Nature Index has been published by Springer Nature since 2014. Its main purpose is to provide an objective evaluation of high-profile publications and international collaborations between universities and research organizations, as well as countries, in four fields: physics, chemistry, Earth and environmental sciences, and health sciences.
The index analyzes articles published in the last 12 months in 145 high-ranking journals such as Nature, Science, Cell, The Lancet, and Physical Review Letters. Each institution is evaluated by two indicators: Count (number of articles wherein at least one of the authors represents the institution/country) and Share (the associated country’s/institution’s contribution to a paper).
In the Nature Index for February 2024 – January 2025, ITMO has landed in second place among the evaluated Russian universities. Over the past five years, ITMO has consistently remained one of the top five Russian research institutions.
Changes in the Share indicator among Russian universities and research institutions in 2020-2024. Plotted are the changes in Share over time for five institutions: Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU), ITMO, Kurchatov Institute, St. Petersburg State University, and Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology. For MSU, the indicator remains significantly higher than others, although demonstrating a downward trend. ITMO demonstrates consistent growth after a decrease in 2022. Among the top five Russian universities in Nature Index, ITMO is the only one to demonstrate an increase in the Share indicator over the past two years. Image courtesy of Oleksii Peltek
One of the reasons for the university’s ascension in Nature Index is ITMO’s stated goal to become a leader in frontier research not only in IT, but also in biotechnologies, chemistry, robotics, physics, and other fields. The ambition is stipulated in the university’s 2030 Development Strategy. In response to this goal, since 2022, the university has been launching projects suggested by PI (principal investigator) groups. PIs define a group’s research focus, form and manage teams, and attract investments. Thanks to support in terms of grants and infrastructure, PIs at ITMO have the opportunity to develop their own labs.
Another initiative launched in line with this new aim are frontier laboratories. Their objective is to conduct frontier studies and deliver groundbreaking results to be published in high-ranking journals, including those featured in Nature Index.
“Targeted support and focus on frontier research turned out to be an effective strategy. For instance, the majority of high-impact Nature Index-included articles were published by PI teams and frontier laboratories. The university’s Share has also grown, which means that ITMO possesses all the resources needed to independently conduct studies on the scientific frontier. In the evaluated period of 2024, ITMO had 12 running frontier laboratories. Since late 2024, we’ve been supporting frontier projects focused on globally relevant research, as well as on AI in physics, chemistry, biology, and other fields. We are demonstrating that ITMO is a technological corporation with ambitions and expertise not only in IT, but also in biotech, chemistry, robotics, and physics,” says Oleksii Peltek, a researcher at ITMO’s Faculty of Physics.
