From September 11 to 17, Yekaterinburg hosted the World Youth Festival — and, of course, some of our students and graduates were there, too!
We caught up with a few of them to hear about their experience and the festival’s highlights:
💬 Umar Ahmed, staff member at research center “Strong AI in Industry”:
It was a great honor to be selected for the World Youth Festival out of more than 100,000 applications, as part of the Leningrad Oblast delegation of the International Friendship Club. I had the chance to represent both my home country, Pakistan, and my delegation. The scale was simply incredible. I lost count of how many people I met and connections I made.
One highlight was a tour of Sber’s Tier 3 IT hub. It was enormous, and I loved the working culture, which is hybrid and welcoming, and honestly felt like home. I also got to interview people from many different nations, enjoy unforgettable concerts, and attend a session with Sergey Lavrov. The opening and closing ceremonies were the best I have ever seen. It was truly mesmerising.
Experiences like this are exactly why I am continuing my journey at ITMO, moving toward my PhD.
💬 Ramin Jalalpoor, Bachelor’s student in Robotics and AI:
For me, it was an incredible experience: new connections, and the chance to feel the atmosphere of a huge international event. You meet people from different countries, learn more about each other’s cultures, and discover something new every day!
At the festival, I performed as a winner of the WOW RUSSIA competition, sharing my impressions and experiences. It was nerve-racking, but also such a joy to represent my university.
At the end of my performance, Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education Olga Petrova said: “Ah, you’re from ITMO — my absolute favourite university!” 😄 It was a wonderful moment and one of the most memorable of the entire festival.
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