St Petersburg University and Samsung have opened the Internet of Things Laboratory

The ceremony was attended by the leaders of St Petersburg University and Samsung Electronics Headquarters in CIS countries, academic staff, and students of the University.

«Being a classical university, St Petersburg University has the opportunity to use its entire interdisciplinary potential to implement advanced academic research and new educational programmes, in which we increasingly include the digital component,» Nikolai Kropachev said in his welcoming address.

Ultack Kim, President of Samsung Electronics Headquarters in CIS countries, confirmed that it is a great honour for him to open this laboratory at St Petersburg University. The Internet of Things is today one of the priorities for the South Korean corporation. The opening of specialised laboratories in universities around the world allows students to gain access to mastering the technology of the future. Also, Mr Ultack Kim said that a special, symbolic meaning for his company is that its partner, St Petersburg University, is Europe’s oldest and largest centre for studying the Korean language and culture.

Thanks to the creation of the «IoT Academy» laboratory, our students in the most diverse areas of study will have a unique opportunity to acquire new skills. I am sure that the developments made within the course will be successful start-ups for students. They will receive support from the University and the Alumni Association of St Petersburg University.

Nikolay Kropachev, Rector of St Petersburg University

Sergey Pevnev, Director of the Department for Corporate Projects and Government Relations of Samsung Electronics, spoke about the «Samsung IoT Academy» project. Its implementation includes three main components: an educational programme developed by employees of the Samsung Research Centre; methodological support for teaching staff; and access to an educational portal as well as technical support through the creation of laboratories. The programme is designed for one academic year. During the first term, students study tools and solve cases. During the second term, they work on individual creative projects.

The «Samsung IoT Academy» project expands the company’s activities into the field of technical education. Since 2014, it has been represented in a federal programme in IT fundamentals and programming for schoolchildren.

Professor Alexandr Degtyarev spoke about the demand for the programme among students. He noted that the teaching staff had already been trained and even started to teach the course. Professor Degtyarev emphasised that not only mathematics students, but also students of other programmes showed interest in this programme. The students could listen to introductory lectures on data virtualisation and test equipment. Now they have started to work on projects for the development of the urban environment, digital mobility, and the development of smart home systems.

Vasilina Bragunets, a student of St Petersburg University, spoke briefly about her own project in the field of the Internet of Things. She will soon begin to work on it. The essence of the idea is to create special devices for blind people in the form of a sound attachment to a cane. It will enable better orientation in space. The entry-level software developer is sure that this attachment will make it possible to improve the already existing technology. It will also make new devices much more affordable than those offered by the market today.