Look into the future
Picture this: you’re in your final year of school and you’re flipping through the pages of faculties, departments, institutes and what not, trying to figure out where you are going to apply to. To make life easier, ITMO University has organized all of its educational programs into 5 top majors. Students looking to enroll in September, will be searching for work in the next 4−6 years, and the job market is going to look quite different. So ITMO University is trying to train the kind of specialists that will be in demand and focus on breakthrough fields and technology.
The first major on offer is the promising field of internet technologies and programming. Computing power which used to take up several floors of research institutes, now can fit into your pocket, and there’s software that can help us complete all kinds of different tasks, whether it’s calling your parents or for example, controlling the humidity level for growing tomatoes. The students in this top major have become six time world champions in the prestigious ACM programming contest. Its scientists publish more than 200 articles a year in leading international scientific journals, and graduates end up working in leading IT companies around the world.
The next top favorite is "Computer Technologies and Controls" which is made of three main blocks: robotics, information security and last but not least software engineering and computer systems. Here students are more interested in hardware. They know how to create "smart" fridges, how to put together industrial manipulators and how to secure networks from hackers. After graduation they’ll find jobs in places like Oracle, Intel, IBM, Yandex and Kaspersky Lab.
One of the top majors "Photonics" helps students learn about the most cutting-edge fields of physics, including for example, "manipulating" light using metamaterials, and using quantum technology to prevent hackers from getting into communication lines. ITMO University has tonnes of R&D associated with this field, and in 2015 alone, ITMO’s researchers published more than 700 articles on photonics and related fields.
Another top major "Refrigeration Industry and Food Biotechnologies" means you’ll never go hungry. Graduates say that knowing how to create new food and preserving their healthy properties is always needed everywhere. And if you want to learn how to write a marketing strategy, prepare a business plan, develop and bring a technology to the market then "Economics, Management and Innovations" is the major for you. You don’t just learn standard economic stuff here, it’s all about innovation and high-technology at ITMO University.
Get ready
If you want to apply to ITMO, get ready to compete with the best of the best. In 2016, 1,139 new students enrolled, and of those who got into state-sponsored places, the average grade of freshmen for Russia’s Unified State Exam for three subjects was 86.9. As a result, ITMO University was placed 7th in Russia amongst all educational institutions for its strong level of applicants, and second in St. Petersburg, if branches in St. Petersburg of the other universities outside the city are not included.
In 2016, there was on average at least 5 applicants for each place at the University. Furthermore, documents are accepted only if the Unified State Exam grade for all subjects is at least 60, and for the major "Applied Mathematics and Informatics", a grade of at least 75 is needed.
"Green cards" which ensure automatic entry to ITMO University are given on the basis of results in specific entrance competitions. In 2016, at least 221 applicants used this opportunity. You can already sign up for these entrance competitions which are offered in English now for both Mathematics and Computer Science. There’s also a Russian entrance competition offered on the popular social site "Vkontakte" (read more about it here). There’s also some other academic and physical accomplishments that warrant a "green card" into the university. Read more about them in Russian, as they more specific to Russian students. Information and dates for enrolling in the University for English-speaking international students are provided here.
Choose us!
During all Open Days at ITMO University, there is an interactive exhibition of projects carried out by staff and students. Here you can check out a working model of a "smart house", you can try the sorting hat, learn how to assemble a 3D printer, and send a laser beam through an optical maze. The guests also learned how to put together and program robots from Lego.
"A modern university should not become so self-involved, science and education must be open. We want people to understand why education is necessary so that new things can take place in the country. This is why we participate in city- and country-wide events such as VKFest, Geek Picnic and "Open University. You can come to any of these events, look at our R & D and listen to scientists and students that offer open lectures and in simple language explain very complicated things. For example, how to create an invisibilityhat." — explained Aleksey Itin who is in charge of admissions.
If you want to know more about how to apply, you can look at the very comprehensive Russian site or you can contact here in Russian for more information, or make life easier and go straight to the English information page and contacts.
The next open day will be on 29th January 2017, and it’ll be all about internet technologies and programming.
