One's expectations of the future may differ from the reality — reminded Oleg Borisov, a PhD Student for the School of Computer Technologies and Controls. On October 21st, it became a year since the scientists failed to invent one of "greatest expectations" of 2015 — the hoverboard from the "Back to the Future" movie. Still, many other technologies came into being — auto-piloted cars, artificial intelligence, total uberization. New professions replace old ones, and now it’s clear that the future belongs to specialists in IT, robotics and information science that will be sought-after in almost every economic sector. The School of Computer Technologies and Controls is the place that trains such specialists.

ITMO University, interactive zone

This School is not just ITMO's biggest — it boasts a rich history. According to Dmitry Lukichev, Associate Professor for the Department of Electrical Engineering and Precision Electromechanical Systems, ITMO started training specialists in IT since the development of Russia’s first electronic computing machines. The School united several of the university's units that mostly work with cyber-physic systems, communication technologies, and complex technical objects such as robots. As for the latter, the students not only construct, but program them as well. What is more, such fields as information security are becoming more and more popular lately. The students are trained according to the most recent methods and requirements of the modern market where software and web-technologies are vastly implemented.

"We work in close collaboration with real industry. There are 21 departments in our School, and about a half of them were opened with some high-technology enterprise or a specialized institution of the Russian Academy of Sciences as a basis. Our students get practical training sessions at real enterprises, and many of our lecturers also work there. Thus, our students get real experience and most recent information about their future professions. The students can also do research alongside the academic staff, as well as participate in international projects and internship programs of our partner universities. Our students study not only programming, but its objects as well. All of this trains them into highly qualified professionals. As a result, almost 100% of our graduates find jobs in their professional areas", shares Dmitry Lukichev.

Open Day at the School of Computer Technologies and Controls

The School's graduates work with autopilot systems, drones, develop mechatronic manipulators, they become developers, testers, systems analysts and network engineers. As a result, ITMO is already among the world's privileged universities in Computer Science, comments Alexei Bobtsov, head of the School of Computer Technologies and Controls. Recently, the university took 56th position among the world’s best IT universities in the prestigious Times Higher Education ranking.

ITMO University. Alexei Bobtsov

"I never regretted joining ITMO University. A university’s staff is what’s really important; in ITMO, many of the PhD student's are in their twenties. The lecturers here not only pass on their knowledge, but also inspire the students, show them an example. So, our graduates have no problems finding jobs — they only have to put some effort in it. Surely, self-education is a part of their studies; still, the knowledge one gets from lectures is already enough for becoming a qualified professional. What is more, students can participate in internships from their second year. I've been working for the Kaspersky Laboratory for more than two years already. And I remember being surprised to see many ITMO graduates working for them when I first came there", comments Alexander Dudinsky, graduate of the School.

Olga Bantus, Chair of the School's Student Council, told the applicants of the student life at ITMO University. She has noted that more than 600 extra-curricular events are held at ITMO every year. Still, only students who are in good academic standing can participate or organize them — studying comes first, as that is exactly the reason people apply to ITMO.

ITMO University, interactive zone

ITMO trains the best of the best, so requirements for the applicants are high as well. Potential students have to get at least 60 points for each of their Unified State Exams — Russian Language, Math and Informatics, — just to apply. In 2016, the average score of the applicants was 86 points out of 100.

"We hope that next year, the score will be even higher. Applicants can already participate in the contests organized by ITMO. If one shows himself during these contests, he or she might even be enrolled without taking exams. Also, additional points can be added for different sports accomplishments or good command of English", — explained Alexei Itin, head of the Admission Department.

Masterclass in Robotics

After the end of the official part of the event, the school students could participate in a masterclass on robotics. As a result, they constructed a bi-motored robot using the LEGO Mindstorms Kit, and programmed it to avoid obstacles. The robot was fully autonomous. Also, the students had an opportunity to play different games and conduct experiments.

 

As a reminder, the admission campaign for the School of Computer Technologies and Controls starts on the 10th of June. You can get all the necessary information here.