One of MIPT’s roles is to address global challenges and meet the United Nations’ 2030 sustainable development goals. In 2015, all U.N. member states undertook to achieve SDGs by adopting the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Together with the global community of governments, international organizations, educational institutions, and others, MIPT is committed to making the world a better and more prosperous place.
MIPT students, professors, researchers, and management are taking action to ensure zero hunger, quality education, social and gender equality, responsible consumption and production, and more. Their day-to-day activities include but are not limited to promoting relevant policies, developing program documents, organizing special events and initiatives, and conducting cutting-edge research that advances our knowledge in finding solutions to global problems.
Goals
Goal 01
Goal 02
Goal 03
Goal 04
Goal 05
Goal 06
Goal 07
Goal 08
Goal 09
Goal 10
Goal 11
Goal 12
Goal 13
Goal 14
Goal 15
Goal 16
Goal 17
Goal 01
Students in need are granted monthly financial aid by the Association of Student Unions. They also receive semiannual payments from the MIPT school they study at.
The University provides meals at reduced prices to students who need them.
Students actively participate in charitable events to support orphanages and underprivileged families.
In 2019, Moscow students benefited from free training sessions that prepared them for the International Collegiate Programming Contest. Offered by MIPT’s Moscow Workshops ICPC, the program ensures equal opportunities for the city’s students willing to take part in the contest, regardless of their background.

Goal 02
One of the primary missions of MIPT’s Laboratory for the Development of Innovative Drugs and Agricultural Biotechnology is to conduct research into new agricultural technologies. The lab champions the introduction of methods for decomposing mycotoxins, which pose a serious threat to all types of livestock. The team also looks for new plant growth regulators by employing its own predeveloped model systems of blue-green algae and tobacco pollen, and with the help of the ImageXpress Micro XL automated screening system.
The team’s current research also involves validating the biological activity and investigating the mechanism of action of new promising crop growth modulators in vivo throughout the plant life cycle. This research features Professor Klaus Palme from the University of Freiburg, Germany, as an important collaborator.

Goal 03
Employees and students undergo annual health checkups. Throughout the year, students and staff receive medical services free of charge at the University’s health clinic fitted with state-of-the-art equipment.
MIPT promotes a healthy lifestyle. A swimming pool, a sports hall, several gyms, and a stadium are available throughout the year, with a hockey rink set up in the winter. Access to the sports facilities is free of charge to students and employees.
In 2019, MIPT established the Laboratory for the Analysis of Public Health Indicators and Health Care Digitization. That year was also marked by a number of studies contributing to the sustainable development goals. A case in point is the explanation of the molecular mechanisms behind the rapid progression of age-related diseases. Another study derived a transcriptomic signature of aging, which the authors confirmed using large transcriptomic databases. MIPT scientists also came up with a faster way to discover antibiotics.
One of the groundbreaking studies conducted in 2019 toward implementing Goal 3 is due to a collaboration between MIPT and the Russian corporation Neurobotics. The researchers found a way to visualize a person’s brain activity as actual images mimicking what that person is observing in real time. As part of the Global Burden of Disease Cancer Collaboration, MIPT researchers also conducted a study revealing an increase in cancer incidence.

Goal 04
With its 7,000 students and over 80 members and corresponding members of the Russian Academy of Sciences, MIPT has the highest academician-to-student ratio nationwide.
MIPT is one of the top 100 universities internationally in terms of the student-to-faculty ratio, as indicated by the Times Higher Education rankings. MIPT is the No. 45 best university worldwide for physics according to Times Higher Education. In 2019, THE also featured MIPT at No. 95 on its list of top 100 universities to study computer science. You can find out more from the dedicated ranking results page.
The Distance Learning School of Physics and Technology at MIPT has an annual 18,000 school students from grades eight through 11, who either attend additional classes in physics, math, chemistry, computer science and information technology, or take courses remotely.
The University pays considerable attention to the academic competitions recognized by the Russian School Student Olympiads Council. MIPT co-organizes nine annual olympiads listed in the council’s register. Over 60,000 students from 80 regions of Russia take part in these competitions.
In 2019 MIPT also established a long-term partnership with China-based tech giant ByteDance.
In 2019, MIPT offered five new master’s degree programs taught in English, endorsing U.N’s 17 sustainable development goals. The accompanying course materials are available online.
A set of events that are part of the University’s signature “Phystech System” of education allow MIPT to effectively spot talented students and enable their professional self-identification and growth as researchers and engineers with breakthrough potential.

Goal 05
The number of young women admitted to MIPT and building a career at the University is growing every year. Over the past five years, the number of female students has grown by more than a third.
MIPT respects the norms and provisions of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. This includes the prohibition of labor discrimination.
The Russian Constitution provides that men and women have equal rights and freedoms, which includes equal opportunities at MIPT.

Goal 06
MIPT’s Laboratory of Functional Organic and Hybrid Materials works to create innovative polyelectrolyte-based materials, which will underlie the construction of self-powered multimedia filters for seawater desalination, sewage treatment, and the extraction of rare earth elements.
Joined by the All-Russian Society of Nature Conservation, MIPT is building a device that will connect to a smartphone and allow even a school student to test the quality of water in a classroom setting. All it takes is a water sample brought from home, and the technology will do the rest. After a sample has been analyzed, all the data, including where the sample was collected, will be sent to a unified database system. This will create an opportunity to report nationwide tap water quality on an interactive map.

Goal 07
Over the past five years, four new buildings were constructed on the MIPT campus, respecting the modern environmental and power efficiency standards.
MIPT’s new boiler station is more efficient than the old one and emits less CO2 per kilowatt-hour produced. Apart from that, it provides heat to off-campus city buildings.
An international team of scientists featuring employees of the MIPT Laboratory of Functional Organic and Hybrid Materials showed that ordered structures based on organic molecules can become the basis of solar panels. The scientists came up with a way of using such structures to make organic solar cells several times more efficient.
In 2019 researchers from the MIPT and Lebedev Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences designed and tested a prototype cathodoluminescent lamp for general lighting. The new lamp, which relies on the phenomenon of field emission, is more reliable, durable, and luminous than its analogues available worldwide.

Goal 08
MIPT operates on a set of principles known as the Phystech System. One of them is the immersion of learners in research at one of the University’s numerous partner organizations, where prominent scientists supervise student projects. There are over 100 such organizations, including many research institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences and some of the country’s major tech companies.
MIPT placed first among Russian technical universities in terms of the salary potential of its IT graduates, according to the rankings published by SuperJob, a Russian online service for job seekers. The University’s students gain hands-on experience as early as their third year by getting internships at some of Russia’s top companies. Within three to six months after graduation, 95% of MIPT alumni secure employment.
In 2019, an MIPT-based project called Moscow Workshops ICPC held programming events in Russia, Oman, and Brazil. Preparing IT students from all over the world for the International Collegiate Programming Contest helps to significantly increase the number of sought-after professionals able to secure high-paying jobs or establish businesses.

Goal 09
MIPT is building an ecosystem of a world-class innovative research and development center. The University offers a perfect environment for unlocking student and employee potential and fostering personal growth. The 96 hectares of the campus accommodate 12 modern dormitories with a total area of 93,000 square meters, nine educational and research buildings, and a sports center.
Since 2018, MIPT has established the Phystech.Start business accelerator with the support of the MIPT Endowment Fund. The residents benefit from mentorship by MIPT graduates, education and progress tracking programs.
The MIPT Engineering Center is an innovative facility for engineering, science, and technology. It offers a wide range of services in the field of natural resource recovery and processing.
In 2019, Yandex and MIPT opened a joint lab, enhancing their long-standing collaboration, which had previously given rise to a joint data analysis department based at the University’s School of Applied Mathematics and Informatics.
MIPT organized the second edition of the International Conference on Artificial Intelligence: Applications and Innovations (IC-AIAI) in 2019. The event became a platform for the discussion of artificial intelligence development and use.

Goal 10
Founded in 1966, MIPT’s Distance Learning School of Physics and Technology serves to improve the overall level of science education in Russia. It creates a free educational environment for eighth- to 11th-grade students who are interested in physics, math, chemistry, and informatics.
MIPT actively collaborates with more than 1,100 high school teachers, helping them engage advanced students by setting up study groups and face-to-face elective courses that follow the Distance Learning School curriculum.
MIPT annually hosts more than 100 events targeting school and university students, as well as school teachers, engaging more than 250,000 school and university students, teachers, and professors from Russia and abroad take part in these events.
International applicants have the opportunity to receive a tuition discount or waiver. There is a government quota for foreign students. Alternatively, they may qualify for federal financial aid covering their tuition costs. Applicants who do not speak Russian can get enrolled in a foundation program that features courses in Russian and the STEM subjects.
MIPT currently offers three bachelor’s and eight master’s degree programs taught in English. In 2019, the national team of Kazakhstan received training at MIPT prior to the International Junior Science Olympiad in Qatar.
In Russia, the state guarantees the equality of human and civil rights and freedoms for every individual regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, language, property and official status, place of residence, religious or other beliefs, membership in public organizations, and other circumstances. Any form of restriction of citizen rights on the grounds of social, racial, national, linguistic, or religious affiliation is illegal.

Goal 11
MIPT is one of the largest employers in the town of Dolgoprudny. It is a higher education institution with the status of a national research university. MIPT pays special attention to teaching schoolchildren. In particular, rigorous programs have been developed for pupils of the Kapitsa Phystech Lyceum and Physical and Mathematical Lyceum No. 5 in Dolgoprudny. The students receive advanced technical training that is geared toward the MIPT curriculum, and have a chance to eventually be admitted as undergrads. The University employs many of its graduates, who also find high-tech jobs elsewhere that are related to their degrees.
Apart from that, a lot of top-level young specialists come to Dolgoprudny to work at MIPT and bring their families with them. The chance to teach talented students at the best technical university in Russia is a key factor making MIPT an attractive employer.
The territory of the MIPT campus, complete with a stadium and a swimming pool, is available to local residents. The campus offers convenient parking spaces and pedestrian areas. Six bike racks and two bicycle storage rooms for students and employees have been built over the past five years.
In a partnership with U.S. company Corning Inc. and Russia’s T8, MIPT developed a system for high-throughput data transfer over great distances without the need for signal repeating along the way. Systems of this kind could be used to provide internet connection and other communication services in remote communities.

Goal 12
The Energy Storage Systems Lab was established in 2017 as part of the Research and Technology Center for Autonomous Energy of the Institute of Arctic Technology, MIPT. The lab is developing lithium-ion-based energy storage systems capable of withstanding the harsh Arctic conditions to provide autonomous energy in the region.
The laboratory also conducts R&D to meet the international standards for lithium-ion batteries and eventually begin their series production in cooperation with industry partners involved at every technological step, from the development of modern materials to the creation of an end product in the form of an energy storage device or an electric vehicle.
The Engineering Center for Natural Resource Recovery specializes in the development of technological and software solutions to enhance the efficiency of oil and gas extraction. Another focus of the center is on hard-to-recover natural resources.

Goal 13
A team of scientists led by MIPT and MSU professor and RAS member Igor Mokhov, who is the scientific director of the Obukhov Institute of Atmospheric Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, assessed the contribution of Russia’s anthropogenic and natural CO2 and CH4 emissions to global climate change in the 21st century.
In 2019, the MIPT Laboratory for Geophysical Research of the Arctic Region and Continental Margins of the World Ocean organized two major Arctic expeditions that involved exploring tectonically active areas in certain regions of the Arctic shelf, particularly in the Laptev and East Siberian seas, where areas of unusually intensive methane emissions into the ocean and atmosphere were discovered. Monitoring methane emissions is important for estimating their role in the Arctic climate change. Another 2019 study evaluated the impact of Russia on global warming.

Goal 14
After four expeditions in the Arctic Ocean and satellite data analysis, a team of Russian climate scientists featuring MIPT researchers described the ocean’s “seasonal memory.” This refers to a mechanism explaining how atmospheric circulation has caused the ice in the Eurasian Arctic to melt faster than in the American Arctic in the 21st century.

Goal 15
A team of MIPT researchers partnered up with their colleagues from the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Institute for Water and Environmental Problems of the Siberian Branch of RAS to suggest a new method for measuring the depth of soil thawing based on satellite microwave radiometry data.
The University’s scientists also created a new ranking scale that ties the concentration of free radicals in lichens to air pollution levels. This makes it possible to identify areas with substandard air quality harmful for humans, without the need to directly measure atmospheric composition.

Goal 16
There is a trade union committee operating at MIPT. It welcomes both employees and students of undergraduate and graduate programs to become its members. The committee’s main aim is to represent and protect the professional, occupational, economic, and social rights and interests of its members.
MIPT follows the norms and regulations set out in the Russian Labor Code, including those prohibiting employment discrimination. No individual shall be constrained in their labor rights and freedoms or gain any advantages based on sex, race, skin color, ethnicity, language, origin, age, place of residence, religion or belief, membership or nonmembership in public associations, social groups, etc., or because of any other circumstances unrelated to their professional qualities.

Goal 17
MIPT partners with over 40 leading research and scientific institutions, including those that are part of the Russian Academy of Sciences, as well as dozens of science-driven industrial enterprises and major tech companies to actively develop innovative projects. For example, in 2019, a conference on graphs, networks, and their applications took place at MIPT bringing together specialists in graph and hypergraph theory, complex networks, random graphs and models. Among the tech partners of the conference are Yandex, Sberbank, and Huawei. The latter also became an MIPT partner in the field of artificial intelligence.
As a result of implementing the University’s development program, its research potential has grown significantly. Over 80 laboratories have been established for research in fields such as 2D materials, quantum technologies, biophysics and genome technologies, Arctic development, artificial intelligence, and aerospace technology. One of them — the Molecular Oncology Lab — was established in 2019 and is led by molecular biologist Gerry Melino, who heads the Center for Advanced Oncology Research at the University of Rome Tor Vergata, Italy, and leads the Medical Research Council’s Toxicology Unit at the University of Cambridge, U.K.
In 2019, MIPT also signed a number of agreements to promote cooperation with countries and regions, for example, with Kyrgyzstan and Russia’s Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, as well as organizations, including Junior Chamber International.
