ITMO.FUTURE is an opportunity for ITMO students and staff to propose and implement various ways to improve the university’s environment. There are no restrictions on what these ideas can be – as long as their goal is to help the university become more open, modern, and comfortable to work and study at. The project was launched last year as part of ITMO University’s global transformation strategy.

This year, the competition ran for a second time and consisted of two stages. In the first stage, students and staff shared their suggestions on the university’s development, from which an expert board chose the best ones. In the second stage, students were chosen who would implement the chosen projects. During the first stage, the event’s organizers received 80 applications, largely focused on the development of the university’s infrastructure and the ideas of conscious consumption, healthy nutrition, and creating green spaces.

In the second stage, 13 applications were received, of which the expert board chose 7 names to take charge on specific projects. Detailed expert assessments and comments on every applicant can be found here (in Russian). Here are the winners’ names:

1. Ekaterina Kukhtenko, group B3220

Project: Fitowalls – vertical landscaping of ITMO University’s public areas

2. Dmitry Ioksha, group R3135

Project: monitoring of visitor traffic in cafeterias and coworking areas with the use of AI

3. Ilya Bokatiy, group 7764

Project: ReCyclingStarter, paper waste sorting service

4. Ivan Bratchikov, group P33022

Project: updated website for the Megabyte student news media

5. Mikhail Rybkin, group K3240

Project: ITMO.DEVELOPER platform

6. Maxim Mjagkih, group V33361

Project: student “test-drives” for high school students at ITMO University

7. Danil Kladnitsky, group P3232

Project: development of ITMO University’s esports platform

The winners will have over six months to implement their projects. Work on the initiatives will end on November 22 and project defenses will take place on December 1-10. Staff of the competition will now begin contacting the winners to further develop the projects’ work statements and introduce them to their mentors.