Contents:

1. IT

2. IT management

3. Product design

4. Urban studies

5. Chemistry

6. Biotechnology

7. Robotics

8. How to apply

Information technologies

There are several IT-focused Master’s programs at ITMO that are implemented together with Russia’s tech giants: Highload Systems (w/ Yandex); Software Engineering (w/ Gazprom Neft); Web Scale Systems (w/ VK); Artificial Intelligence (w/ Napoleon IT); Tools for Software Development and Analysis (w/ YADRO); Cybersecurity (w/ Positive Technologies); DevOps Engineer of Cloud Services and Frontend and Backend Development (w/ Yandex Practicum). All these programs involve industry experts and allow students to acquire hands-on experience by tackling business cases, and interning at partner companies.

Content. Depending on the program of their choice, students learn to generate AI-based products and technologies; implement complex software; design, test, and operate fault-tolerant distributed web services; build user interfaces and logic; work with cloud services; develop tools for creating new or improving existing software; and protect and attack software infrastructures. The Master’s programs help students master advanced technologies and programming languages, machine learning, cloud technologies and DevOps, database architectures, and cybersecurity practices.

Among the programs’ benefits are:

Tuition-free positions*. Most programs offer tuition-free positions for students; there are as many as 210 tuition-free spots for future AI majors. 

*Citizens of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, as well as compatriots residing in the CIS countries can apply to tuition-free positions along with Russian citizens. Citizens of other countries can only apply for fee-based or government quota positions.

Additional stipend. An extra stipend of up to 15,000 rubles per month from the programs’ partners is available to students of the following programs: Software Engineering, Highload Systems, and Tools for Software Development and Analysis. The stipend amount is revised depending on the recipient’s exam results.

Online studies. Among the online-taught Master’s programs are Highload Systems, Artificial Intelligence, DevOps Engineer of Cloud Services, Frontend and Backend Development, and Cybersecurity.

Personalized tracks. The programs Artificial Intelligence and Highload Systems include a fast track that allows students with an IT background to re-credit some of their courses and complete the program in one year. On top of that, students of all Master’s programs are free to build their own individual learning tracks – and immerse themselves in project activities from their first semester. These include hackathons, business cases, and practical assignments. 

Prospective students. The IT-focused Master’s programs are designed for Bachelor’s graduates with degrees in IT and mathematics, or an IT background. The programs DevOps Engineer of Cloud Services and Frontend and Backend Development welcome non-specialists, as well.

Job prospects. Possible career options include: mid- and senior-level developers; ML or data engineers; data analysts; developers of applied AI systems; specialists in AI product development; frontend and backend developers; system or service architects; DevOps engineers; IDE and compiler developers or architects; or cybersecurity specialists.

 

IT management

Content. Those who wish to grow as IT developers or team leads should consider one of these programs: 

• IT Team Lead (w/ Samolet Group);
• AI Product (w/ Alfa-Bank).

The IT Team Lead program trains future IT leads who are equally competent at information system design, ML, AI, and data analytics, as well as capable of launching and supporting AI products and managing startups and remote teams. AI Product is for those who would like to develop innovative IT solutions and successfully bring them to market; here, students learn to solve applied ML and deep learning problems, analyze and model data using Python algorithms, build MVPs and prototypes and manage their life cycle, conduct market research, and work with cross-functional teams.

Prospective students. The programs welcome students with degrees in software engineering, computer science, and information systems, as well as technicians and product/project managers who have developed AI products.

Job prospects. Graduates can work as team leads or product/project managers. 

 

Product design

Content. If you want to develop digital products, your best choice is Product Design – a joint online Master’s program by the educational platform Netology and ITMO University. In it, students learn to do research and UX analysis, develop convenient, user-friendly interfaces, write texts, evaluate team performance with metrics, and manage projects and teams.

Prospective students. The program is available for applicants of varied backgrounds, as well as specialists in design, web development, or copywriting. 

Job prospects. Graduates can pursue their careers as product designers, UX/UI designers, as well as developers of user interfaces or digital products.

 

Urban studies

Content. Aspiring experts in urban development, information technologies, and data analysis should pay attention to the Digital Urban Studies program (in partnership with Sberbank). During their studies, students gain an introduction to urban development and planning and learn to use geographic information systems (GIS), methods of spatial analysis, machine learning, and Python programming. All these skills allow graduates to plan and design urban environments.

Prospective students. The program requires no specialized education; it will suit those who are passionate about urban studies and the use of modern digital technologies in urban management.

Job prospects. Graduates can find employment as designers and architects, transport infrastructure engineers, GIS analysts or data analysts in urban development, or sustainability specialists.

 

Chemistry

Content. If you’re interested in using big data analysis, AI algorithms, and machine learning to achieve excellence in chemistry, biotechnologies, pharmaceutics, or materials science, look no further than the Master’s program Chemistry and Artificial Intelligence. Since 2024, the program has included the specialization Artificial Intelligence in Petrochemistry – launched in partnership with the oil company Tatneft. Its students learn to optimize the processes of searching for, extracting, transporting, and processing raw oil and gas materials in order to achieve maximum efficiency at each stage of production.

Prospective students. The program is suited for Bachelor’s graduates with a background in chemistry or materials science; at the start of studies, coding experience is not required.

Job prospects. Graduates can go into research or launch a startup at the intersection of chemistry and AI; other prospects include the development of new products at R&D departments of pharmaceutical, chemical, petroleum, engineering, and IT companies.

 

Biotechnologies

Content. The Master’s program Industrial Biotechnology is a perfect fit for anyone looking to develop, produce, and certify biotechnological products. The program receives support from three major industrial partners – it’s up to each student to pick what to study and where. For instance, ITMO’s partnership with BIOCAD allows students to study the full production cycle of gene therapy medicines – from genetic engineering to mass production and marketing; at GEROPHARM, students can explore every manufacturing stage of medical products; and with Innova Plus – develop biotechnological products such as biopharmaceuticals, testing systems, biochemical agents, and recombinant proteins.

Prospective students. The program welcomes Bachelor’s graduates with a background in biotechnologies.

Job prospects. Graduates can go on to work as specialists in pharmaceutical development, pre-clinical and clinical trials, biotechnologies in food and biologically active substances, and certification of pharmaceutical products, as well as production engineers in the pharmaceutical industry.

 

Robotics

Content. If you’d like to solve complex challenges in industrial and service robotics, you’ll love the Master’s program Robotics and Artificial Intelligence, developed in collaboration with Sberbank. Here, students learn to model, train, and control robots, design and optimize their structure, and implement computer vision, sensing, and safe environmental interaction in mobile robots and manipulators. Studies are held in Russian or English – as chosen by the student.

Prospective students. The program is designed for Bachelor’s graduates with a background in robotics, control systems, or programming.

Job prospects. Graduates can work as developers in Python/C++ (programming of integrated systems, development of information management systems), machine learning engineers (computer vision algorithms and autonomous navigation systems), mathematical programmers (analysis and synthesis of models and control algorithms), design engineers (development and optimization of robots with the use of CAD), electronic engineers (design and refinement of electronic robotic modules – controllers, sensors, communication systems, and energy supply), QA specialists in industrial and service robotics, or analysts and project managers in the field of robotics.

 

How to apply

Exams aren’t the only way to enroll in these Master’s programs – tuition-free studies are available to successful participants of various entrance competitions, including the ones held by ITMO University.

Here are the key options:

• Become a winner or runner-up of the I Am a Professional national contest.
• Become a winner or runner-up of ITMO’s Mega Contest.
• Win ITMO’s Mega School.
• Win ITMO’s Portfolio Contest.
• Present a letter of recommendation from the head of your chosen program.
• Win the report contest at ITMO’s Congress of Young Scientists.

Each individual Master’s program has its own enrollment opportunities – for instance, the Junior ML Contest, Roboforce, the Winter School in Robotics, SCAMT Workshop Week, the Datacon workshop, and others.