Robots, research, and a roadmap to St. Pete – all in this week’s news digest! 🛣

🎷 Students from ITMO’s Youth Robotics Lab secured the second spot at RoboCup Russia with Fantastic Robby Brown, their extravagant robot saxophonist.

🏪 100 students took part in the Help the Dark Store hackathon by ITMO and VkusVill. Winning solutions will be used to improve product storage, order assembly, and stock-taking.

🏅 Registration is now open for the 8th season of the I Am a Professional competition, with prizes of up to 300,000 rubles and internship opportunities at top Russian companies.

Let’s recap a few important posts from this week:

🙇‍♀️ New to St. Pete? Our city guide will help you get familiar with its popular attractions, hidden gems, and vibrant food scene in no time!

🔬 Bachelor’s, Master’s, and PhD students — mark your calendars for October 1-3 to explore labs, meet supervisors, and start your research journey with Open Day for Science 2024 @ITMO!

#newsdigest

Open Doors 2024 — registration is now open! 🎓

International academic competition Open Doors gives international prospective students a unique opportunity of early enrollment in one of ITMO University’s cutting-edge programs without entrance examinations and with tuition fees covered by the Russian Federation’s state funding.

This year, prospective students can apply to ITMO via one of the tracks:
• Bachelor’s
• Master’s
• PhD

📆 Registration for the tracks is open from September 5 to November 20, 2024

If you participated last year, note that old accounts have been deleted, so you’ll need to create a new one and fill out your portfolio from scratch.

More info 👈

#opportunities

Enjoy a night full of laughter (in English) 🎤

Next Monday, the Stage StandUp club is hosting an international comedy show!

The line-up will feature comedians from different corners of the world, including Russia, France, Mexico, and Colombia! After the show, there’ll be an opportunity to chat with the comedians to practice your language (and comedy) skills.

📆 September 30, 7 pm
📍 Stage StandUp Club, Vosstaniya St. 24/27

💬 Special offer for members of ITMO Family – use the promo code ITMO24 for a 10% discount
🎫 Get your ticket here

In addition, don’t miss out on upcoming shows in French and Spanish!

#events

Student’s guide to saving and budgeting in St. Petersburg 💸

Managing your finances isn’t easy – and even less so when it’s in a foreign country, currency, and even language. For newly-enrolled ITMO students, we’ve prepared some essential guidelines to help you navigate your finances more effectively in the following areas:

✅ Bank cards
✅ Accommodation
✅ Food and groceries
✅ Services
✅ Transport

All the wisdom – in one link 👈

#studentlife

Test your cybersec skills! 🚩

BRICS+ CTF 2024 is coming this October, and now’s your chance to compete with teams from around the globe.

💡 What’s in store:

• Mind-bending challenges in cryptography, reverse engineering, forensics, web hacking, and more.
• Competitors from multiple countries.
• Prize pool of 1,000,000 rubles.

💻 How it works:

• Qualifying round: October 5-6, CTF Jeopardy format (24 hours to prove your skills).
• Final round: November 16 – a fierce Attack-Defense showdown!

Think you’ve got what it takes? Sign up now 👈

#opportunities

If you’re following any of your Russian friends on social media, you’ve surely seen the viral “icky food bingo.”

In addition to few examples in the quiz above, discover the complete list of controversial local treats in our story 🥫

#russia

Open day for science: day 1/3 ✅

The first day of exploring ITMO’s top-tier laboratories is complete! Here’s a glimpse of our experience at ITMO’s Birzhevaya campus:

From Peru to St. Petersburg — but why? 🇵🇪

Martin Rojas, a PhD student at ITMO, says his answer is simple: “Why not?” And as for his research, he comments:

Right now I am investigating the optical properties of photonic crystals with a new material called perovskite. I usually run simulations to study these optical properties, which will allow me to get a better understanding of what I am dealing with.

Read on for insights into his academic life, its challenges, and what’s next for him as an international researcher. Click here 👈

#itmofaces

ITMO CULTURE FEST 🌍

There’s a new cool event at ITMO dedicated to celebrating different cultures around the world, prepared by our international students with the support of ITMO.STUDENTS, Buddy System and ITMO’s Foreign Language Training Center. It’s also a place where you can proudly express and share the beauty of your culture!

Have you ever thought about traveling to another country, making close foreign friends and wonderful memories and impressions? All this is possible at ITMO CULTURE FEST 🔥

When, where and how? Follow the event on Telegram for updates!

#events

Ready for a fun-filled week? 💃

Here are a handful of events to keep you busy:

🌓 From Darkness to Light
• Oct 3 | 10 AM - 9 PM | 400 RUB

The Fabergé Museum’s new exhibition features jewelry inspired by self-discovery and the fragility of nature.

🤘 Rock Hits
• Oct 4 | 7 PM | 700-1,500 RUB

This gala event at the St. Petersburg Philharmonia will offer two hours of epic movie scores and Queen’s greatest hits for a thrilling Friday night!

🎸 Beatles Day & Provocateur Market
• Oct 5 | 12 PM - 11 PM | Free (sans the concert)

Celebrate Beatles weekend with local markets, events by STUDIO 42, and a live concert by SOUND – all celebrating the legendary British band.

🍁 Maple Festival
• Oct 6 | 10 AM - 5 PM | 600 RUB

As fall arrives, the St. Petersburg Botanical Garden’s Maple Festival promises scenic walks, arts & crafts, and a mime show.

For more ideas, read our full guide on ITMO.NEWS 👈

#events