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Competition details
Every year, many ITMO students take part in conferences, schools, research internships, seminars, and other short-term events all over Russia. ITMO University supports these initiatives through the competition for partial funding of short-term educational events.
What expenses can be reimbursed: travel fees from St. Petersburg to the destination (train or plane tickets), accommodation, and registration fees. Food and local transport at the destination aren’t covered. You should also apply if you are participating in an online event: within the competition, the university can partially cover registration fees of online events.
Who can apply
ITMO Bachelor’s and Master’s students studying on a tuition-free basis and planning to participate in an academic event (school, contest, championship) within the subject area of their program at ITMO or present their work at a scientific conference.
Final-year students can apply for the competition on the condition that the event they plan to participate in ends before June 30 of their graduation year. If the event takes place later, students will have to submit a written confirmation from the head of their educational program or thesis supervisor that the student in question will be applying to study at ITMO for the next level of education.
Choice of events covered by the competition
Geographic range. You can receive reimbursement of expenses for events in any Russian city that isn’t St. Petersburg. Some of the most popular choices are Moscow, Novosibirsk, Kazan, and Sochi (Sirius).
Danila Ermolin. Photo courtesy of the subject
Danila Ermolin, a first-year Master’s student at ITMO’s Infochemistry Scientific Center:
I visited the renowned national school-conference Current Problems of Organic Chemistry held by the Novosibirsk Institute of Organic Chemistry of the RAS. At the conference, I presented my research on the application of quantum chemical methods for modeling of organic reactions. My presentation was named the best at the conference.
The event took place in a small town in Kemerovo Oblast. In order to get there, I had to buy tickets, pay for accommodation, and cover the registration fee – this constituted quite a sum of money, so I decided to apply for the competition. The application form was easy to fill out and I could reach out for help from ITMO staff whenever there was something I didn’t understand. As a result, the university helped cover my expenses and gave me the chance to do what I love – science.
Types of events. The university offers support for participation only in educational and scientific events that correspond to the student’s subject area. These are not only conferences, but also seminars, schools, competitions, intensive courses, championships, and research internships.
Sofia Sirotenko. Photo courtesy of the subject
Sofia Sirotenko, a fourth-year Bachelor’s student at ITMO’s Center for Chemical Engineering:
In late February this year, I went to the engineering school CHEMPROM-2024 in Tomsk. There, in teams of up to 9 students, we solved cases from the company Sibur that were related to their industrial tasks and promising technologies in polymers and chemical industry. We also attended lectures by experts from Tomsk Polytechnic University, met with the company’s managers, and toured their facilities.
The partial funding competition is a great opportunity to get financial support for your academic trips. ITMO helped me cover the travel fees to Tomsk and back, while accommodation was covered by the organizers. I am very happy that ITMO supports students in their desire to participate in conferences and educational events.
What’s more, you can apply regardless of the format of the event – be it online or offline. Usually, short-term academic events last up to a month, while research internships – no longer than 1 semester.
Karina Urazmanova. Photo courtesy of the subject
Karina Urazmanova, a first-year Master’s student at ITMO’s ChemBio Cluster:
I took part in the conference-school AI in Chemistry and Materials Science hosted by the N. D. Zelinsky Institute of Organic Chemistry of the RAS last December. I presented a poster on molecular design of new antibiotics based on benzimidazole and listened to presentations by other participants.
In order to get my expenses covered, I followed the simple application process on ISU (the university’s internal management system – Ed.). My application was approved and I received an email that I need to sign the related documents at the Student Services Office. After that, the money was transferred to my stipend card. All in all, I have only the best impressions. To all students, I recommend participating in conferences and applying for the partial funding competition – it’s quick and easy.
You can look for upcoming events on ISU (on the calendar and news feed) or on social media: ITMO.STUDENTS, ITMO’s Telegram channel in English, Student Science Community, and the Center for Student Science, Conferences, and Exhibitions. Your lecturers can also recommend relevant events.
Here are some upcoming events: School-Conference Current Problems of Mechanics, International School-Conference International School-Seminar Nonlinear Analysis and Extremal Problems, spring school Research in Strong and Super-Strong Magnetic Fields, and International Conference and School of Young Scientists Chemistry and Technology of Vegetable Matters. You can also take part in events organized by universities abroad, such as summer schools by Beijing Institute of Technology and the summer school by Istanbul Aydın University.
How to apply
The competition is open year-round, but each student can only get funding twice per semester.
If you are joining an offline event:
- Choose an event within your subject area.
- Register for the event and get an invitation from the organizers. This is a document that includes the official letterhead of the organizing party, as well as your full name, ITMO University’s name, the event’s dates, the purpose of your participation, and the name of your report if you are planning to participate in a conference.
- Apply for the competition via ISU, attaching your invitation.
- Within five business days, you will be notified of the results of the competition.
- If your application is approved, wait for a notification via ISU and then visit the Student Services Office to sign the necessary documents.
- Within three days after you return to St. Petersburg, submit the documents confirming your trip and associated expenses to the Student Services Office (these include the registration fee, receipts from your hotel, train or plane tickets). Importantly: your trip should fit within the day before and the day after the event.
- After your trip, part of your expenses will be returned to your stipend card. ITMO University can reimburse up to 70% and no more than 70,000 rubles of your expenses.
Photo by Inna Gutorova / ITMO Mediaportal
If you are joining an online event, the process is similar: choose a relevant event and get your invitation. Then, send a scanned copy of a filled-out application, your invitation, and the event’s program to short-term@itmo.ru (ITMO’s Academic Mobility Support Office). Within five business days, you will be notified of the decision regarding your application.
Within three working days after the completion of the online event, you should send the following to short-term@itmo.ru: a certificate of your participation, a bank statement confirming your payment of participation fees, and an invoice with the details of the organization to which the payment was made. After the event, you will receive the reimbursement to your stipend card.
If you have any questions about the procedure, feel free to contact ITMO’s Academic Mobility Support Office via email (short-term@itmo.ru) or in person at Lomonosova St. 9 (room 2139c).
