“I am a Professional” Student Olympiad

The All-Russian Student Olympiad “I am a Professional” is a major multidisciplinary Olympiad for students from all over the world pursuing Bachelor’s, Specialist’s and Master’s programs as well as basic and specialized higher education programs at Russian universities. It is implemented as part of the Russia – Land of Opportunities federal project of the Youth and Children national project with support from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation.

Participation in the “I am a Professional” Olympiad is a unique opportunity to show oneself and demonstrate a high level of knowledge in a particular field as well as get a job at the best Russian companies.

• > 1.4 million participants
• > 100,000 diploma winners
• > 3,500 medalists

The Olympiad is held in the following fields of study:

• Agro-Industrial Complex and Food Technologies
• Weapons and Military Equipment
• Natural Sciences
• Engineering Sciences and Technologies
• Arts and Humanities
• Computer Sciences
• Medicine and Healthcare
• Pedagogical Sciences
• Social and Economic Sciences
• Physical Culture

Prizes for the best participants

• Diplomas that make you eligible for benefits when applying to the leading Russian universities
• Internships at major Russian companies (for senior students)
• Cash awards for the best participants — medalists
• The Olympiad participants gain access to internships and job openings at the Olympiad’s partner companies, HR specialists’ consultations (for diploma winners and participants of the final stage of the Olympiad who scored more than zero), online events, and company tours.

Olympiad organizers

The Olympiad is organized by the Association of Organizers of Student Olympiads “I am a Professional”, the Land of Opportunity autonomous non-profit organization, the Russian Association of Employers “Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs,” and 33 top universities. The title partners of the Olympiad are Sberbank, Rosatom State Corporation, TMK, Gazpombank, Polyus, Nornickel, Alfa-Bank, Russian Railways, AI Alliance, VTB Bank, Yandex.

If you study at a Russian university and want to show yourself as a highly qualified specialist, the All-Russian Student Olympiad “I am a Professional” is exactly what you need. Participation in the Olympiad will help you test your knowledge in a particular field, get benefits when applying for Master’s, PhD and residency programs at leading Russian universities as well as undertake an internship at a major specialized company that can become an excellent start for your career.

Today the guest of our HED_people column is the prize-winner of the “I am a Professional” Olympiad, Zain Alabedin Barhum from Syria, a robotics engineer and a PhD student at ITMO University. He shares his impressions of the Olympiad and the secrets of his success.

Robotics is My Passion

After completing my Bachelor’s degree in my home country, I decided to continue my education in Russia, at ITMO University. I chose this university because it is considered Russia’s best at studying new technologies. My passion is robotics. Before choosing the university, I familiarized myself with various robotics laboratories. I was particularly impressed by the laboratory of biomechatronics and energy-efficient robotics (BE2R) at ITMO that publishes high-quality studies on a regular basis. It was this factor that played a crucial part in my choice.

ITMO University is an Organizer

Even when I was in my first year, I heard of the “I am a Professional” Olympiad from my Russian fellow students, but then I thought that only Russian citizens could participate. I was very surprised and happy to find out later that international students could participate as well,  and I decided to take this opportunity.

When I was in my second year of my Master’s studies, I received an email stating that the university was going to organize the Olympiad in three subjects. I got interested in this information, and I registered for participation in all the disciplines supervised by my university.

Unique Opportunities and Vivid Impressions

For me, as a foreigner, the “I am a Professional” Olympiad was a unique opportunity to test the level of my knowledge and skills and find out about the development of new technologies in Russia. My most vivid impressions were those of the Robotics final. The offline format where we were solving real-world problems using real-life robots, competing and cooperating with like-minded people at the same time, was a really inspiring experience.

There was also a moment that is still a mystery to me. Suddenly, my robot just didn’t respond for the whole minute — I didn’t understand what was going on and couldn’t do anything. Then it unexpectedly resumed its work, and it was this round that let me win a medal! I still go over the code now and then, trying to understand what exactly happened then, but I haven’t found the answer so far. That’s how I realized that there is always a room for surprises in robotics even if you are sure that your program works well.

Start Feeling Confident

According to the results of my participation, I got a bronze medal in Robotics and became a prize-winner in Programming and Information Technologies. And what is more, I managed to speak at the TASS press conference dedicated to the results of the 7th season of the “I am a Professional” Olympiad.

Now I work as a robotics engineer and have embarked on my PhD studies at ITMO University where I conduct in-depth research in artificial intelligence and robotics. The Olympiad helped me feel confident about my knowledge and competencies. I improved my career portfolio and got an edge in my further academic career.

Nothing is Impossible

Hard work and a desire to study will help you not only to make up your mind to participate in competitions but also to win prizes. I managed to overcome self-doubt and prove to myself that I can solve complex engineering problems at a high level.

There will definitely be some moments when your tasks will seem not merely difficult but impossible to do. The ability not to give up and go all the way was one of the main success factors for me. I remember the semifinal well: I sent a solution to the programming problem literally four seconds before time expired. After that, I think that nothing is impossible.