Agreement Signed: ITMO Partners with the Association of Major Software and Equipment Consumers

The signing ceremony, which took place on February 14 at ITMO, featured Vladimir Vasilyev, the Rector of ITMO University; Renata Abdulina, the head  of AMSEC; Andrey Anfinogenov, the dean of ITMO’s Faculty of Technological Management and Innovations; and Diana Syunyaeva, the head of ITMO’s educational program Business Transformation Technologies and Strategies, the leader for IT strategy and development at Gazprom Neft, and the deputy head of AMSEC. 

AMSEC brings together major IT consumers, state regulators, software developers, and equipment suppliers with the goal of promoting technological independence of the country’s major companies and optimizing their costs to produce and test state-of-the-art IT solutions. Among its members are Rosatom, Roscosmos, Rostelecom, Gazprom Neft, Transneft, Russian Railways, and Dom.RF. 

“Universities and businesses need to speak the same language. To make it happen, one of ITMO’s  major focuses is developing industry-aligned educational programs. Consulting with our industrial partners, we’re reviewing and updating our programs to highlight and meet the needs of today’s IT market. We deeply appreciate that the Association chose us as an educational partner,” stresses Vladimir Vasilyev. 

In 2022, ITMO University was named the best university in training IT professionals, following the results of a survey conducted among Russian software companies by Russoft. The university’s advances in computer sciences are globally recognized as well. ITMO featured in eight subject rankings by ShanghaiRanking Consultancy, taking the first place in Computer Science & Engineering among Russian universities.

“Symbolically, the signing ceremony took place on the day when ITMO’s Advanced Engineering School was named best in Russia. This once again proves that we’re moving towards a systematic cooperation with our educational partners. Major companies call for a smooth transition and a domestic ecosystem of IT solutions but they can’t achieve that without young professionals who are well-versed in Russian software, be it analysts, IT project managers, or any other specialists. I’m confident that our cooperation will help us achieve our goals and potentially transfer our experience to other universities. The journey we’re embarking on today is the only true path towards the future of Russian education,” says Renata Abdulina. 

Collaboration prospects

Under the agreement, the parties plan to jointly train a new generation of IT specialists. By becoming a partner of the Master’s program Business Transformation Technologies and Strategies, the representatives of the AMSEC not only get directly involved in the educational process but also allow students to deal with their company’s tasks associated with the analysis of business processes and IT product development.

The AMSEC experts will also generate a list of in-demand competencies and software products used by participating members, which will potentially help alter and update other educational programs.

“First and foremost, this cooperation is our direct contact with the largest consumers of software. Along with ITMO’s rich experience in the field, it will help us pave the way towards a synergy between universities and business, keep our programs relevant, train sought-after specialists, and produce in-demand products,” concludes Andrey Anfinogenov.