12:05, 21 May 2026

MTUCI and Astra Group Launch Practice-Oriented Training Program for IT Professionals

The partnership between MTUCI and Astra Group – a leading player in Russia’s infrastructure software market – will give young professionals additional opportunities to strengthen their IT skills. In the future, those competencies are expected to help the industry more effectively address productivity challenges using domestic software products.

The Moscow Technical University of Communications and Informatics (MTUCI) and leading Russian infrastructure and system-software developer Astra Group signed a cooperation agreement. The partners plan to combine their research, educational, and workforce-development potential to train IT students in line with real industry demands. The central goal of the partnership is to make education more practice-oriented, increase motivation among future professionals, and attract talented young people into the information-technology sector. The agreement was signed on the sidelines of the 11th Digital Industry of Industrial Russia conference, known as TsIPR.

Under the agreement, Astra Group is expected to become directly involved in the university’s educational process. Company employees will teach selected IT-related subjects, courses, and disciplines while also helping develop and update academic programs. MTUCI will open a specialized Astra Group laboratory. The new facility will serve as a training center where students can work with Russian software products and modern technologies in demand across the country’s digital industry. In addition, the company will help MTUCI IT students secure placements for internships and practical training.

Particular attention will also be paid to co-financing higher-education programs for top specialists in artificial intelligence and digital transformation under federal projects coordinated through the Analytical Center under the Government of Russia. MTUCI, in turn, will provide all necessary conditions for classes and for Astra Group employees participating in teaching activities.

“Signing this agreement with Astra Group is an important step in the systematic preparation of modern IT professionals. Through updated educational programs, joint educational events, internships, and other initiatives included in our roadmap, students will be able to work on real-world tasks: developing information-technology solutions, completing internships, and participating in pilot projects. That will allow them to become in-demand engineers and developers from the very beginning of their careers. We are focused not only on transferring knowledge, but also on building practical skills, project-oriented thinking, and the ability to bring developments to a commercial result. This format of cooperation will strengthen the practical orientation of education, accelerate innovation adoption, and deepen educational ties between MTUCI and Astra Group,” said Sergei Erokhin, Rector of the Moscow Technical University of Communications and Informatics.

“We take the development of IT education very seriously by supporting Russia’s national Digital Economy program, which is why we pay special attention to training highly qualified personnel in information technology. It is important for us that future IT professionals become familiar with our products while still at university, understand their architecture, and learn how to work within the Russian software ecosystem. Together with MTUCI – one of the country’s leaders in communications and informatics training – we will build a system where theory goes hand in hand with practice, and where the best students can immediately apply their knowledge in real projects,” concluded Nikolai Pryanishnikov, First Deputy CEO of Astra Group.

Education