It’s minutes before the ceremony starts – there are familiar faces all around, smiling, as soft jazz plays in the background. As the year’s nominees are getting the final touch-ups from makeup artists, the other guests are getting their fortunes told by AI and taking photos with a giant heart at the sparkling photo area. And then – it’s time! All eyes are glued to the stage, where ITMO Rector Vladimir Vasilyev kicks off the evening by thanking every member of ITMO Family for another wonderful year: 

“We end this year on a high note – and it would have been impossible without our ITMO Family. What makes our university great are the people in it. Thank you for inspiring not only other universities, but St. Petersburg, the home of ITMO, and the whole country. May your plans be fulfilled in 2024 and may your year be filled with love, which, as we know, is the main value of ITMO!”

And now, the host and his AI assistant Lyubov are ready to announce the winners. In real time, the guests get to see the smiling faces of their honored colleagues as the screen begins to distribute 9,707 votes among the nominees.

ITMO LOVE winners

In the category Scientific Collab of the Year, the winners were VR Lab, a project composed of teams headed by Artem Smolin, the head of ITMO’s Center for Usability and Mixed Reality, and Ekaterina Skorb, the head of ITMO’s Infochemistry Scientific Center. They’ve designed a virtual chemistry lab where students can practice their lab skills without any fear of making a mistake. Among the project’s first users, who formed and analyzed hydroxyapatite-based Liesegang rings using a VR headset, were school students of a special course in infochemistry, ITMO first-years, and even members of Rosatom’s fifth expedition to the North Pole – right at their destination!

“I would like to thank Ekaterina Skorb’s team for seeing the potential of VR in research and education. Our digital twins copy real-life chemical processes and teach students the respective safety regulations while information boxes explain the importance of every action. This is particularly useful when working with high school seniors and younger students, as with headsets we can train large groups to work in the lab without any constraints in terms of time and resources. VR can be implemented in all kinds of fields, from astronomy to medicine. We’ll be happy to collaborate with other teams from ITMO,” shared Artem Smolin.

Another win for ITMO’s Infochemistry Scientific Center was in the category AI-Friendly – it went to the team behind AL-Bio, a hybrid AI genetic algorithm. The solution can be used by pharmaceutical companies and biochemistry researchers to search for and design “smart” treatments, as well as upgrade existing advanced technologies. For instance, the algorithm can identify compounds that are efficient for therapy in the brain and those that are inefficient and even harmful for the nervous system.

This year’s Top Project in Education was the online hackathon Hyperjump into Sustainable Development, created by ITMO’s Faculty of Ecotechnologies. During the three-day event, experts presented contemporary research methods for working with big data to address environmental issues. At the same time, school students from all over Russia polished their skills in solving cases related to food industry, tourism, construction, and IT, which were provided by the companies Beeline, Unifood, and Green Zoom, as well as the Kronotsky Nature Reserve. Hackathon winners received additional points when applying to ITMO.

And who deserved the title PI of the Year? It was Andrey Kulikov, the head of ITMO’s Higher School of Engineering and Technology. In collaboration with Perspective Technologies Agency, his team is developing optical modules for underwater amplifiers used in the transarctic underwater fiber-optic line between Murmansk and Vladivostok.

Kristina Kanunnikova, a lecturer at the Faculty of Technological Management and Innovations, won in the category Megalecturer. Her courses focus on project activities, the innovation economy, and project management. In her classes, she creates a comfortable environment for her students, explains complex concepts in simple terms, and employs interactive technologies. 

“ITMO students have a multitude of opportunities. As a Master’s student, I joined the ITMO Mentors program; then, I won the competition for optional courses and began to teach my own course in research fundamentals. After that, I got into a PhD program and fully engaged in teaching. I was among the top 30 lecturers at the ITMO.EduStars awards 2024, but I didn’t expect to also land in the top 5 at ITMO LOVE. I didn’t think I could win, as it’s hard to compete with my more experienced colleagues. This ITMO LOVE statuette symbolizes my gratitude to myself – it’s not in vain that I take the time to make my classes engaging for students,” said Kristina Kanunnikova.

The Megalecturer award also went to Prof. Vladimir Parfenov, the founder of ITMO’s Information Technologies and Programming Faculty and one of the main organizers of national and international olympiads for school and university students in computer science. In his more than 25 years at ITMO, Prof. Parfenov has trained many generations of IT specialists and stars of programming competitions.

Alexander Ershov, an assistant at the Research and Educational Center for Mathematics, became Mentor of the Year. He has organized several math seminars, assisted during classes, prepared the materials for home and lab assignments, came up with fun ways to test his students’ knowledge, and offered feedback on their code.

Inspired by her grandmother, Anastasia Belova, a manager at the Internationalization Department, has been a friend to rescued animals since childhood. Together with ITMO’s volunteering club Paws of Help, Anastasia participated in food donation runs, helped clean up shelters, and walked rescue dogs. These days, she finds new homes for rescued animals, collects donations for dedicated charities, and prefers to get dog or cat food, as well as toys for animals, instead of gifts for all occasions. For her kind heart and love towards animals, Anastasia received her award in the category Social Mission. 

“For me, helping homeless animals is an unconditional deed; I always try to support them as much as I can. Everyone is capable of helping others, and it doesn’t necessarily require spending a lot of time or money, as even small actions can save a life. The main thing is to simply remember that. The hardest part for me is realizing that I won't be able to help everyone. But it’s important to let go of perfectionism and do at least what can be done. For example, I adopted a dog, Jim, who was abandoned with his mother and other puppies at a factory in Stavropol. Volunteers were supposed to bring him to new owners, but a day before the move he was rejected again, and that’s when I finally decided to welcome him into my family. For me, volunteering and charity work do not require rewards. Nevertheless, I am very glad that ITMO pays attention to both scientific and educational achievements as well as good deeds. Winning the ITMO LOVE award is a wonderful opportunity to remind everyone that sharing kindness is important and simple,” shared Anastasia Belova.

Junior of the Year, a nomination for young staff members, went to Arseny Osychenko, an engineer at ITMO’s Staff Support Office. He facilitates the office’s business processes, tends to technical maintenance of classrooms, and helps deliver documents between ITMO campuses.

Vladislav Shipik, the head of the Office for Material and Documentation Support, won in the category Gigabytes of Love for his kindheartedness, affability, quick thinking, and professional approach. 

And who is this year’s Sports Ambassador? Anna Fedotova, a coach at ITMO’s KronBars Sports Club and a master athlete in mountain climbing and orienteering. In the 45 years of her career at ITMO, Anna has trained many champions and runners-up of local and major competitions in sports tourism. She’s also competing herself – recently, she Nordic-walked three kilometers in 28 minutes.