On June 2, 2026, Yulia M. Mazanik, Dean of the Faculty of Information Technologies and Robotics (FITR), and Bazhena A. Badak, Deputy Dean of FITR of the Belarusian National Technical University (BNTU), took part in the 3rd International Forum “AI: The Future Is Today.” The event was held in St. Petersburg as part of one of the key events in the business sphere — the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
Participation in an event of this level became an important step in implementing the university’s strategy for the digital transformation of education and the integration of artificial intelligence technologies into the learning process.
The large-scale forum brought together representatives of government bodies, leaders of the Russian IT industry, science and business. It was organized with the support of the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation, the RUSSOFT Association and St. Petersburg State University of Economics.
The main focus of the forum was the practical implementation of AI in key areas of life. A special place in the business program was given to the topic “The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Education and Human Resources Development.” For BNTU representatives, this track was of particular importance.
During discussions with leading experts — representatives of ITMO University, Yandex, Rosatom and the Ministry of Digital Development — advanced approaches to training specialists for the economy of the future were studied, where AI is becoming an essential tool.
The main result of the trip was the development of a specific plan for introducing artificial intelligence technologies into the educational process at the Faculty of Information Technologies and Robotics. Starting from the 2026–2027 academic year, the use of AI tools will become a systematic part of engineering training.
Based on the experience presented at the forum by Russian colleagues from retail and industry, where more than 85% of companies already use AI in their operations, FITR will focus on studying AI-native approaches — technologies in which artificial intelligence is not an additional function, but the core of the system.
Dean of FITR Yulia Mazanik noted:
“The forum confirmed our course toward total digital transformation. Artificial intelligence is becoming as fundamental an engineering tool as a programming language. That is why we are beginning to introduce ‘smart’ assistants from the first years of study, starting with algorithmization and discrete mathematics, so that by graduation students do not simply know about AI, but are able to manage it to solve production tasks.”
Participation in the international forum became a logical continuation of the systematic work being carried out at BNTU. The university already has successful experience in implementing AI technologies:
The new initiatives developed following the forum in St. Petersburg will allow BNTU, and in particular the Faculty of Information Technologies and Robotics, to take leading positions in training a new generation of IT specialists who will be in demand in the era of the digital economy of the Union State.
