Opportunities at Mega School

This year, Mega School will be hosted at ITMO for the second time. At the event, Bachelor’s students and graduates will learn more about the university’s educational programs and the opportunities available to students. Moreover, they will get an additional chance to enter ITMO’s Master’s programs without exams – an opportunity used by 79 Mega School winners last year. 

One of these lucky winners was Ksenia Dudina, who graduated from the Ulyanovsk branch of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration with a law degree but decided to improve her employment chances by getting a Master’s. Thanks to Mega School, Ksenia was able to get a place at ITMO’s Faculty of Ecotechnologies (GreenTech).

“During my Bachelor’s training, I saw that lawyers are in demand, but I also realized that I didn’t want to have a narrow specialization. With a Master’s degree, I will be able to acquire skills in a complementary field, which will help me stand out on the job market. Currently, there aren’t many universities that offer training in environmental legislation – however, such specialists are required more and more often. At Mega School, I got to meet the professional and vibrant lecturers of ITMO’s GreenTech, as well as connect with talented students from all over the country to share knowledge and experience. In fact, in my team at the school we got on so well that we went on to win the TechnoSphere case championship organized by Gazprom Neft and ITMO,” shares Ksenia Dudina.

Mega School program in 2024

At Mega School, students attend lectures, then work on their cases and projects guided by ITMO lecturers before eventually presenting their results to a jury. The event takes place online. 

This year, the school will be held on February 14-16. On the first day, students will attend talks by the university’s scientists on such topics as AI development, building a career in science, attracting funding for a startup, and using neural networks in their work.

Then, on the second day, each participant will choose one of the 21 available tracks, including AI, software engineering, mobile development, physics, chemistry, and biology (see full list here). Each track will offer students lectures within a given field, meetings with lecturers and heads of educational programs, as well as opportunities to develop their cases and projects. 

Finally, on the third day, students will take a test and defend their projects (in the format specified within their track). Those who successfully complete these tasks will have the chance to enter a Master’s program within their track at ITMO without exams.

How to participate

You can register for the school until February 13 on this website (in Russian): you need to fill in the application form and indicate the track you’d like to join. After that, you will receive an email with more information about participating in the school.