Scientists from St Petersburg University and St Petersburg Federal Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences develop the first career guidance application based on VKontakte subscriptions

Vocational guidance is a key focus area and one of the main priorities of the modern Russian education system. This work is part of the national project "Education", under which the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation has introduced a unified model of vocational guidance activities (vocational minimum) in all Russian schools. This model helps students with professional self-determination through both classroom and extracurricular activities and introduces them to the real sector of the economy.

The research findings are published in the proceedings of the Intelligent Information Technologies for Industry conference. The application is available exclusively on VKontakte.

The researchers from St Petersburg University and St Petersburg Federal Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences have developed an AI-driven career guidance application that generates general information about a person’s professional qualities and preferences. The development has already been integrated into the VKontakte social media ecosystem.

"The application uses the VK Bridge library to access user data, including the list of subscribed communities. This data is then transferred to a server built on the Node.js platform, where it undergoes validation before being sent to an external machine learning server, which is the key component responsible for intelligent analysis," said Maxim Abramov, Advisor to the Senior Vice-Rector for Academic Activities at St Petersburg University, Associate Professor at St Petersburg University, and Head of the Applied Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at St Petersburg Federal Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

According to Maxim Abramov, the idea for this software initially emerged as part of a student graduation project, which later led to the development of a full-fledged programme. The application is based on a model trained on psychological test analyses from another project by the same research team — "Psychological Tests" — where users could assess their inclination towards certain professions. The test results were processed anonymously, incorporating data on the user’s information field and subscription topics.

St Petersburg University places great emphasis on career guidance for school students, organising numerous Olympiads in history and robotics. Master’s students at the University, with the support of the Social Clinic at St Petersburg University, conduct thematic lessons for schoolchildren and deliver lectures.

Additionally, St Petersburg University has a Career and Personal Counselling Centre, which provides psychological support for professional self-determination, career choice, and finding pathways for self-realisation.

The AI-driven career guidance application developed by the University’s researchers has significantly accelerated and automated the process of career assessment. By analysing a user’s subscribed communities, the software "predicts" their career type — such as an inclination towards creative, technical, or other disciplines — with high accuracy. The results are immediately displayed in the application interface and stored in a MongoDB database for future reference. Users receive not only a career profile that aligns with their interests but also a detailed description with personalised recommendations.

Additionally, the application enables users to analyse other people’s profiles, which can be particularly useful for employers when selecting candidates for an existing team. This feature is especially valuable in highly specialised fields, where specific interests and skills are crucial.

The key advantage of the application developed by the computer scientists from St Petersburg University and St Petersburg Federal Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences over similar tools is its ability to quickly and easily analyse social media users’ profiles while maintaining a long-term focus on career guidance. Unlike many alternatives, it is not limited to simply choosing a university or college.

The application is currently available in open access, but the researchers are actively working to enhance "prediction" accuracy by adding new parameters and further developing personalised recommendations.

As Maxim Abramov noted, the possibility of providing statistics on user communities was initially included in the development. However, it was later decided to separate these functions. At present, two independent solutions are being developed. For example, the AI-driven career guidance application will assist school students with career orientation, while the other solution will provide statistical insights on communities, enabling users to self-analyse their interests and aptitudes.

St Petersburg University, the oldest university in Russia, was founded on 28 January (8 February) 1724. This is the day when Peter the Great issued a decree establishing the University and the Russian Academy of Sciences. Today, St Petersburg University is an internationally recognised centre for education, research and culture. In 2024, St Petersburg University celebrated its 300^th anniversary.

The plan of events during the celebration of the anniversary of the University was approved at the meeting of the Organising Committee for the celebration of St Petersburg University’s 300^th anniversary. The meeting was chaired by Dmitry Chernyshenko, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation. Among the events are: the naming of a minor planet in honour of St Petersburg University; the issuance of bank cards with a special design; and the branding of the aircraft of the Rossiya Airlines to name just a few. To mark the 300^th anniversary of St Petersburg University, a postage stamp depicting the Twelve Collegia building and the monument to Count Sergey Uvarov was issued. Also, a Soyuz rocket bearing the symbols of the University was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome.

By the decision of the Governor of St Petersburg Alexander Beglov, 2024 was a year of the 300^th anniversary of St Petersburg University in St Petersburg. On the day of the University’s 300th anniversary torches were lit on the Rostral Columns on the Spit of Vasilyevsky Island. St Petersburg University flags were raised on the Palace Bridge. The city public transport was decorated with the University’s symbols. During St Petersburg’s City Day celebrations in May 2024, St Petersburg University acted as a participating venue. Additionally, the University launched a website dedicated to the anniversary. The website contains information about outstanding University staff, students, and alumni; scientific achievements; and details of events held as part of the celebration of the 300^th anniversary of the University.