Education

Fourth JINR IT School’s summing up: "Continuously learn and master new things"

Monday, October 6, 2025 - Friday, October 10, 2025

On 6–10 October 2025, the Meshcheryakov Laboratory of Information Technologies held the fourth JINR Autumn School of Information Technologies. During this time, participants were introduced to the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research and its scientific objectives through lectures and excursions. Nearly 60 students from universities of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Uzbekistan came to Dubna to participate in the latest JINR IT School.

MLIT Scientific Leader and JINR IT School Founder Vladimir Korenkov highlighted that the School aimed to engage young specialists in solving scientific tasks that face JINR using state-of-the-art information technologies. This year, the number of universities whose students participate in the School has almost doubled. “The School is in its fourth year, and during this time, over 60 bachelor’s and master’s students have defended their theses at the School. 20 undergraduate students are currently working on projects related to JINR. We also consider the fact that, thanks to it, almost 30 people have become staff members of our Institute in various Laboratories to be one of our School’s achievements,” Vladimir Korenkov said. At the School, he delivered a talk on data processing methods in heterogeneous computing environments and MLIT accomplishments in developing the IT infrastructure. “Those who see their professional future in information technology must be prepared for the fact that they will need to continuously learn and master new things throughout their lives,” Vladimir Korenkov emphasized in his address to the School’s participants at the opening.

JINR Vice-Director Latchesar Kostov also welcomed the participants: “This School has already become a tradition, and I would say that it is a landmark event not only for the Laboratory of Information Technologies, but for the entire Institute.”Latchesar Kostov also welcomed the participants: “This School has already become a tradition, and I would say that it is a landmark event not only for the Laboratory of Information Technologies, but for the entire Institute.”

The students’ introduction to the Joint Institute started right at the School’s opening with a report by JINR Director, RAS Academician Grigory Trubnikov, in which he described the NICA collider, the “Govorun” supercomputer, and other exciting scientific projects of the international research center, as well as gave an overview of JINR’s activities in general. “I believe the week you will spend in Dubna will be useful and fruitful for you. I am sure you will enjoy the School, primarily thanks to communication with people and secondly through engagement with the MLIT ecosystem,” JINR Director Grigory Trubnikov pointed out.

On the first day, the students were able to listen to a lecture by RAS Academician Yuri Oganessian, a legend in global nuclear physics who made a decisive contribution to the synthesis of new superheavy elements. Among the invited lecturers at the JINR IT School was Assistant to the President of the NRC Kurchatov Institute Vasily Velikhov, who gave a talk on the development of a national computer telecommunications network for science and higher education in Russia. SPbSU Professor Nadezhda Shchegoleva spoke about the development of barcoding technologies. Head of the SUSU Department of System Programming Leonid Sokolinsky presented a report on linear programming in the era of exascale computers and artificial intelligence. At the plenary session, MLIT Director Sergei Shmatov discussed computing for high-energy physics and the application of information technology to scientific experiments. In his presentation, he demonstrated how Nobel Prize-worthy discoveries were made on the basis of experimental data analysis. Deputy Director of the MSU branch in Dubna Alexander Olshevsky presented information on the branch’s scientific and educational activities. JINR UC Director Dmitry Kamanin enlarged upon the Institute’s educational activities.

The IT School’s Scientific Secretary and MLIT Researcher Daria Priakhina noted the high level of students at this Autumn School. “The students are highly motivated; during breaks, you can see how enthusiastically they discuss what they have learned in the lectures. It is clear to us that the JINR IT School is proving to be an effective mechanism for attracting talented young people. This year, the MSU branch in Dubna opened a new master’s course in applied mathematics and computer science. Out of 13 people enrolled to the master’s course, 10 went through the IT School,” said Daria Priakhina, who worked in the Admission Committee at the MSU branch in Dubna this summer.

The School featured over 30 lectures by specialists from the NRC Kurchatov Institute, MEPhI, SPbSU, SUSU, and, surely, JINR. The topics were broad and covered distributed computing in JINR’s experimental and theoretical research, mathematical modeling, numerical methods, along with data processing and analysis methods and technologies. The students learned about the Laboratory’s engineering infrastructure, how automation and monitoring tasks are solved, and were also introduced to the JINR Digital EcoSystem. The School’s participants were given a detailed overview of the JINR Multifunctional Information and Computing Complex, not only in theory but also by visiting the machine room and seeing the JINR “Govorun” supercomputer. The students visited the NICA accelerator complex at the JINR Veksler and Baldin Laboratory of High Energy Physics and later attended an interactive exhibition dedicated to all JINR basic facilities.

The Autumn School’s program annually comprises practical classes. This year, the students mastered software tools for data processing, storage, and visualization, as well as explored a toolkit for studying systems based on Josephson junctions. Throughout the week, the students not only attended lectures, learned programming, and became familiar with the JINR scientific infrastructure during excursions, but also competed in hackathons. Following the intellectual battles, the winners of the Big Data Analytics Hackathon were a team consisting of Andrey Budnikov (VSU), Veronika Pavlyuchenkova (Dubna University), Nikita Kolotushkin (SUM), and Nikita Pletnev (TSU). SPbSU representatives Mansur Zainullin and Ilya Bublik won the Mathematical Modeling Hackathon.

Пройдя обучение на ИТ-школе ОИЯИ, заинтересованные студенты смогут выбрать задачу для исследовательского проекта по одному из тематических направлений Школы и выполнить его под руководством ведущих ученых ОИЯИ и руководителей от своих домашних вузов. Те, кто успешно выполнит свои проекты, будут приглашены представить полученные результаты на предстоящей Весенней школе ОИЯИ по ИТ-технологиям в начале 2026 года. Самые успешные работы будут отмечены наградами и рекомендациями быть представленными на серьезных научных конференциях. В дальнейшем выбранная тема может стать основой для выполнения квалификационной работы студента. After completing training at the JINR IT School, the students will be able to choose a task for a research project in one of the School’s directions and implement it under the supervision of leading JINR scientists and supervisors from their home universities. Those who successfully complete their projects will be invited to present their findings at the upcoming JINR Spring School of Information Technologies in early 2026. The most successful projects will be recognized with awards and recommendations for presentation at major scientific conferences. The chosen topic may subsequently serve as the basis for the student’s final thesis.

A general snapshot from the closure of the Autumn School of Information Technology - 10 October, 2025

The IT School students shared their impressions of the week spent in Dubna:

Rumyana Grumeza, Samara University: “I was very pleased with the rich program. I remember the smiling faces of the lecturers from various Laboratories, and I was impressed by their enthusiasm and the way they explained sophisticated things so clearly. I am very glad I had the chance to get acquainted with the MLIT engineering infrastructure on the tour. The supercomputer and tape robots were truly impressive.”

Nikita Tishchenko, South-Russian State Polytechnic University: “The School helped me to decide on my future work’s topic and also defined my career interests. I was particularly drawn to the topic “Engineering Infrastructure: Automation and Monitoring” because it is very close to my future career.”

Semyon Prokhorov, Tashkent branch of St. Petersburg State University: “The cool, inspiring atmosphere, interaction with scientists, and teamwork made a great impression on me. The lectures and projects showed how physics, mathematics, and IT intersect, and now I understand what I want to do. I was particularly fascinated by machine learning and data analysis from colliders like NICA.”

Elizaveta Litvina, Polessky State University: “The Big Data Analytics Hackathon was a highly valuable experience; it was my first experience working in such a format as an analyst, and it showed how much real-world, hands-on tasks and teamwork align with my professional interests. The School left a very pleasant and motivating impression: the combination of the lecturers’ professionalism and the organizers’ genuine friendliness created an atmosphere in which it was easy to learn and ask questions. The lecture of Yuri Tsolakovich Oganessian was particularly memorable. I’m not a chemistry major and have never been especially interested in the field, but he managed to present the material on the Periodic Table’s heavyweight elements in an accessible and understandable manner, which truly appealed to me and left me with a sense of respect for the level of research being conducted at the Institute.”

In 2025, the Autumn School was attended by students from 22 universities, including MEPhI, ITMO University, RUDN University, MPEI, State University of Management, Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, MISiS National University of Science and Technology, SPbSU, SUSU, Tula State University, Tomsk State University, Tomsk Polytechnic University, Voronezh State University, Platov South-Russian State Polytechnic University, Khetagurov North Ossetian State University, Kazan Federal University, Dubna State University, Korolev Samara University, along with Polessky State University, Sukhoi State Technical University of Gomel, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, and the SPbSU branch in Tashkent.