Learning for a Top Grade: MEPhI Opens an X5 Tech Lab
MEPhI's new Science Laboratory Building is now home to an X5 Tech laboratory, a space where fundamental physics meets the digital technologies behind logistics, robotics, and millions of everyday retail purchases.
An event that might seem unexpected for a university best known for physics and engineering took place at the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI on June 16. A new X5 Tech laboratory opened inside the university's Science Laboratory Building. X5 Tech is the primary digital technology partner for the Pyatyorochka and Perekrestok retail chains, along with other businesses within the X5 Group ecosystem. The partnership brings fundamental scientific education directly into the development of digital solutions for one of Russia's largest retailers.
A Space for Solving Real Problems
The new laboratory includes modern workstations, a dedicated collaboration area for brainstorming and group projects, and its own technical library, creating an environment designed for both learning and teamwork. Multimedia equipment supports lectures and seminars, while perhaps the most intriguing addition - scheduled to arrive soon - is a demonstration self-checkout kiosk. Students will not simply study retail technologies. They will be able to interact directly with the same systems used every day by millions of shoppers across the country.
For students, the laboratory is more than another classroom. It is a place to work alongside engineers and technology professionals from X5 Tech. Lectures, project reviews, career advising sessions, and specialized courses will all take place there. More than 300 students are expected to participate during the first academic year alone, combining classroom learning with real industry projects.
Industry Experts Step Into the Classroom
What will students study in the new lab? The priorities closely reflect today's technology landscape: machine learning and artificial intelligence (ML/AI), big data, software development, automation, logistics, robotics, and product engineering.
The plans extend even further. X5 Tech intends to introduce applied Python and Go courses into MEPhI's curriculum, taught not by visiting academics but by the company's own engineers. Students will learn skills they can put to work immediately. At the same time, X5 Tech has become the industry partner for a new academic program in Software Engineering for Artificial Intelligence, designed to prepare graduates who can build intelligent products rather than simply write code.
MEPhI Rector Vladimir Shevchenko described the laboratory as an important step toward preparing engineers capable of solving real business challenges. Alexander Kostin, Managing Director of X5 Tech, echoed that view, emphasizing that the lab is intended to expose students to real industry problems as early as possible.
"This is the natural continuation of our long-term partnership with one of Russia's strongest engineering universities. The laboratory should become a regular point of contact between students and the technology industry, career opportunities, and X5 Tech projects."
Where Physics Meets IT
The X5 Tech laboratory is part of MEPhI's broader strategy to build an educational ecosystem where fundamental science and advanced industry expertise develop side by side.
That strategy began expanding well before this latest partnership. In October 2025, MEPhI opened a joint cybersecurity laboratory with UserGate, giving future cybersecurity professionals hands-on experience with real-world information security technologies. The partners also signed an agreement to expand their cooperation, including a scholarship program for students. Russia's Deputy Minister of Digital Development attended the opening ceremony.
In February 2026, RED SOFT opened its own IT laboratory at MEPhI. Fifteen workstations running Russian-developed hardware and software now allow students to gain practical experience with domestic operating systems and database technologies.
Two more applied teaching laboratories followed in April 2026 at MEPhI's Institute of Intelligent Cybernetic Systems. Created in partnership with Sberbank, the Bespilotnyy transport (Autonomous Transport) and Perspektivnyye vychislitelnyye tekhnologii (Advanced Computing Technologies) laboratories prepare students for careers in microelectronics, autonomous mobility, and artificial intelligence while providing access to current technology platforms and real research projects.
Each new industry partner further strengthens MEPhI's position as one of Russia's leading engineering education centers. The X5 Tech laboratory represents the next step in that long-term strategy.
A Bridge From Campus to Career
The partnership between X5 Tech and MEPhI began in 2025. For X5 Tech, the new laboratory is part of a broader strategy to engage talented engineers early in their careers. One of its primary goals is to build a direct pathway from the university classroom to well-paid, technically challenging jobs. And the numbers already suggest that strategy is taking shape. Today, X5 Tech employs 116 MEPhI graduates, while five current students are completing internships at the company. The new laboratory is expected to increase those numbers while making the transition from education to professional careers smoother and better prepared.
