ITMO and Nau Engine Announce Strategic Partnership

In collaboration with the lecturers of ITMO’s Game Development School, the team from Nau Engine will develop stand-alone educational courses involving the use and testing of the new game engine. Such close interaction between developers, lecturers, and students, should produce high-quality educational content, as well as methodological recommendations on integrating the new engine into educational programs at other universities and training lecturers to teach topical courses. ITMO students will be among the first to receive a thorough introduction to the engine, which will increase their competitive ability on the market.

“ITMO is always on the lookout for market trends because those who master the newest tools first soon turn into industry trendsetters. We believe that bringing together leading experts, talented lecturers, and students will ensure a high demand for our graduates. Moreover, we look for similar values and vision in our partners – and with Nau Engine, it’s perfect synergy,” says Daria Kozlova, ITMO’s First Vice Rector. 

Over 8,000 developers have applied to participate in Nau Engine’s beta test since June 2023. The engine is in development as an open-source software with a powerful core and a convenient editor that makes it accessible to specialists of all levels. Using Nau Engine, developers are able to quickly create gaming projects using a wide range of tools for integration of their game with popular platforms and services. What’s more, it allows developers to implement content updates, seasons, communities, leaderboards, and other metasystems.

“As our product is made by developers for developers, we understand how crucial it is to not just create a game engine but also ensure that transitioning to it is smooth and easy. For this process, a key factor is that we train new developers and ensure the availability of learning materials adapted for developers with different levels of experience. ITMO is one of the leaders in training IT specialists, which is why we believe that our collaboration will be very fruitful,” shares Alexander Myasishchev, the head developer of Nau Engine.

This partnership is another step in developing the university’s gamedev educational initiative: this year, a dedicated Bachelor’s program was launched to complement the already existing Master’s-level one. Now, ITMO offers the full training cycle for budding developers, equipping them with fundamental knowledge and the ability to create competitive products for the gaming market. All opportunities for students interested in game development are united under the aegis of ITMO’s Game Development School. 

In February 2023, it was announced that a new Russian game engine was in development. The project is run by an independent team comprised of gamedev experts and members of the gaming community. It is planned that the team will eventually include at least 100 programmers, technical writers and artists, as well as other experts.