The study camp will welcome third- and fourth-year Bachelor’s students of Russian universities specializing in computer science, software engineering, or software development. Travel and accommodation for all participants will be paid for by the organizers. Classes (in Russian) will take place on ITMO campuses, at Yandex offices, and in the new space of Yandex’s Data Analysis School.

At the start of the camp, students will attend lectures and practical classes on highload systems architecture and development, quality management in software development, and their career trajectory from interns to team leads. Additionally, there will be workshops on software testing and Agile project management. Practical classes will have two levels of difficulty and will be offered to students depending on their experience. 

After the first week of camp, students will choose their tracks: either DevOps or Information Security. Within the first track, participants will focus on dockerizing, working with files and catalogs on Linux, as well as DevOps concepts and practices. And in the second track, participants will study applied cryptography, AI security, reverse engineering, and identification of vulnerabilities.

In the second week, teams of students will work on cases, guided by mentors. They will then present their solutions to the expert committee; those who successfully defend their projects will receive a certificate of completion. When there are no classes, students will be touring the offices of the organizers and experiencing St. Petersburg during its beautiful white nights season.

“At our camps, we expand the meaning of university education by offering talented students from all over the country an opportunity to learn from leading experts in computer science, including Yandex’s own specialists. Our participants master cutting-edge development practices and discover how we create technologies and products used by millions. This format combines fundamental skills with intensive training. Such camps also offer participants a chance to explore the cultural and social environment of a different city and university, making for an educational journey of sorts,” shares Kirill Barannikov, the head of higher education department at Yandex Education. 

ITMO and Yandex have been collaborating in the field of IT education for several years already – for instance, together the partners train middle level developers, full stack developers, and team leads in the corporate program Highload Systems. What’s more, the partners host lectures and workshops for students. The upcoming camp will be the first such event to be co-organized by the partners.

“These days, software development is much more than just programming. Specialists in the field have to demonstrate a deep understanding of operating systems and computer networks, mathematical modeling and data management, information security and DevOps. At ITMO, we take all of this into account in our educational programs, bringing together fundamental university training and individually tailored education – the new study camp adopts the same approach. There, students from all over Russia will get the opportunity to boost their professional skills, expand their toolkit with new technologies, and, most importantly, work with experienced mentors, developers, and fellow students,” adds Alexander Mayatin, the head of ITMO’s Software Engineering Bachelor’s program.

You can learn more about the study camp here (in Russian) and apply for the event here until May 1 (the course will be held in Russian and is available to students of Russian universities regardless of citizenship).