In this chapter, we will cover the development, from scratch, of educational programs, the rationale behind the curricula, and the objectives and the bootstrapping of teaching, including the experience with CMU and the University of Amsterdam for the initial MS programs. We also discuss the manifesto of our intention for what concerns the language of instruction.

1 Bootstrapping

As mentioned in previous chapters, the first program launched by Innopolis University was a Master in Software Engineering developed in cooperation with Carnegie Mellon University (MSIT-SE). The first group of students were sent to the USS in fall 2013 to study for 1 year. Once graduated, this group served at the university as instructors. As the first director of the Software Engineering program was appointed Ales Zivkovic, in Fig. 4.1.

Fig. 4.1
figure 1

Director of MSIT-SE in a discussion of future trends in business education

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In April 2014, a competitive procedure was run to select 26 students to attend the first bachelor program of Innopolis University. Only students already attending the third year of other universities were admitted to the selection. The idea was to establish a pilot project able to graduate a group of students already after 1 year. It was a general pilot project.

The first bachelor program was launched then in August 2014. The starting date of the classes is unusual for Russia, and it is still unchanged at the moment of writing. It will be aligned with the national starting day (September 1) in the incoming year.

The unusual date was partly inspired by the academic schedule of Danish universities and partly organized to accommodate a winter break able to cover both Catholic and Orthodox Christmases, showing the international propulsion of the organization since the early days.

2 The First Curriculum Without Tracks

In February-March 2015, it become clear the format of admission for the academic year 2015–2016. The new building was almost ready, and moving there would have required a fast scale-up in the number of students. Every weekend from March to July was dedicated to students’ interviews. A massive work that allowed the university to enroll about 300 students.

All the faculty members in force in spring 2015 reached the building of the Innopolis University, still under construction, with a dedicated shuttle bus leaving Kazan on Sunday morning and coming back only in the evening. This period was particularly exhausting for the staff, but it led to a spectacular beginning of the academic year 2015–2016. Certain spaces of the new building were ready to use, with desks placed in a temporarily but functioning manner. Committee of three faculty members and assistants met every single students. Since then, the enrollment process was perfected, but it was notable since the beginning the high motivation and talent of the applicants and their adventurous attitude. The pioneering attitude started fading over the years since the new cohort of students progressively found better and better conditions and a stable process. However, the talent of our candidates makes of the enrollment experience always a nice activity to conduct. The advent of the pandemic in 2020 moved most of these interviews to online format.

In the cohort selected in spring 2015, there were first and third year bachelor and master students. Attracting them from other universities and enrolling to the third year was hard, but we could graduate a large cohort just after 2 years. The peculiarity and complexity of this year was in the fact that the three groups were taught the same courses. The teaching staff was tight, and the students numerous, and we had to have all the 300 students in the same room for lectures and separated only for labs. This optimization made the delivery difficult, but there was no other way to implement things in those pioneering times.

In 2017, we graduated the first group of bachelor students who lived in the city campus in the context of a majestic and very emotional ceremony. In Fig. 4.2, the speech of one of the authors (Mazzara) during the event that also signed the change of provost for education from Tanya Stanko to Sergey Masyagin. Current provost is Evgenii Bobrov, in charge since 2021.

Fig. 4.2
figure 2

Speech of Manuel Mazzara at the graduation ceremony of the first cohort of graduates

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3 The Organization in Tracks

The bachelor program was since 2017 organized in three tracks to be chosen by student during the third year of study: Software Engineering, Data Science, and Robotics. Only later, a fourth track in Computer Security was added.

In year 2019, also the first year of the bachelor program was organized in two tracks: Computer Science and Computer Engineering.

4 The Master Programs

Apart from the Software Engineering program, already mentioned, a master program in Robotics and one in Data Science were launched. During the period 2015–2016, some teaching staff spent the whole academic year at the University of Amsterdam to then launch in 2016 the master program in Security and Network Engineering (SNE) in collaboration with the parental SNE program. This MS program is a 1-year-long intensive education and research together with industry, followed by 1 year of hands-on industrial experience. SNE selects the best candidates and covers competencies such as security engineering, security analysis, secure programming, penetration testing, and offensive security. So far, five batches of SNE have already been graduated and have been placed in the local industry. The value generated by the program is evident from the high-quality graduates and the fact that well-known companies are hiring these graduates. Since the launch of SNE program, the university had four master programs, and the organizational structure follows the same pattern. The structure of labs and institute will be detailed in the specific chapter.

The Master of Science degrees offered by the Faculty of Computer Science and Engineering at Innopolis University aims at providing its students a quality graduate education in both the theoretical and applied foundations of computer science. The goal is to train students through comprehensive educational programs, and research in collaboration with industry and government, to effectively apply this education to solve real-world problems and enhance the graduates’ potential for high-quality, lifelong careers. The curricula are organized with courses distributed over 1 or 2 years. Such courses comprise a total of 120 ECTS (Europe Credit Transfer and Accumulation System), and they are performed mostly in English.

5 The Move to 3+ 1 Curriculum

In year 2021, a decision was made to move from a 4-year curriculum to a 3+ 1. Following the pattern already adopted for some MS program (e.g., the one in SE), it was decided that the fourth year of study would be implemented as 1-year-long internship in resident company, i.e., a full year of practice.

As a consequence of this decision, the original program originally unfolded over 4 years would be then developed over 3 years. This has been achieved with two key moves, plus work on the details: first, the addition of a summer semester where elective courses have been moved and delivered mostly online and second with the elimination of the pre-existing summer internships and having all the internship effort moved to the last year. A lot of work on the details was necessary, but the transition was relatively smooth. Starting from fall 2021, it has been implemented for all the first year BS students, and it will be extended to newcomers in the future. Those students enrolled before 2021 will complete instead the study according to the previous format.

6 Medium of Instruction

Innopolis University is committed to the highest international academic standards and offers the opportunity to study Computer Science and Engineering in English developing fluency and command of technical and non-technical vocabulary. This is made possible by the university’s international community of staff and students, speaking several foreign languages, and in particular English, on a daily basis: students, professors, researchers, and administrative staff.

This commitment is reflected on using English as the language of instruction of Innopolis University. All classes, teaching, labs, assignments, exercises, and practical material are provided in English. English is expected to be used in the following situations:

  • Frontal classes, including questions

  • Frontal labs, including questions

  • Class and labs material

  • Technical and non-technical assignments

  • Theses and projects

  • Written and oral exams

  • Group office hours

  • Public chats related to university life

  • Emails to students or colleagues

  • Student’s groups

  • Any other document related to education

Having English as the official medium of instruction of Innopolis University does not prevent the use of other languages, and, in particular, Russian, in other situations where two or more people share a common language; thus, English is not necessarily used in situations like informal conversation (questions after classes, etc.), individual office hours, private emails, private chats, etc.

6.1 Rationale

Fluency in multiple languages reflects on the one hand a versatile mind and on the other hand the significant effort and dedication necessary to acquire such ability. Being multilingual is a notable skill, no matter what set of languages is in a student’s portfolio; however, English is an important addition for every graduate. The importance of English language can be summarized in three major points:

  • English as a communication means

  • English as language of employment

  • English as language of science

6.2 English as a Communication Means

English is the language of international communication; speaking English increases the chances to communicate virtually anywhere in the world in every field of knowledge. Fluency in this language allows graduate to travel, to encounter new cultures and ideas, and to grow as individual and professionals. It is the medium for exchanging technical knowledge as well as feelings and emotions.

6.3 English as Language of Employment

The opportunities available on the job market today requires graduates to manage a complex mix of soft and hard skills. Among these, language skills have a primarily importance, not only for international job market but also for seeking high-profile employment in the Russian Federation. All the major companies keep indeed continuous relations with abroad institution, and engineers, manager, salesmen, and every other highly qualified specialist need the command of at least one foreign language, typically English. English skills are just as desirable to employers in any country as they are to employers in English-speaking countries.

Fluency in English allows employees to attend and organize international business meetings. Where several languages are represented, the chances are that the meeting will be conducted in English. Employees with language skills will find themselves in a position of advantage and will be able attending relevant gathering, therefore having the opportunity to advance faster in the career ladder.

6.4 English as Language of Science

English is also the language of science, and being fluent allows graduates to continuously educate themselves accessing scientific literature and attending international conferences. English is essential to pursue a scientific career and to develop the necessary network able to develop your scientific research.

6.5 Commitment to Improve Language Skills

In order to gain admission to Innopolis University, it is necessary to provide evidence of specific language levels based on the specific program of enrollment. Over the study period, the English level is expected to grow. The university implements several ways to support students in their path, some of them being:

  • English courses

  • Communication courses

  • Technical essays in English

  • Lab internships

  • International projects

6.6 Exceptions

Specific exceptions can be made by the Department of Education for courses that need to comply with laws and regulations of the Russian Federation (e.g., “safety”). The university commits to provide the opportunity to learn the material of these courses to all the international students.

In some cases, instructors who are fluent in Russian and possess the appropriate established terminology used in Russian industry and research can familiarize students with bilingual terminology that could give students a competitive advantage in the knowledge of modern terms used at the national and international levels.