Communication platform and University loyalty program 

Last year, ITMO launched a special platform that makes it easier to keep in touch with the university after graduation. An alumni personal profile is not only a place where you can communicate with your former classmates, but also the most convenient way to solve all administrative issues like getting certificates, acquiring access to ITMO campuses or requesting a translation of your diploma.  

Moreover, setting up your personal profile, gives you access to the university’s loyalty program, including various discounts and offers from ITMO itself and from its many partners. For instance, starting from the end of September, all registered alumni will be able to access Theatre HD for free. 

In your personal profile, you can also keep track of any events – both university ones and those organized exclusively for graduates. Some of the upcoming events are an ITMO University outing at Yagodnoe and a webinar on how to combat procrastination by Olga Beglova, business trainer at MBTI and head of EY Business Academy. 

“This year, we decided to completely reinvent our loyalty program,” says Lyudmila Tsoi, a manager at ITMO University’s Center for Creative and Corporate Projects. “We are including more activities with special attention paid to educational events. According to the surveys we regularly post on social media, opportunities for lifelong learning and developing soft skills are what interests our alumni the most. At the same time, we are trying to create a diverse program taking into account various groups of graduates. For instance, we have decided to introduce cultural events and announcements of exhibitions held at ITMO.”

Future development

This year, the team is planning to increase the functions available on the platform and make both the registration and interaction with the personal profile easier and more convenient. For example, all 2020 graduates are automatically registered on the platform, they don’t have to await verification. The graduates of the coming years are likely to have the same easy access to their personal profiles. However, all earlier graduates still have to go through a two-step verification procedure. 

According to Lyudmila Tsoi all the paperwork that has to do with getting certificates, signing up for sports classes or language courses at ITMO will also be done in a single click – for this is one of the goals of the new platform. 

Mentorship program

Another way of engaging alumni is through a mentorship program that was also launched last year. The organizers have gauged great impact from this particular initiative. The main aim of the program is to give ITMO alumni a chance to share their expertise and experience, and for students this becomes an opportunity to get unique insights straight from the horse’s mouth as well as support for their professional growth. The program will receive special attention this year. 

“We think the mentorship program is highly relevant. We see that students feel the need for experience from the people already working in the field and ready to share it. Our alumni, on the other hand, volunteer to become mentors for our students – we have received quite a bit of feedback from them. Thus, from now on we want to organize more lectures, training sessions and workshops given by our alumni,” concludes Lyudmila Tsoi.