The stars of the festival

Throughout the day, Bachelor’s, Master’s, and PhD students took to the stage to receive their diplomas. Winners of the best graduate contest traveled to the festival by boat with ITMO’s Rector and the top managers of the event’s partners: Alfa-Bank, Sberbank, and Yandex Education.

“ITMO’s mission is to create opportunities for students and inspire them to tackle ambitious technological challenges. We work on this mission together: the Rector’s Office, the deans and lecturers, the students and graduates. At the university, we also teach our students to be “resistant” to mistakes and failures: if you fail at something, just give it another go. And if you don’t know where to go, come back to us or to your future colleagues, other students, for advice. Together, we’ll be able to find the answer,” said ITMO Rector Vladimir Vasilyev.

Kicking off spectacular careers here and now 

ITMO applicants could submit their documents to the Admissions Office right at the festival. While there, they could also get answers to all their questions from the deans and faculty representatives, take a virtual tour of the university, and ask PhD students about the coolest and hottest research projects at ITMO.

On the alumni stage, visitors could learn from the experience of graduates who have built a successful career in big tech or launched their startups. They shared their stories and lifehacks for landing a dream job, managing a project, and avoiding burnout. Speakers from Russia’s leading companies also shared their advice and various career cases.

At interactive zones spread across the festival grounds, visitors could learn all about internships and jobs from the university's partners – the nation's leading IT companies. At the Sberbank zone, a fun DJ set entertained guests while they tested new digital and AI products, took AI-powered photos, and colored in designs of the bank's new "youth-oriented" credit cards. Tired visitors could also chill in a hammock with some free ice cream.

A robot race met visitors to the Alfa-Bank zone. Here, they could also adopt a few pets, albeit in balloon form. Other highlights: letters to your future self, pictures with lemonades, unlimited watermelon, an IT board game, and a lounge zone.

The Yandex Education space invited adventurers to accept a bug-catching quest; those who succeeded were given their prizes by an actual robot. Meanwhile, those who preferred a more classic format could enjoy a colorful game of chess.

And anyone looking for a quiet place with fast internet, could relax in the IT Lounge by the festival's technological partner Obit.

All kinds of sports

Sports lovers had a blast, too! From beach volleyball, table tennis, badminton, and basketball to rock climbing, zorbing, and SUP surfing, not to mention yoga and rowing in the Gulf of Finland – there was a lot to choose from.

A life-size table football tournament also had its fans, attracting all with its blend of classic and table football. Within a special bouncy castle, participants were secured to their positions on ropes – just like the figurines in table football. In a series of exciting matches, the team from ITMO took gold, the team from Okko (a Russian streaming service – Ed.) came second, and Alfa-Bank’s team took the third place. ITMO deans and athletes also gave it a go in an exhibition game. The finals and semifinals were narrated by Vladimir Stognienko, a popular sports commentator and editor-in-chief at Okko.

Not a day without learning

At the festival’s main lecture area, experts discussed the big tech work structure, the importance of joking about science, and the neurobiology behind decision-making. In a special lecture on raising a happy and successful teenager in the age of anxiety, deadlines, and booming technologies, Natalia Smelkova (School 21, Moscow), Anna Razgrebalskaya (home school Foxford), and Margarita Spasskaya (the head of Higher Education department at Netology) shared their tips. 

“Teenagers are weighed down by expectations from themselves, their parents, and the entire world. As adults, we have to show them the abundance of opportunities in their future, instead of narrowing their attention down to only one possible path. This will help tone down the anxiety. The most important task for parents is to not be trapped by their own experience. They need to understand how the world has changed, what jobs are in demand today, and what employers want from their candidates. Otherwise, it will be impossible to make the right decision together with their kids,” said Natalia Smelkova.

At the “couch lecture hall,” ITMO researchers explained hard concepts in simple words: what’s inside the devices we use daily, how physics and chemistry explain natural wonders, and why doing research is exciting. In the evening, a PowerPoint party saw members of various ITMO departments share their “pains” in informal talks peppered with jokes.

Handicrafts hub and other activities

Apart from sports, visitors could enjoy boardgames and popular videogames, as well as join an Angry DevOps tournament: the participants were tasked with assembling giant catapults and protective cocoons for chicken eggs; they then had to safely launch their egg as far as possible to outperform other contenders. 

At a special crafts hub, everyone could scratch their creative itch by decorating a tote bag, making a case for their phone or a water bottle, or molding plasticine or plexiglass into any shape their heart desired. Among other activity options were speed-dating networking, a reels-making workshop, and DJ sets from ITMO’s Megabyte Media.

To let off some steam, visitors of ITMO Family Day could ride a special “shredder bike” to destroy some corporate red flags or bask in the sun in a giant ball pit. The festival’s younger guests, meanwhile, enjoyed making colorful pendants and homes for insects, jumping in a bouncy house, filling in a giant coloring book, and even learning to program and control quadcopters.

Just dance!

The day ended on a high note with The Hatters, a Russian folk band that rocked the stage and was met with elation from the audience. A true gem to end ITMO’s most summery festival!