. But a quantum error during his application process lands him at a technical university. Now, he has to complete the seven challenges of an engineer to find his calling, new friends, and true love along the way.

In an homage to Wes Anderson’s distinct visual style, the trailer is all colors and symmetry, with characters looking straight into the camera. Young actor Gleb Kallistov was cast to play the main character, Artemiy.

Just like Artemiy, applicants to ITMO University have the opportunity to decide what they want to be: developers of new programming languages, like Andrey Breslav, an ITMO graduate who developed the Kotlin programming language; designers of new bionic prostheses, like Ilya Chekh, the founder of Motorika company; or hit Forbes’ next 30 under 30 ranking with their IT startup, like Elena Konstantinova. At ITMO, you don’t have to like either humanities or technical sciences – instead, you can choose to learn different skills and become a unique specialist. 

Read also:

ITMO Admissions 2023: Programs, Deadlines, and How To Apply

This is not the first time ITMO’s admission campaign beats any expectations. Last year, for instance, St. Petersburg citizens were invited to find the hidden meaning behind a mysterious haiku that appeared on billboards all around the city. Ilya Shapovalov was first to complete the challenge and win the prize – the opportunity to enroll into any Bachelor’s program without exams as part of the ITMO.STARS initiative. Now, Ilya has completed his first year of studies at the program Computer Technologies: Programming & Artificial Intelligence. 

Especially notable among other admission campaign initiatives over the years was the special interactive area at Pulkovo Airport that offered visitors a tailor-made geek map of St. Petersburg. And two years ago, the university’s Digital Native campaign was named among the winners at the international IPRA Golden World Awards. That year, the campaign highlighted its focus on the new generation, with its values and information consumption habits.