January

At the start of the year, 2024 caught up with us twice. First, ITMO was named the best St. Petersburg university and a top five university in Russia by quality of admission! Second, ITMO landed in the top ten universities in Russia by quality of training of digital economy specialists.

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ITMO scientists also started the year strong! They discovered a new type of acoustic force for a more accurate shape-based sorting of cells, developed sensors based on gold nanoparticles for an accurate detection of natural antioxidants, and collaborated with Skoltech on discovering a way to produce fully optical integrated circuits based on “liquid light.”

February

A month that brought us new spaces and victories! ITMO’s main campus on Kronverksky Pr. 49 gained a new tech-rich classroom by Alfa-Bank. Evgeny Smirnov, a chief researcher and a professor at the university’s Infochemistry Scientific Center was named one of the best lecturers in Russia!

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In February, ITMO saw a new digital assistant to chemists, the first free AI service for diabetes patients in Russia, and a new way to use carbon dots for simple and affordable diodes.

March

ITMO turned 125! Calculating its age is quite easy really – it was founded in 1900. We celebrated this new age by stellar defense at the national program Priority 2030.

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Experts from ITMO and Almazov National Medical Research Center trained AI to detect cardiac fibrosis on MRI! Another research team developed the first wireless charging technology for IoT devices in Russia. And finally, for March’s top feat: ITMO specialists created a digital testing ground for AI assessment!

April

Three more research centers to appear in ITMO Highpark, the university’s innovative campus! Glavgosexpertiza of Russia (a state expertise center subordinate to the Russian Ministry of Construction – Ed.)  approved the design estimates for ITMO Highpark’s second stage of construction. Meanwhile, the ITMO’s Supervisory Council session held on the Kronverksky campus was full of insights and vital opinions!

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Our researchers created a new material for superfast optical chips and transistors! Also at ITMO in April: a room for wireless charging of an unlimited number of devices and a new method to assess wine quality based on bubbles.

May

Now we’ll be trying to name all ITMO achievements in May in a single breath! ITMO landed among top three in the federal project Advanced Engineering Schools, in top 10 Russia universities, according to Forbes, and second in Russia in Nature Index, and our university also received over 350 million rubles to be spend on AI educational programs… gasp. That was close! One more thing that we have to mention: ITMO now has an Institute of Applied Mathematics.

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And now to science news. In May, ITMO researchers developed Russia’s first AI tool for checking school papers, described superfast quantum processes in radiation, and came up with a way to accelerate the development of treatments for autoimmune diseases with AI.

June

First, let’s talk rankings: ITMO is once again at the top of Russian IT universities by the net income of their graduates, a top-three Russian practice-oriented university, and a university that trains most in-demand mathematicians, according to the Ministry of Labor. Second, it’s time for victories: Nikita Serov, head of the Laboratory for Generative Design of Enzymes and Aptamers (Center for AI in Chemistry) came at the top of the latest Forbes Russia 30 Under 30 ranking in the category Science and Technology. Meanwhile, the Research Center “Strong AI in Industry” won the federal competition for funding of research centers – again. And the icing on this cake: ITMO to develop a new Russian system for training AI specialists.

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In June, our scientists accelerated the selection of antibacterial nanoparticles and antibiotics, developed a new device for high-accuracy cell experiments, and created unclonanble protective markings based on the optical properties of gold and silicon particles.

July

We have three words for you: ITMO Family Day! If you didn’t get to visit the 300th Anniversary Park in 2025, we hope to see you next year. And one more reason to choose ITMO: according to Changellenge, we are the top-three recommended university in Russia.

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July brought us a mobile system for monitoring lactic bacteria, a new way to transmit quantum states with precision, and a new type of axion response.

August

Some news that aren’t new: ITMO is the most popular St. Petersburg university among contest winners and a top three university in training AI experts. More in AI: over 300 heads of educational programs and lecturers improved their qualifications in AI with ITMO. The university’s youth robotics team came first at the international competition RobotChallenge 2025. And we finished August off strong with cool talks at ITMO CONF 2025.

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In brief, one team ITMO experts released an AI recruitment assistant for civil servants, while another created an artificial optical synapse that can increase the efficiency of neural networks. But it’s not just AI: ITMO scientists also developed new cheap and quick way to produce green hydrogen.

September

This year, ITMO celebrated the start of the academic year not just with university students, but with school students, as well: the first IT Lyceum opened in St. Petersburg. ITMO also announced the launch of its Institute of Artificial Intelligence.

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Together with Yandex B2B Tech, we conducted a large-scale study on AI in development! Our scientists also suggested a universal model for tracking dangerous activities in production and developed a platform for conducting genetic research without programming.

October

This month started with two numbers: 10 and 5. Here’s what they mean: ITMO is once again among the top ten Russian universities with the best employer reputation; ITMO Highpark’s techno valley is to receive 5 billion rubles in investments. We also have two scientists to name among our October achievements. The first one is Sergey Makarov who was named among the most cited Russian scientists in media by Forbes; the second one is Nikolay Nikitin, who received the award For loyalty to science.

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ITMO developers created an AI service for public transport route optimization. For lab experiments, ITMO researchers suggested using a chemist robot, and for lithium extraction – a new green method.

November

New month – new challenges! Following the project defenses for the Priority 2030 national program, ITMO will receive 400 million rubles in funding. The total funding pool for 2026 has been reduced compared to previous years, which the university will use as an opportunity to incentivize further partnership with leading companies and increase revenue from the implementation of tech products.

Next, we went to the Digital Solutions forum, where we presented new AI tech (link in Russian) to PM Mikhail Mishustin, and popped over to the Congress of Young Scientists in Sochi. There were victories, too, of course – our students won 5.8 million rubles in the international AI Challenge, emerged victorious at at Russia’s first Drone Programming Championship, and Dmitry Botov, the head of the AI Talent Hub Master’s program, became a laureate of Yandex ML Prize. Additionally, Anton Korobeynikov, a researcher at ITMO’s Institute of Applied Computer Science, became one of the world’s most highly cited scientists.

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Together with scientists from Sberbank’s Practical AI Center, we devised a multi-agent system for identification of new drug molecules! Secondly, we created the world’s smallest blue laser for displays. And lastly, we developed a high-efficient switchable third harmonic source – and no, it doesn’t play music.

December

The year concluded in style! Our students became two-time winners of AIDAO (Artificial Intelligence and Data Analysis Olympiad), took first places at Yandex Cup, and won the gold at ICPC Northern Eurasia finals. Mikhail Medvedev, a researcher at ITMO’s Laboratory for Intelligent Technologies in Infochemistry, won the 2025 Sberbank Scientific Award in the category “AI in Science.” And we were once again riding high in the rankings: first off, ITMO is the nation’s leading university by the number of Presidential Scholarship holders, as well as the leader of the ranking of digitized universities. In the final month of the year, we updated even more of our spaces – ITMO’s main campus became home to Russia’s first flagship coworking space by Alfa-Bank, while the Grivtsova campus expanded with a student coworking space by Sberbank.

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Invent a way to model an entire galaxy within a lab – why not? Along the way, we’ll invent an AI prompt optimizer. And while everyone’s out shopping for gifts, we’ll develop flexible high-sensitivity sensors to detect calcium ions in complex media.

Thank you for spending this year with ITMO NEWS! We’re always glad to tell you about the most exciting achievements and events at the university – and we’re sure that 2026 will bring us even more! Happy holidays, and may the new year bring you only the good news!