One stand-alone feature of the program is its practice-oriented approach. This means not only a huge number of assignments the students will have to complete, but also that the students will get an opportunity to join research and applied projects under the supervision of lecturers or specialists from Gazprom Neft during each semester.

Over the course of developing their projects, students will learn to apply their knowledge in practice, as well as gain experience in development in close-to-real conditions. At the end of each semester, students will defend their projects in front of experts to practice their public speaking and presentation skills.

Apart from that, the program provides intensive training in a wide spectrum of fundamental and advanced courses in programming and math. For instance, fundamental courses on algorithms, programming languages and machine learning include specialized topics (deep learning, computer vision, compilers, graphic interfaces, virtual machines, and others), representing contemporary approaches to tasks of the IT industry.

“Together with ITMO, we have renovated this Master’s program taking into account the industry’s  specific demands. Being a student at this new program will mean the opportunity to be involved in the projects developed by Gazprom Neft and thus get an advantage over other candidates for future employment at the leading company of the oil and gas industry,” says Ilya Dementyev, the rector of Gazprom Neft’s corporate university. 

As the program presumes quite a heavy workload, the company will pay its students an additional stipend to allow them to focus on their studies. Moreover, travel expenses for conferences, competitions, and other educational events will also be covered by Gazprom Neft.

Daria Kozlova. Credit: Maria Bakina, Megabyte Media

Daria Kozlova. Credit: Maria Bakina, Megabyte Media

“We value that as the partner of the program Gazprom Neft shares our vision of an efficient Master’s training: early engagement in the company’s real-life projects, which means momentary adaptation to working conditions after graduation. I am certain that this program will be popular among our applicants, because already at the start of their education students can be sure of their future career path at one of the country’s most technologically advanced companies,” shares Daria Kozlova, First Vice Rector of ITMO University.

Application to the program is open until August 31. Andrey Belevstev, head of the Digital Transformation Office at Gazprom Neft, will head the new program. 

“We are a tech-oriented oil company and we offer great working conditions to talented developers. At Gazprom Neft, you can develop technologies that increase the efficiency of our business processes and help our clients, for instance, oil exploration and extraction systems, or applications for drivers and driverless logistics. These days, businesses value specialists who can immediately get involved in the company’s processes and projects, delivering the needed results. I am certain that this Master’s program in partnership with ITMO will discover many new talents,” concludes Andrey Belevstev.

ITMO University's press office