ITMO’s major campuses on Kronverksky Pr. 49 and Lomonosova St. 9 both have several hundreds of spaces. In order to help first-year studentss and newcomers quickly memorize where everything is located, Eva Avocado, a student at ITMO’s Faculty of Applied Informatics, created The Adaptation Game.
The mobile app mimics the real-world university buildings. Students walk around the physical campus and scan special QR codes to unlock new digital locations combined with a series of hidden object games. In each game, by finding the objects, students learn more about student life and the history of ITMO. To increase user engagement, the app also has a leaderboard based on how quickly players complete each level. Users can also make new friends as they look for QR codes together.
“Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to make games; that was the reason why I came to study programming at ITMO. I remembered how I struggled with finding my way on campus, how I wanted to make new friends but couldn’t muster the courage. This is how I came up with the idea to help first-years overcome the same difficulties through a game. I spent several months developing the app and polishing it based on surveys and UX studies,” shares Eva Avocado.
The Adaptation Game launched in September 2024. User surveys showed that thanks to the app, their awareness of the location of cafeterias and coworking spaces grew by 20%, of ITMO Store – by 30%, and of locations of rooms on campus – by over three times. Next year, Eva Avocado is planning to improve the project and extend its coverage to the ITMO campus on Vasilyevsky Island.
Your Turn contest. Photo courtesy of the organizers
Your Turn is a national student project that brings together 2,500,000 students from all over the country. In the track I Make, over 12,000 students presented their projects. Among them, 100 winners were chosen, 17 of whom study in St. Petersburg, with each receiving a 1,000,000-ruble award.
