Marina Babayeva, PhD student, Faculty of Control Systems and Robotics
Marina started out as a technical support engineer at a cable factory in Kazakhstan and was promoted to department head while finishing her Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Power Engineering. Then, she founded her own robotics company. In the fall of 2019, she came to St. Petersburg to study energy-efficient electric drives and work at ITMO University. Today, she is in her second year of working on a PhD in System Analysis, Management and Information Processing.
“When I was studying for my Bachelor’s degree, we started to learn about control theory and it felt completely magical to me that researchers are able to predict what is going to happen with a system only by looking at some numbers and graphs,” Marina says. “I decided I wanted to be able to do it, too.”
Marina credits her ex-boss with giving her the confidence to excel. “She taught me that you must always be 200% prepared for everything, ask questions, dig deeper, and be skeptical – these are all good qualities for a researcher.”
That goes hand in hand with patience and excitement. “It might take a long time to achieve a result but even if it’s negative, it’s still a result. You should also be excited about your research. Otherwise, why do it?”
For Marina, Women’s Day is very important because it is a day to congratulate her mother and grandmother who deserve everything for raising her and bringing her up the way she is. Even though they’re far away she still makes an effort to congratulate them on this day.
Vu Thi Hong Nhung, PhD student, Faculty of Applied Optics
Nhung moved to St. Petersburg from Vietnam a few years ago. She’s currently doing a PhD in polymeric compounds chemistry. When she was in high school, she didn’t like chemistry because it seemed confusing and complicated. However, the more she disliked it, the more it became a challenge to overcome.
“I suddenly found chemistry very interesting, as if it gave us power and magic. I especially like to learn about medicine because I often got sick when I was a little girl. I also noticed more and more people were getting sick and more and more new diseases appeared, especially cancer. I wanted to do something, even if it was very small. After reading lots of scientific papers, I know that the magic that comes from polymer nanomaterials can help me do it,” explains Nhung.
Nhung is quite focused on her research. She wants to create an effective and inexpensive drug to treat cancer. Medicine made from herbs and natural substances such as roots, stems, twigs or leaves takes time to see the effect, so she wants to learn how to successfully integrate “a natural bioactive substance into a polymer nanosystem for therapeutic purposes which will provide a research basis for the integration of other bioactive substances into the same polymer system or into the other polymer systems. This opens up many healing opportunities for cancer patients.”
Nhung tries to treat every day as Women’s Day, but on March 8 she plans to call her mom and sisters back in Vietnam to congratulate them and spend time with friends in St. Petersburg. There are some dynamic women in history that Nhung is inspired by, such as the Empress of Vietnam Tu Du and the British naturalist Isabella Bird, for their benevolence and spirit. And currently in her life, she is grateful to have her supervisor, Maya Uspenskaya, who she describes as a great woman.
“In the course of our work, she always gives me requests that are neither too difficult nor easy, that I am always happy to try and complete. Simply put, imagine that when you life up your arms you can only reach the height of 2.2 meters, but with her guidance you will be able to reach up to 2.5 meters and more,” explains Nhung.
Maria Ososkova, Director of the Career Services Center
Maria is the director of ITMO’s Career Services Center and also a soft skills lecturer at ITMO. She loves her job and decided to work in this particular field because her previous experience in HR showed her that graduates often lack very important soft skills.
When asked what makes her excited about her work, Maria says, “it’s the opportunity to be useful to students, to help them every day, as well as the joy, flow, and happiness that come from engaging with smart, open-minded young people who are just starting to go out into the big world. Our students are incredible!”
On Women’s Day, Maria usually congratulates her mother and grandmother and buys flowers for everyone because they’re perfect for the spring mood. Besides her family, she admires Margaret Thatcher. She read her biography at school and has since considered her an example of “how to go towards your goal, even when everything is against you.” She also admires Barbara Sher, a self-improvement author who encouraged her readers to see difficulties in life as a source of professional growth.
How to succeed in science and IT? Maria says, “It’s possible! You just need the fire in your heart and the desire to do something cool!”
Emina Iskhakova, Bachelor’s student, Faculty of Infocommunication Technologies and Assistant, Foreign Language Training Center
Emina is from Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and moved to St. Petersburg to study at ITMO. She is currently in her second year taking the Intelligent Systems in Humanities program. After finishing school, Emina spent three years at the Taskent Professional College of IT, during which she participated in many projects as a volunteer and organizer. She also participated in the global educational competition Technovation Challenge 2018, in which her team worked on a mobile app that helped young people take care of the elderly – and that influenced Emina’s decision to choose her program.
For her, March 8 is not a day of being feminine and celebrating spring and beauty, but a day of women’s solidarity in the battle against inequality. Usually, on this day she donates money to Russian organizations that help women who have suffered from domestic violence, such as Nasiliu.net and WomenSecure.
Emina’s mentors are Dilafruz Jiyranova and Shodiyabegim Bakhtiyorzoda, who helped her in the Technovation Challenge, and thanks to whom she expanded her awareness of the fields in IT. Emina also feels admiration for the historical figure of Ada Lovelace, the creator of the world’s first algorithm for an early computing machine. Emina thinks that if a young woman wants to build a career in IT, she has to try to work in all the branches she’s interested in and participate in different projects. For Emina, perseverance and confidence in one’s ideals are the keys to success.
Ekaterina Tiurikova, lecturer and PhD student, Faculty of Energy and Ecotechnology (GreenTech)
Ekaterina grew up in the small town of Vozhega, Vologda Oblast, about 900 km from St. Petersburg. She moved here in 2010 when she enrolled in a Bachelor’s program. She has since completed her Master’s at ITMO, and is currently at the end of her PhD program.
Ekaterina's previous degrees were in optical and electronic devices. She likes working in her field and learning something new, and after some years of training and participating in different projects, she realized that she also enjoys teaching students. In her lessons, Ekaterina holds discussions about environmental challenges and the importance of creating new devices and systems for high-quality environmental monitoring. With her work she tries to make a positive impact on the world, since she thinks changing the world starts with yourself.
She is also currently teaching the courses Reliability of Technical Systems and Business and Scientific Ethics. Besides teaching, a significant part of her everyday life is spent working with students on projects like the Digital Raman Analyzer: a device based on Raman spectroscopy. “We do research, prepare for conferences, write articles, and apply for grants,” she says.
Ekaterina says that when she was at school, Women’s Day was just another day off, “But today, in the context of sharp conflicts with the positioning of women, I take this holiday much more seriously. For me, it is one more reminder about women’s rights and freedom to do what we want. Since I don’t have any traditions for this day, I am going to do things that I enjoy: have more free hours to read, visit the gym, and meet friends.”
The most significant woman in science for Ekaterina is Marie Skłodowska Curie. She admires how much Marie went through to get an education. Another important influence in Ekaterina’s life is the astronomer Maria Mitchell, who, despite the challenges of society, studied and excelled in astronomy and even opened a school. But for Ekaterina, the most important women in science are her colleagues.
To succeed in science, it is necessary to have a work-life balance, try to plan for all the deadlines, and take small breaks during work and study – it helps stay productive. Ekaterina believes that important qualities for a scientist are: the ability to probe and defend your point of view, understand your opponents and their point of view, and have good communication skills for collaboration in projects.
Elena Borisova, Director of ITMO’s Student Services Office
Ever since Elena graduated from university, she wanted to work in higher education. First, she worked as a tutor, then joined the administrative staff. Before heading the Student Services Office, she was the Deputy Director at ITMO’s Foreign Language Training Center.
“I’ve always liked working in the academic environment and interacting with students,” she says. “It always gives me a lot of energy and also the motivation to study and grow.”
Elena doesn’t associate Women’s Day with its historical roots so much and mostly sees it as a sign of the beginning of spring, which brings energy, inspiration, strength, and motivation. And of course, it’s nice to see guys rushing to congratulate the important women in their lives who blushingly accept the compliments and the flowers.
When asked about how her work contributes to improving the world, Elena says: “Working at ITMO, you feel that you’re a part of something greater than yourself, something that transforms modern education. Ever since I started working here, I’ve always been looking forward to coming to work. Here, you’re never alone. You always feel yourself as a part of the team.”
Prepared by Juan Sebastian Velasquez Acevedo
