The festival was inspired by be ITMO – the philosophy that guides the university in fostering a welcoming environment and supporting the comprehensive development of all members of ITMO.Family. To promote these ideas, the festival’s team set up six thematic zones.
Guests could: learn about mental and physical health at be healthy or learn more about conscious consumption at be eco.
Adopt a healthy lifestyle at be fit or play a board game or two at be friendly.
Explore their career, science, and education opportunities at be pro and be open.
And even join a live podcast at the Megabyte Media zone.
But that’s not all! There were five more specialized zones: Interactive Area, Experimental Spot, ITMO.Extreme, Kids, and Stage.
“We’d like ITMO Family Day to become a sweet tradition for all ITMO students and staff, as well as their families and friends. The festival is a place where they can meet each other, hang out outside of work, and socialize. I believe that such events help colleagues grow closer together, which is good for them and ITMO’s community as a whole, too,” notes Elena Filippova, the festival’s chief organizer and the head of ITMO’s Creative and Corporate Projects Planning Center.
Even though ITMO Family Day was held for the first time, she notes that the event managed to bring together around 2,500 participants (not counting the volunteers and organizers).
“My daughters and I love having fun, so we’re always happy to join any of ITMO’s family-focused events. There were activities that my kids enjoyed, such as wall-painting and various games, as well as those that appealed to me, too. I enjoyed how experts at be healthy explained chemistry in simple words and ran a few experiments,” says Anna Kovtun, a first-year Master’s student at ITMO’s Faculty of Technological Management and Innovations.
“ITMO Family Day is an excellent chance for us to loosen up, relax, and spend a day with our colleagues and their families and friends outside of work. We spend most of our time at the office, so it’s cool to be outside for a change. Spending time in nature is awesome!” shares Svetlana Sultanova (right), a manager at ITMO’s Foreign Language Training Center.
Keep learning with be ITMO
The organizers of each zone prepared even more fun activities for the guests.
“At be pro, we educate our employees about all the opportunities to grow professionally that ITMO has in store for them – for instance, different professional development courses or the ability to work with teaching assistants. We also ran a quiz that gave them a chance to test their knowledge about the university’s services. What’s more, our staff could also get to know their colleagues and their families a bit better through ten-minute “speed dating” sessions,” notes Maria Didkovskaia, the head of ITMO’s Internationalization Department.
Vladimir Vasilyev (right), the Rector of ITMO University, Ekaterina Skorb (left), the head of ITMO’s Infochemistry Scientific Center, and Evgenii Raskin (center), the head of ITMO’s Department of Youth Policy and a coordinator of the university's Well-Being project, during their speed date.
Anastasiya Pozdnyakova, a teaching and learning specialist at ITMO’s Office of Educational Technologies, hosts the quiz.
Attendees also gathered around the "sound tree," where each branch tells a different story – from a cat purring to someone rejoicing in their paycheck...
… watched researchers from ITMO’s Infochemistry Scientific Center conduct scientific experiments …
… and made mementos out of recycled bottle caps.
They could also test their agility by riding a mechanical bull – and strength by joining an armwrestling competition.
Those into more relaxing sports could take a yoga class in the open air.
The festival’s partners, Nexign and Selectel, awarded the best players in intellectual competitions and taught participants how to decorate their tote bags.
ITMO.Extreme – for adrenaline junkies
Professional stunt performers taught the more sporty visitors to balance on a board and perform basic tricks on skateboards and scooters.
Then, they showed everyone how it’s really done.
The most adventurous guests tried to conquer the Bolshaya Nevka on SUP boards.
“It was my first time SUP-surfing, but I enjoyed it so much. When I got in the water, at first, I was afraid to stand up on the board, worrying I’d slip and fall off it – but then I did it and it was way cooler than if I continued to paddle sitting down,” shares Ekaterina Shchekuteva, a second-year student at ITMO’s Faculty of Biotechnologies.
A place for those are up to the challenge
“Experimental Spot was initially meant to be a venue where our guests could discuss various topics within our main theme, but we decided that it’d be better to make it more flexible and diverse. First, we had a good laugh with our comedians and then painted in various styles and on different materials. In the evening, participants danced to jazz. It’s great that here, each member of ITMO.Family can find something to their liking, which proves once again that ITMO’s not only about IT,” says Lyudmila Tsoy, the organizer of Experimental Spot and a manager at ITMO’s Creative and Corporate Projects Planning Center.
Experimental Spot offered a wide range of formats to try. The comedy troupe Minskie, as well as Mikhail Kurushkin, the head of ITMO’s Faculty of Biotechnologies, Evgenii Raskin, and ITMO students, staged a stand-up show where they joked about university life.
Meanwhile, Alexey Itin, the head of the Department of Website Management, and Artyom Arushanyan, the chair of ITMO.STUDENTS, improvised about what it’s like to take a trip to the university’s Yagodnoe outdoors camp.
Participants also had the chance to embrace their inner artist by trying their hand at Korean calligraphy, watercoloring, and acrylic painting on stones.
“I’ve never painted on rocks before. It sure is something… you paint, mix colors, try something new. At first, I was nervous, but then as time went on I got more comfortable. Since Vincent van Gogh’s Starry Night is my favorite painting, that’s the picture I went for,” shares Daniil Matov, a third-year student at ITMO’s Faculty of Technological Management and Innovations.
London on rocks.
Students also painted flowers with watercolors under the guidance of lecturers of the Computer Technologies in Design program…
…made cats out of watercolor blotches…
…and wrote their first hieroglyphics.
Fairy tales and science for kids
The festival’s smallest guests had fun, too.
“We set up a peaceful area for kids where our staff read them fairy tales about science, like The Little Prince, and they could learn to bounce on a trampoline or even get a temporary “be ITMO” tattoo. Yet the highlights were a chemical show with liquid nitrogen and dry ice blasting, a scientific show with Tesla coils and solar panels, workshops on electronics, and an eco-workshop on gardening. This way we strived to engage our guests with science and explain complex concepts,” explains Elena Makhina, the organizer of Kids and a director at ITMO’s Creative and Corporate Projects Planning Center.
Rock, jazz and pop music – all on one stage
Nevertheless, the most fun was happening on the stage; even rain didn’t ruin the show but rather got the crowd even more excited.
Street performer troupe AspectR landed on the stage to perform a space show.
Members of the Petrograd Jazz Association performed songs by Frank Sinatra and other prominent jazz artists.
And Ilya Kuftiryov, the head of ITMO’s School of Life Sciences, as well as…
…Kseniya Buraya, an ITMO graduate, sang their own songs.
Extreme jumpers from team Jump Energy showed the audience how to have a good time at concerts.
Cover band JUICE performed a mix of popular songs during their set.
ITMO graduate Nikita Gruzdkov, the singer of the rock band Shokoladniy Tort (Chocolate Cake – Ed.) climbed up the stage to get a good look at the crowd.
The event’s special guest, rap artist FEDUK, wished all members of ITMO.Family to keep being themselves.
