ITMO University Digest: the most interesting materials in our blog over the past year

In today's digest, we recall the popular materials of 2017, published in our blog on Habré: our own developments and projects of the University, useful materials for those entering ITMO, essays and stories about programming, tips for those who want to learn how to develop at home, a big cycle about working fast reading techniques and advice to those who read (and write) scientific articles - about all this in our compilation below.

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Projects and development of ITMO University

• Big data and machine learning: new opportunities for medicine . The market for medical technology using Big Data is growing in both the West and Russia. In this material, we talk about what kind of developments of this kind are being conducted at ITMO University: from specific projects (modeling the operation of Ambulance cars in St. Petersburg) to educational programs such as computational biomedicine and chemoinformatics.

• ITMO University will begin developing unbreakable storage systems . Scientists at ITMO University have long been involved in quantum technology and have experience developing quantum communication systems. As part of the new initiative, a team of specialists is working on the technology of an unbreakable and effectively managed data center - this project has no world analogues.

• Second Generation Cloud Computing: The CLAVIRE System . Scientists at ITMO University have long been involved in quantum technology and have experience developing quantum communication systems. As part of the new initiative, a team of specialists is working on the technology of an unbreakable and effectively managed data center - this project has no world analogues.

• Scientists from ITMO University have proposed a new system for the transmission of energy over a distance . The ITMO University developed a prototype of a device for wireless energy transmission, which was based on dielectric resonator disks. The efficiency of the technology reaches 90%, while it is consistent even if the relative position of the source and receiver changes. The development not only competes with foreign counterparts, but also surpasses them in a number of parameters.

• “Know yourself”: social media mining-projects at ITMO University . We talk about which projects of students and employees of ITMO University use information from social networks: for more accurate profiling of potential buyers, predicting user behavior and even for analyzing emotions, allowing them to recognize and prevent the emergence of hotbeds of tension in crowded places.

Useful reading

• Speed ​​reading: does it work or not? Part 1 . This is the first material from our speed reading cycle. In it we tell why speed reading is not reading, we explain the outstanding successes of scholars and argue about why you should not rely on this technique if you need to prepare for a difficult exam in an emergency mode.

• Speed ​​reading: does it work or not? Part 2: parsing techniques . We consider one of the most popular techniques used in teaching speed reading. Reading “diagonally”, reading without stopping, suppressing sub-vocalization, RSVP — which of these methods actually work and which ones are useless or even physiologically impossible? About this in the second part of the cycle.

• Speed ​​reading: does it work or not? Part 3: simple tips . What should those who do not want to waste time learning speed reading methods do? We talk about alternative techniques to improve the efficiency of reading, as well as the "slow reading." And about situations where speed reading is really not enough.

• How to read scientific articles: advice from scientists . Reading the article does not mean understanding it. Especially when it comes to scientific publication. In this material we give practical advice on how to select and read scientific articles, analyze what such an article consists of and how to make the time spent on it pass as efficiently as possible. And also we give the advice of scientists and editors of scientific journals - in general, those who regularly come across this type of publications.

• “Without further ado”: ​​the shortest scientific articles . “A lot of time is spent on reading scientific articles” - even for this rule there is an exception. We talk about the paradoxes of science: articles with a minimum number of words (and even without a single word at all). About why they exist and what they give the scientific community - in this material.

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ITMO University: enrollment and training initiatives

• Non-classical admission to university . In this article we share the story of Ilya Glebov. Ilya found the vulnerability of "Vkontakte" and wrote about this post on Habré, which are interested in the ITMO University. In a conversation with Ilya, it turned out that the schoolchild did not consider the possibility of becoming an ITMO student because of the insufficiently high Unified State Exam in math. We tell why, as a result, this did not become an obstacle to entering our university and give advice on how to declare themselves to other talented applicants.

• Big interview: how to enter ITMO University . Interview with Anna Veklich, First Deputy Chairman of the Admissions Committee of ITMO University. How are the mega-departments, which will help determine the choice of specialty, what initiatives can increase the chances of admission - all of this in our material.

• Reception campaign 2017: Useful links and materials . In this digest we collected all the resources that may be useful for those entering ITMO University. Materials about the University, virtual tours of its buildings, portals for applicants to bachelor's and master's programs, calendars of useful events, questions and answers for applicants and the history of our students and graduates.

• Blockchain as an academic discipline: ITMO University Master's Program . The material on the new master's program "Mathematical Physics and Information Theory", which was launched at the basic Department of Mathematical Physics and Information Theory (MFIT) of ITMO University. What the undergraduates will study, in which practical projects related to the blockchain, they will be able to express themselves - more about this in the text.

Programming: Theory and Practice

• Eternal students: when programming is a constant “study” . Why do programmers need to constantly learn new things? How do developers spend their free time: which languages ​​are used in their work, and which ones are used for their own projects? When programming is used not as a goal, but as a learning tool? All this in our material.

• A programmer without a diploma: what can and what can not give "home schooling" in IT . We talk about the pros and cons of learning how to program at home and in high school: dismantle the pitfalls of this and other approaches. And also we are talking about the possibilities due to which studying at a university can be a really valuable experience for a future developer.

• "The Cure for the Disease": automatic programming . We are talking about the origins of software problems and a possible way to remedy the situation - automatic programming. We talk about how it works and why it is suitable not only for "toy" projects.

• How to design programs: from UML to automata approach . This material is about concepts and approaches that help to solve the issues of creating documentation and developing program logic. We argue about why the UML did not “fly up”, and what prospects the automaton programming has in this regard.

• MOOC "Programming and development of web applications": announcement and interview with the author of the course . Our interview with Dmitry Shtennikov - the author of the online course “Programming and Web Application Development” and Associate Professor of the Department of Computer Educational Technologies at ITMO University. The story of how the course is built, for whom it is intended and why Python was chosen as the “working” language for the course.

• ITMO University Digest: materials for those who want to join Data Science . This is a large collection of materials useful to those who (besides "pure" programming) want to master the work with data - in theory and in practice. In our digest - useful books, articles and video courses on the topic.

• 5-minute guide to esoteric programming languages: 1 and 2 . In this series of materials we talk about the "impractical" side of programming - esoteric PL. We talk about why they are needed, who used them and when (and for what purpose) and how to classify esoteric languages.