The Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Skoltech) and Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT) have launched the twelve-day SMILES-2025 Summer School on Machine Learning. More than 120 participants from Russia, China, and CIS countries have begun an intensive program on cutting-edge artificial intelligence technologies, while around 500 more are joining online — either engaging in project work or simply attending lectures. Travel, accommodation, and meals for in-person participants are covered by the organizers.

One of the leading summer schools in the field of AI and machine learning is held outside of Russia for the first time since 2019, thanks to a partnership with HIT’s School of Computer Science. HIT is one of the top universities in Asia, ranked among the world’s top 150 universities by Times Higher Education, and in the top 3 globally in natural language processing according to Scholar GPS.

On the first day of SMILES, participants explored HIT’s campus and attended plenary talks. The opening ceremony featured speeches by Evgeny Burnaev, who heads the Skoltech AI Center, HIT representatives, and the school’s director, Skoltech Associate Professor Alexey Zaytsev.

Professor Burnaev’s lecture focused on the evolution of generative AI — from GANs to physics-informed diffusion models — and methods for evaluating their reliability. The lecture portion of the day concluded with a session on AI applications in fintech. Head of the Advanced Analytics Models and Methods Directorate at Alfa-Bank Vadim Ayuev showcased AI use in credit risk, geo-analytics, and the bank’s conversational services. Head of Data Analysis at Sber AI Lab Konstantin Egorov presented self-supervised pipelines and multi-agent models developed by Sber’s Applied AI Center. Managing Director for Data Research and head of the Kandinsky Base Models team at Sber Denis Dimitrov discussed the architecture and training of the Kandinsky-4 generative system for images and video. Deputy Governor of the Bank of Russia Alexey Zabotkin spoke about how large language models are transforming economists’ toolkits — from extracting insights from texts to modeling economic agent behavior — offering new research opportunities while also demanding caution regarding their applicability.

“Today’s dialogue showed that generative AI is moving beyond the lab and becoming a tool for engineers, doctors, and financiers,” said Professor Evgeny Burnaev, the director of the Skoltech AI Center. “SMILES-2025 in Harbin is a unique opportunity to combine the academic depth and practical expertise of two major scientific schools, giving participants a real hands-on boost.”

“Holding the school in Harbin, China, is a sign that the program continues to grow and attract students from across countries,” added Alexey Zaytsev, Director of SMILES-2025 and Associate Professor at Skoltech. “This year, the strengths and expertise of HIT and Skoltech complement each other, and thanks to our partners, we’re presenting real-world generative AI solutions already used in industry.”

“For students and young researchers, SMILES provides a space not just to understand how modern AI works, but to apply it in real-world economic analysis,” said Alexey Zabotkin, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Russia. “Initiatives like this are supported by the Bank of Russia, which is invested in developing research potential and adopting new approaches in economics. We hope this experience proves valuable and bears fruit in the participants’ future projects and research.”

Until July 27, participants can look forward to lectures on large language models (LLMs), multi-agent systems, and safe AI; hands-on workshops; mini-hackathons; and a team project competition. The best projects will be recommended for academic publication or pilot implementation in industry. Online broadcasts are available on the school’s YouTube channel, with recordings posted after editing.

General Partner: Alfa-Bank

Gold Partner: Sber

Innovation Partner: Skolkovo Fintech Hub

Scientific Partner: AIRI Institute

The school is supported by the Bank of Russia.