Big Science Is Calling: ITMO's New Master's Program Brings Together Talent at the Intersection of Physics and Computing
ITMO University is launching Megasayens (Megascience), a unique two-year master's program developed jointly with the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR). The program has no equivalent in Russia and is designed to prepare specialists for the next generation of large-scale scientific facilities.
Russia's research community is entering a pivotal stage as discussions about megascience move beyond long-term ambitions into real-world implementation. In 2025, the NICA collider complex in Dubna successfully produced its first xenon heavy-ion beam, marking a milestone scientists had anticipated for nearly two decades. Building on that momentum, ITMO University will launch the two-year Megasayens (Megascience) master's track in the 2026/2027 academic year in partnership with the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR).
Large scientific facilities require professionals who can bridge multiple disciplines. They must understand experimental physics, write software, apply machine learning techniques and collaborate effectively within international research teams.
Meeting the Challenge
The program, the first of its kind in Russia, is being introduced within the Modern Quantum and Nanophotonic Systems degree. Students can choose among three specializations: theoretical physics, experimental physics or programming. Coursework spans quantum electrodynamics, accelerator physics, neutrino physics, artificial intelligence methods and data analysis. Leading JINR scientists will teach the courses in both Russian and English.
The program is open to graduates with bachelor's degrees in technical disciplines. Applicants are expected to have knowledge of quantum mechanics, classical electrodynamics, particle physics, programming and data processing. For students ready to meet demanding academic requirements, the program opens a pathway into large-scale scientific research.
The track is also designed with global collaboration in mind. Students will have opportunities to complete internships in China through Russia-China scientific cooperation, making the program accessible to international students from BRICS countries, the CIS and beyond.
From Lake Baikal to China
Hands-on training is the program's defining feature. Students will complete internships at the Baikal-GVD deep underwater neutrino telescope, the NICA collider in Dubna, the SKIF synchrotron in Novosibirsk and the HIAF accelerator complex in China.
Each of these facilities addresses a unique scientific challenge. NICA will allow researchers to recreate the state of matter that existed shortly after the Big Bang. Baikal-GVD is expected to become the world's largest neutrino telescope within the next few years. Meanwhile, Russia and China continue expanding cooperation on megascience projects. In February 2025, JINR and the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Modern Physics held a joint workshop on superconducting radio-frequency cavities.
Master's theses will be based on real experimental data collected at these facilities. Students will also be able to participate in international research collaborations while completing their degrees. In parallel, ITMO and JINR are establishing an Advanced Research Center, allowing education and scientific research to take place side by side within the same environment.
Nineteen Years in the Making
In 2021, the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI launched a master's program in charged-particle accelerators together with the Kurchatov Institute. Then, on March 25, 2025, NICA began its first operational experimental run in Dubna. JINR Director Grigory Trubnikov described the achievement this way: "This is a historic moment. It marks the culmination of a 19-year journey." NICA's launch immediately increased demand for engineers, experimental physicists and data processing specialists. By that point, MEPhI had already been training researchers for NICA. ITMO's new track builds on that foundation while offering broader preparation and a stronger emphasis on hands-on experience across multiple research facilities, including international ones.
Keeping Scientists in Academia
The new program directly addresses one of the field's most pressing workforce needs. Dmitry Naumov, head of JINR's neutrino program, offered a vivid example: "JINR and the Institute for Nuclear Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences, together with several Russian and international universities and research institutes, are building a neutrino telescope in Lake Baikal. It is the largest facility of its kind in the Northern Hemisphere, and within one or two years it will become the largest in the world. Other neutrino telescope collaborations typically involve 300 to 400 researchers, while the Baikal neutrino telescope has only 60 to 70. At the same time, we are actively working with China on a future facility that will be 30 times larger."
The only sustainable way to meet the demand for highly qualified specialists is to educate them directly. Meanwhile, scientific organizations face intense competition from the commercial technology sector. Graduates with programming and AI expertise will be highly sought after by industries offering the highest salaries. Retaining young researchers therefore requires stable funding as well as clear long-term career pathways.
Scientific programming is becoming one of the defining technologies of the future. Graduates will be prepared for careers as research scientists, accelerator operations engineers, detector systems developers and experimental physicists. That list of opportunities is expected to grow alongside the expansion of next-generation scientific infrastructure.
