Moscow – St. Petersburg, May 17, 2011 – HP today jointly with the UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education (UNESCO IITE) and Saint-Petersburg State University of Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics (ITMO) signed a memorandum for the establishment of the research and educational center.
The center will open its doors to ITMO students by the beginning of next school year. The main objective of the project, implemented in the framework of Institute of HP technology (HP IT) program, is to prepare world-class specialists in the field of information technologies. Distinctive feature of this educational and scientific center will be its focus on development of strategically important technologies for HP: such as cloud computing and connectivity tools based on HP's webOS. In particular, the center for developing mobile applications for the HP webOS platform will be created.
Participation of ITMO in the HP IT program and opening of the research and educational center involves the use of modern equipment and software, provided by HP, training of teachers and developing special IT-courses for students together with experts from HP and the UNESCO IITE. HP and the UNESCO IITE will offer courses to be later adapted by ITMO teachers and included in the curricula at the faculties of Mechanics and Optics in the form of lectures, laboratory and practical studies, mandatory courses and special courses of choice, and also to be used for retraining and professional development of teachers with the possibility of certification in HP Educational Center.
This center is the first one in the framework of the program to train world-class IT professionals organized in cooperation with the UNESCO IITE. The UNESCO IITE will ensure selection of experts from among the ITMO professors to develop training programmes and courses in IT, conduct classes for students and teachers in ITMO and other educational institutions, conducting lectures and workshops by experts from the UNESCO IITE, as well as information and consulting support to the educational center.
Quotes
Vladimir Vasiliev, Rector of the University ITMO:
"University ITMO is one of the oldest well-known academic schools in Russia. That means giving our students deep knowledge of basic and applied science. The opening of the HP research and educational center will not only promote profound knowledge of the newest technology among our students, but will also help our teaching staff exchange experience with their colleagues from leading Russian and European universities who are also participating in the HP IT programme".
Dendev Badarch, Director a.i. of UNESCO IITE:
“We are glad to support HP’s initiative to create an educational and research center on premises of ITMO, as we believe that this cooperation will bring innovation into the educational process, as well as provide students and teachers with practical skills in such popular technologies as cloud computing, connectivity tools and development of applications for new operating systems. In addition, we hope that in the framework of this project new courses will be developed, which can be used not only by students but also by teachers and professors to improve their skills. "
Alexander Mikoyan, CEO of HP Russia:
"Cooperation with such university as IТMO is a big honor for us and we are pleased that talented programmers will not only learn advanced technologies, but also will be directly involved in designing and developing applications for HP webOS – which we believe will help them become more competitive on the labor market in the future."
About St. Petersburg State University ITMO
The National Research University of Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics (University ITMO) is one of the best and oldest higher education institutions in Russia. Our school provides training in advanced science and technology. The history of the University spans over a period of more than 100 years.
We understand our core business as the business of knowledge and learning, but of equal importance is our mission to provide competitive advantage and development for Russian economy and social sphere on the basis of our entrepreneurial approach to scientific, educational and innovation activities in information and optics technologies.
Student team of ITMO has become the absolute winner of the ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest three times and regularly takes prizes at international programming contests.
Details: http://www.ifmo.ru/
About HP
HP creates new possibilities for technology to have a meaningful impact on people, businesses, governments and society. The world’s largest technology company, HP brings together a portfolio that spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT infrastructure at the convergence of the cloud and connectivity, creating seamless, secure, context-aware experiences for a connected world.
More information about HP (NYSE: HPQ) is available at http://www.hp.com.