Dream job and entering a university without exams. Olympiad "I am a professional" track "Computer Science"
Today we are opening a series of materials on the “ I am a Professional ” Olympiad, one of the organizers of which is ITMO University.
Periodically (including at Habré ), young people express concern about their future in the chosen profession: do they have the right skills? Do they teach them the right way? Will they be able to get a job or face the classic excuse "we need specialists with experience"?
The task of the “I am a professional” Olympiad is to help young people from the regions enroll in the master’s and postgraduate courses at leading universities in the country, undergo an internship in the best companies in the industry, receive a cash reward and get into the national base “Young Professionals” to which HR specialists companies.
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ITMO University oversees three areas of the Olympiad, one of them is Computer Science . The winners of the Olympiad in this area will receive the highest score on the profile exam for admission to the master's or postgraduate courses at leading universities of the country, including ITMO University.
In this material, we will tell you what admission to the “First Non-Classical” will help the future professional: let's talk about what research and development is being done at ITMO University in the field of IT and how University students are becoming recognized scientists and true professionals in the master's program.
Photo by Markus Spiske CC-BY
We have already talked about how to combine study and work at ITMO University ( 1 and 2 ). The most obvious option is participation in summer and undergraduate practices (mandatory for all - therefore immersion into the profession takes place without fail for each student of the University).
The partners of ITMO University in this area are many Russian and international companies - the practice can be done at Alfa Bank, Ilim Group, Sberbank, Delovye Linii, Yandex, JetBrains, EPAM, SAP and other companies. . In addition to the practice, there are other activities that introduce students to their future profession - for example, this summer ITMO University held a summer machine learning school together with a group of IT companies MDGs.
However, professional activity for an IT specialist is not only a job as a programmer in a large company or in his own project, but also participation in research and development. And in order to begin work in this direction, it is not necessary to first enroll in graduate school and defend a candidate’s one — a young professional can take part in research while still a graduate student.
For example, Ksenia Buray, while studying at the magistracy at the department of computer technology, together with her colleagues, implemented a project that uses machine learning to predict a person’s psychological portrait based on data from several social networks. In particular, the scientists set the task for the system to determine the marital status of the user by the aggregate of information from Twitter, Instagram and Foursquare - the accuracy of the algorithm was 86%.
Xenia presented a research report at the AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI Conference), which is one of the most significant AI events. As Ksenia herself says , “It was not easy to get into the list of speakers: among the ten works sent from our laboratory, only one passed.”
At first glance, the work of a researcher and studying at the university are absolutely incompatible things: in order to investigate something, you must first learn something, ideally to get a diploma. And only then the ex-student will be able to start real-world development, and not just “for a tick” to take the same type of coursework. The experience of Ksenia suggests that this is not the case - students are expected in the laboratories of the University and are ready to offer them both participation in real, “live” projects, and employment:
Moreover, work in laboratories can effectively complement studies, so don’t sacrifice grades for the sake of your own projects. According to Xenia, it turned out to be quite convenient to combine study and research activities: “You are there [in the laboratory] all your free time, doing research, and when you have to, you go to study. Such a regime allows not to break between work and study, and makes the occupation of science accessible. ” By the way, there are quite a lot of laboratories in which you can work and conduct your own research in the field of IT at ITMO University.
However, laboratories are not the only way to combine development and study. Real scientific research can be carried out in the format of internships in foreign universities - this format allows you to fully concentrate on your project:
The ITMO University has a lot of development in the IT field, participation in which can serve as a career start for a student and a graduate student. For example, another project related to the analysis of data from social networks is conducted by the Institute of High Technology Computer Technologies.
Its employees have developed an algorithm that can determine which places in cities are popular among the local population (as opposed to “tourist lures”) using Instagram profile analysis — in the future, the project team plans to work on implementing a full-fledged reference service, which can be much more precisely analogs. By the way, the team presented the results of the research at The International Conference on Computational Science.
Another IT project that University researchers are currently working on is Exarch's modular data warehouse, which makes it possible to reduce the amount of data storage and increase the speed of their processing. It is developed by specialists of the department of high-performance computing. They presented the results of their work at the International Conference on ICCBDC 2017 (International Conference on Cloud and Big Data Computing) in London. By the way, this project is not only interesting, but also socially significant: the core of the repository is planned to be made open so that everyone could use the development.
Another interesting area for research is fintech projects, in which, inter alia, the Institute of Financial Cyber Technologies (ITMO.Fintech). Projects using machine learning algorithms and solutions in the field of artificial intelligence are developed at ITMO University in partnership with Bank Saint Petersburg under the guidance of a visiting professor and researcher at ITMO University, physics professor at Warsaw University of Technology Janusz Holysta. Such studies are focused on solving real problems of banks, which means that their participants will gain experience comparable to working in a large-scale corporate fintech project - a significant bonus to the resume.
Another example of how learning can give a new vector of work is the history of the undergraduate of the high-performance computing department , Mehdi Musaev. By the time he entered the ITMO University, he graduated from St. Petersburg State University, worked on large projects and freelancing, but decided that without additional education it would be difficult for him to build a further career in high-tech projects:
Mehdi stresses: a lot depends on career aspirations - sometimes IT professionalism is more associated with experience in projects, rather than having a diploma: “Many companies that work today in the IT industry need specialists who are able to quickly understand technologies and put your skills into practice. Often in such companies they do not even ask what kind of education a person has and where he studied: if a candidate knows how to cope with applied tasks, he is suitable. ”
Mehdi Musaev’s decision to enter the magistracy was influenced, firstly, by the fact that he wanted to concentrate on high-tech developments and projects related to machine learning, and secondly, the opportunity to participate in international internships and in the double degree program. Mehdi is sure: there are career advantages in obtaining a degree. Especially when it comes to leading positions in large companies:
The track "Computer and Information Sciences" is one of 27 areas of training, which are selected at the Olympiad. There are two competitive categories - one for undergraduate and graduate students, the second for undergraduate and graduate students and graduates. By the way, it is possible to participate in the Olympiad out of competition - this will help to understand the real demands of employers. Companies acting as Olympiad partners for this track: Mail.ru Group LLC, Yandex LLC, Peter-Service JSC, Tranzas Group, Kronstadt Group, Netkreker LLC.
Participation in the track "Computer technology" is recommended for those who are studying or planning to enter the master / postgraduate study in the following areas of training:
You can register as a member now. The qualifying stage will be held in early December (online), the final - in person, on January 27-30. By the way, you can skip the qualifying stage if you have a certificate of two or more online courses from this list with “Good” or “Excellent” marks.
You can follow the news of the Olympiad in social networks: VKontakte , Facebook and Instagram .
Periodically (including at Habré ), young people express concern about their future in the chosen profession: do they have the right skills? Do they teach them the right way? Will they be able to get a job or face the classic excuse "we need specialists with experience"?
The task of the “I am a professional” Olympiad is to help young people from the regions enroll in the master’s and postgraduate courses at leading universities in the country, undergo an internship in the best companies in the industry, receive a cash reward and get into the national base “Young Professionals” to which HR specialists companies.
')
ITMO University oversees three areas of the Olympiad, one of them is Computer Science . The winners of the Olympiad in this area will receive the highest score on the profile exam for admission to the master's or postgraduate courses at leading universities of the country, including ITMO University.
In this material, we will tell you what admission to the “First Non-Classical” will help the future professional: let's talk about what research and development is being done at ITMO University in the field of IT and how University students are becoming recognized scientists and true professionals in the master's program.
Photo by Markus Spiske CC-BYReal research in the magistracy
We have already talked about how to combine study and work at ITMO University ( 1 and 2 ). The most obvious option is participation in summer and undergraduate practices (mandatory for all - therefore immersion into the profession takes place without fail for each student of the University).
The partners of ITMO University in this area are many Russian and international companies - the practice can be done at Alfa Bank, Ilim Group, Sberbank, Delovye Linii, Yandex, JetBrains, EPAM, SAP and other companies. . In addition to the practice, there are other activities that introduce students to their future profession - for example, this summer ITMO University held a summer machine learning school together with a group of IT companies MDGs.
However, professional activity for an IT specialist is not only a job as a programmer in a large company or in his own project, but also participation in research and development. And in order to begin work in this direction, it is not necessary to first enroll in graduate school and defend a candidate’s one — a young professional can take part in research while still a graduate student.
For example, Ksenia Buray, while studying at the magistracy at the department of computer technology, together with her colleagues, implemented a project that uses machine learning to predict a person’s psychological portrait based on data from several social networks. In particular, the scientists set the task for the system to determine the marital status of the user by the aggregate of information from Twitter, Instagram and Foursquare - the accuracy of the algorithm was 86%.
Xenia presented a research report at the AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI Conference), which is one of the most significant AI events. As Ksenia herself says , “It was not easy to get into the list of speakers: among the ten works sent from our laboratory, only one passed.”
At first glance, the work of a researcher and studying at the university are absolutely incompatible things: in order to investigate something, you must first learn something, ideally to get a diploma. And only then the ex-student will be able to start real-world development, and not just “for a tick” to take the same type of coursework. The experience of Ksenia suggests that this is not the case - students are expected in the laboratories of the University and are ready to offer them both participation in real, “live” projects, and employment:
In the third year I began to ask myself questions - how do people start to study science? And then I was lucky - once, at one of the couples, the teacher suggested instead of several laboratory work for a semester, try to do one, but big and difficult. Then I did not know that this would be “the very science”, I simply agreed, because the project looked unusual and interesting.
For six months, the project took me suddenly into a conference article. A year after I became involved in it, I attended the first conference in my life. After that, everything became somehow simpler: I met the guys from the International Laboratory of Computer Technologies, learned that science was very important at the University, and by the end of the 4th year [bachelor] I was asked to work in the laboratory.
- Ksenia Brown
Moreover, work in laboratories can effectively complement studies, so don’t sacrifice grades for the sake of your own projects. According to Xenia, it turned out to be quite convenient to combine study and research activities: “You are there [in the laboratory] all your free time, doing research, and when you have to, you go to study. Such a regime allows not to break between work and study, and makes the occupation of science accessible. ” By the way, there are quite a lot of laboratories in which you can work and conduct your own research in the field of IT at ITMO University.
However, laboratories are not the only way to combine development and study. Real scientific research can be carried out in the format of internships in foreign universities - this format allows you to fully concentrate on your project:
But generally speaking, I did the largest part of my research during my internship at the National University of Singapore, where I spent about six months. During this time I did not need to attend classes at the university, so I completely immersed myself in the work on my projects.
- Ksenia Brown
Some more real developments
The ITMO University has a lot of development in the IT field, participation in which can serve as a career start for a student and a graduate student. For example, another project related to the analysis of data from social networks is conducted by the Institute of High Technology Computer Technologies.
Its employees have developed an algorithm that can determine which places in cities are popular among the local population (as opposed to “tourist lures”) using Instagram profile analysis — in the future, the project team plans to work on implementing a full-fledged reference service, which can be much more precisely analogs. By the way, the team presented the results of the research at The International Conference on Computational Science.
Another IT project that University researchers are currently working on is Exarch's modular data warehouse, which makes it possible to reduce the amount of data storage and increase the speed of their processing. It is developed by specialists of the department of high-performance computing. They presented the results of their work at the International Conference on ICCBDC 2017 (International Conference on Cloud and Big Data Computing) in London. By the way, this project is not only interesting, but also socially significant: the core of the repository is planned to be made open so that everyone could use the development.
Another interesting area for research is fintech projects, in which, inter alia, the Institute of Financial Cyber Technologies (ITMO.Fintech). Projects using machine learning algorithms and solutions in the field of artificial intelligence are developed at ITMO University in partnership with Bank Saint Petersburg under the guidance of a visiting professor and researcher at ITMO University, physics professor at Warsaw University of Technology Janusz Holysta. Such studies are focused on solving real problems of banks, which means that their participants will gain experience comparable to working in a large-scale corporate fintech project - a significant bonus to the resume.
In my opinion, the main thing is not to be afraid to declare oneself, to choose those topics that one really wants to do (not for a “tick”, but for the soul), and to show a lot of perseverance. Then, I believe, the result will not take long.
- Ksenia Brown
Study as a new career step
Another example of how learning can give a new vector of work is the history of the undergraduate of the high-performance computing department , Mehdi Musaev. By the time he entered the ITMO University, he graduated from St. Petersburg State University, worked on large projects and freelancing, but decided that without additional education it would be difficult for him to build a further career in high-tech projects:
Almost all my social circle consists of IT-specialists. Learning new things, communicating with the guys, at some point I realized that it would be interesting for me to develop in the field of data science. After analyzing the market, I realized that to work in this area a master’s degree or even a PhD is needed. Then I thought about the need to continue training, began to look at the options and choose the best.
- Mehdi Musaev
Mehdi stresses: a lot depends on career aspirations - sometimes IT professionalism is more associated with experience in projects, rather than having a diploma: “Many companies that work today in the IT industry need specialists who are able to quickly understand technologies and put your skills into practice. Often in such companies they do not even ask what kind of education a person has and where he studied: if a candidate knows how to cope with applied tasks, he is suitable. ”
Mehdi Musaev’s decision to enter the magistracy was influenced, firstly, by the fact that he wanted to concentrate on high-tech developments and projects related to machine learning, and secondly, the opportunity to participate in international internships and in the double degree program. Mehdi is sure: there are career advantages in obtaining a degree. Especially when it comes to leading positions in large companies:
Judging by my communication experience, in large corporations, preference is still given to those who have a master’s degree. If he has [the candidate], of course, a solid background. Another important point: for some reason, people who go to work in large corporations either do not know or do not want to know that often in large companies, those who have a PhD degree are in high positions. This is explained by the fact that a person who had been engaged in science for a long time did not chase after money, but was engaged in achieving a certain goal.
- Mehdi Musaev
More about the track "Computer and Information Sciences"
The track "Computer and Information Sciences" is one of 27 areas of training, which are selected at the Olympiad. There are two competitive categories - one for undergraduate and graduate students, the second for undergraduate and graduate students and graduates. By the way, it is possible to participate in the Olympiad out of competition - this will help to understand the real demands of employers. Companies acting as Olympiad partners for this track: Mail.ru Group LLC, Yandex LLC, Peter-Service JSC, Tranzas Group, Kronstadt Group, Netkreker LLC.
Participation in the track "Computer technology" is recommended for those who are studying or planning to enter the master / postgraduate study in the following areas of training:
- applied mathematics and computer science
- Applied Mathematics
- maths
- computer science and computing
- information systems and technologies
- software engineering
- Applied Informatics
- infocommunication technologies and communication systems
- information technology in the humanitarian field
You can register as a member now. The qualifying stage will be held in early December (online), the final - in person, on January 27-30. By the way, you can skip the qualifying stage if you have a certificate of two or more online courses from this list with “Good” or “Excellent” marks.
You can follow the news of the Olympiad in social networks: VKontakte , Facebook and Instagram .
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/343046/
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