Caps in the air!

One of the festival’s main symbols this year were academic gowns and caps, as all Bachelor’s and Master’s graduates received their diplomas on that very day.

“On your path to your goals, you’ll have to face many challenges, make mistakes, and sometimes even shed tears. But you have to remember that failures lead you to new heights. You only need to learn to love and believe – and then you’ll know no limits! I am certain that today’s graduates will keep their ties to the university. ITMO.Family are not just empty words, as shown perfectly by today’s celebration,” said ITMO Rector Vladimir Vasilyev. 

On July 7, ITMO’s best graduates fired the traditional midday cannon salute from the Peter and Paul Fortress and then sailed to the party location on a boat with the rector and top managers of the fest’s partners – Alfa Bank, Sberbank, and Yandex Education. 

“At ITMO, you get the chance to grow as a person, as well as a professional, building your community of friends and like-minded people. I believe that my diploma is proof of the knowledge I acquired at ITMO and which I can confirm in practice. The university has equipped me with everything I need to reach my career goals. And I will always be glad to go back to ITMO to support new generations of students, just like I was supported in my time,” shares Nikita Borisov, one of the winners of the university’s Best Graduates competition.

Education is everything

At the festival, the participants enjoyed 12 areas with different activities. At the Alfa Bank area, visitors could pick up a name tag, chat with the bank’s experts, and join side quests with gifts for all participants. In the Sberbank pavilion, graduates could learn about internship opportunities and enjoy free ice cream while dancing to DJ sets among clouds of soap bubbles. And Yandex Education offered insights into the company’s current projects and consultations on work and internships by Young&&Yandex.

“It’s the first time that we’ve involved the university’s partners in ITMO Family Day to show them off to our guests and demonstrate where our graduates find their employment. This way, immediately after getting their diplomas, our young specialists could seek advice from industry leaders, assess their career trajectory, and even land an offer! We hope that next year, we can build on this experience and invite even more of our friends and partners to the festival,” says Maria Yakovleva, who managed the partner areas at the festival.

ITMO Family Day also featured a lecture hall with talks on how to support your well-being, what the future of the food industry holds, and how to get your education online the right way. One of the discussions, on AI assistants and what to expect from them by 2030, also involved representatives of partner companies and Russia’s IT giants.

“For me, one of the key takeaways of the discussion was the notion that technologies also undergo natural selection, and only those that are truly needed remain in use. The same goes for the question of which jobs will exist in the future. In order to become a professional in any field, you have to keep learning, acquiring new skills, and improving the ones you already have. When I am looking for new members of my team, I always try to find someone with a drive for growth and learning – otherwise, we won’t see eye to eye,” tells us one of the discussion’s participants, Boris Shaposhnikov, a researcher and developer at the NLP-Research team of T-Bank’s AI Center and an ITMO alumnus.

Another interesting talk was delivered by Lyubov Belozerova, the director of the Bone Marrow Donation Promotion Center, who explained why donating bone marrow isn’t scary. And those inspired by her talk could donate blood at a special tent nearby.

“For many, bone marrow donation is still something sinister, all because of the lack of readily available information. If we were taught at school that it’s completely harmless, more people would’ve made the decision to donate without fear. By joining the donor registry, you are giving a chance to someone who needs a bone marrow transplant. Our task is to show that you don’t have to be a superhero to save a life – anyone can do it,” said Lyubov Belozerova.

What’s more, ITMO Family Day had its own branch of the Admissions Office, meaning that freshly graduated Bachelor’s students could apply to Master’s programs right on site.

A magnet for the very best  

At the themed creativity area, visitors could make antistress potpourri, 3D plexiglass figurines, or custom-painted T-shirts. Art & science lovers also had plenty to enjoy: exoskeletons and an electric motorcycle by developers from ITMO – and plastic bugs with giant eyes and small wings made by a Yandex lab. And those wishing to chat to new people could do so at the speed-dating area – that is, if they weren’t joining the silent disco nearby.

“Last year, we launched ёTalk, a chatbot for ITMO staff and students where they can make new friends and network with one another. At the festival, we decided to bring it to life in the form of speed dating. Participants had ten minutes to talk to one interlocutor before switching to another one. In a single session, you could meet up to six or even nine people! As a result, applicants were chatting with students, graduates’ parents – with ITMO staff, and some even got to practice their English,” shared Ekaterina Stenina, the organizer of the speed dating area.

Sporty visitors also had a blast with areas dedicated to archery, table tennis, badminton, aerial yoga, and even acrobatics. And those into esports could try their hand at a Mortal Kombat tournament or play many other popular games. Moreover, there was a board game area and a special zone for the kids, where they got to assemble robots, knit plush bags, and even “swim” in a ball pit with pink flamingos.

Into a brighter future

As the festival drew to a close, the stage was overtaken by The Hatters, who delivered a smashing show to the delight of the audience. The rock band’s frontman Yura Muzychenko wished the graduates to make the most of their chances in life and congratulated them on their big day.