ITMO Highpark will bring together research laboratories, academic campuses, and business infrastructure. At its core is not just traditional academic education – Master’s and PhD programs – but also the concept of continuous mutual learning, networking, and exchange of views. Russian companies are already being actively invited to become the center’s residents. This second campus and its techno-valley will become the next step in the university’s growth and expansion – both physical and conceptual.
“ITMO had always felt limited in the status of a budget institution. We can’t build flexible collaborations with companies as a classical university. That’s why ITMO is making a shift towards a research, educational, and technological corporation. It means that we’re now ready to unite our own competencies with those of our partners to produce joint products. Otherwise, we won’t be able to stay sustainable and grow quickly and efficiently,” notes Daria Kozlova.
Education at ITMO is based on the principle of zero adaptation, complete with the atmosphere of a cutting-edge IT company where people can comfortably work and study. The university’s partner companies involve second- and third-year students in their business tasks, while the companies’ experts share their experiences in the classroom. ITMO’s educational programs are project-based, meaning that students get to work on real-world business cases, while traditional stand-and-deliver lectures are becoming a thing of the past. Meanwhile, infrastructure also plays a vital role in helping students adapt to their future work, says Daria Kozlova.
“Our mission is to make our students feel like they are part of a company and know its inner workings as early as their first year at the university. ITMO offers 24/7 coworking spaces with coffee zones, hybrid (both online and offline) studies, and convenient single-window support offices instead of departments. Education can’t be limited by the walls of conventional classrooms, otherwise the sharp contrast between the university and the real world will become a hindrance during the job adaptation period,” says Daria Kozlova.
Take a peek at some of ITMO’s facilities in this article.
