On September 1, the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media in collaboration with Russian universities and companies launched top new educational programs in IT and AI to train digital economy specialists. However, out of the total of 380 universities with programs in IT and AI, only 22 and 26 universities respectively became part of these new initiatives. The majority of them, including ITMO, are located in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Now that these leading universities have demonstrated the effectiveness of these programs, broadcasting this experience to universities in Russian regions is on the agenda. ITMO’s Director for Strategic Development Daria Kozlova talked about the university’s collaborations with industrial partners and suggested several ways to improve the quality of IT education at regional universities.
First, the transfer of educational modules from major universities to regional ones must always be accompanied by professional retraining of faculty; at the same time, new programs have to be developed in a three-way collaboration between the “mentor and mentee” universities and local business. This process can be made more efficient with a role-based competency model.
“At ITMO, we don’t believe in specializations in IT and AI, we believe in role-based competency models. Compared to business or industry roles, professions change slowly, which is why the educational system has to update quicker. We need to understand what roles will be needed on the job market tomorrow and what competencies will be in-demand with employers. Thanks to the TOP IT and TOP AI programs, industry representatives are actively engaging with universities. That’s a huge boost for the educational programs in IT,” says Daria Kozlova.
Daria Kozlova. Photo by ITMO University
Second, talented students in Russian regions are attracted by the image of a university that is different and unique compared to those in the capital.
“At ITMO, 76% of talented students come from cities other than St. Petersburg. In the last two years, Moscow has been in second place by the number of applicants. This means that if we create a great atmosphere, work on the quality of education we provide, and find our unique offer, then we can change the trends of admissions. Industry collaborations are important, but the universities themselves have to understand what their appeal to applicants is. Our numbers show that it can work,” adds Daria Kozlova.
Another tool is to work with researchers trained at major universities. For instance, ITMO trains Principal Investigators (PIs), especially for natural sciences. However, when they grow professionally and start thinking about their own labs and teams, there isn’t always a place for everyone in the capital. This is an opportunity for universities to create such appealing conditions for PIs in Russian regions that they’d want to build their careers there.
Over the course of the discussion, the Deputy Minister for Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media Sergey Kuchushev confirmed that joint educational programs with industry are becoming more practice-oriented and allow students to not only work with real-world projects starting in their first year, but also come close to current employees of IT companies in terms of experience. However, there isn’t a general understanding of when Bachelor’s students should start receiving the skill set required by their potential employers.
“Academic freedom is the main value of a university for us; that’s why I believe that every university needs to have its own scenario. While industrial partners have to participate in designing educational modules, this task cannot be fully delegated to them – it has to be a collaboration. That’s why the time when business has to enter a program’s module will depend on the design of a particular specialization,” shares Daria Kozlova.
The IT forum Digital Solutions was held in Moscow on November 12-15. It brought together representatives of Russian IT businesses and government, who discussed the key fields of the country’s digital transformation. As part of the forum’s business program, ITMO experts shared their experience in training IT specialists and adopting new practices in educational programs.
