FACULTY OF MATHEMATICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES

The Faculty of Mathematics and Information Technologies is the academic structural unit of the University, which releases lead qualification specialists in the IT sphere: programmers, system analysts, system administrators, web programmers, IT project managers, etc. In addition to versatile training in the IT field, our students receive high-quality mathematical education, without which it is impossible to grasp the intricacies of computer technologies.

As a separate division, the Faculty of Mathematics was formed in 1970 as an offshoot of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics. In 2012, due to the changed content of the education offered, the Faculty was renamed into the Faculty of Mathematics and Information Technologies.

Learning

The Faculty offers bachelor and master degree programmes intramurally. The duration and study load in the bachelor's degree is 4 years and 240 ECTS credit units (1 CU = 36 academic hours), in the master's degree – 2 years and 120 ECTS credits.

The general features of the Faculty's academic programmes are:

• Close cooperation with employers in the Republic of Mordovia. Representatives of the largest employers in the field of information technology ("Simbirsoft", "Codemasters", "Infomaximum", "Heads and Hands", "Bytex", etc.) take part in the development of the content of degree programmes, teach classes, monitor the quality of learning, participating in the work of state commissions dealing with final assessment. Many students find a job proper to their academic specialism already during their studies and undergo practical training on the job.

• Continuous improvement of degree programmes. Teaching staff of the Faculty of Mathematics and Information Technologies constantly monitor developments in the field of information technologies and improve their qualifications. Some of the teachers are also employees of IT companies or IT departments at large organisations in the local region (banks, etc.). This allows them to stay in sync with the latest developments in the use of modern software.

Bachelor degree programmes

The Faculty offers the following bachelor degree programmes:

• Applied Mathematics and Informatics/Computer Science (track «Mathematical and computer software»). This programme has been included in the official list of "The best educational programmes of innovative Russia" for the last few years. The field of professional activity is mathematical modeling, mathematical and computer methods of image processing, mathematical methods and software for information protection, mathematical and software support for computer networks, high-performance computing and parallel programming technologies, applied Internet technologies.

The received knowledge allows you to work as application developers, database administrators, and project managers. Graduates are able to analyse and develop mathematical models, solve complex problems through the methods of high-performance computing technologies, and use modern supercomputers in their research work.

• Fundamental Computer Science and Information Technologies (track «Informatics and Computer Sciences»). The field of professional activity is diverse: computing technologies, database technologies, computer graphics, automation of research, web technologies, parallel and distributed programming, software engineering, intelligent systems. Graduates work as database administrators, software developers, web content managers and information resource processing managers, system and network administrators, consultants in the field of information technologies.

• Software Engineering (track «Development of software and information systems»). Software engineering relies on the integration of the principles of mathematics, informatics and computer sciences with engineering approaches to the production of software. This is a science that develops models and methods for the production of high-quality software. Bachelor degree holders will be fully prepared for the development of software products and project management, automation of business processes, creation of user interfaces, network administration.

Master degree programmes

• Applied Mathematics and Informatics/Computer science (track «Mathematical modeling»). Mathematical Modeling is a universal in its content master degree programme, the graduates of which acquire sufficient competencies both for research and employment in the IT field. The content of the programme administers to the needs of the high-tech labour market in the local region. Of high value for both learners and teaching staff is the long-term fruitful cooperation with the Russian Federal Nuclear Center, Nationwide Research Institute of Experimental Physics (VNIIEF Rosatom) – the main developer of the domestic software "LOGOS", which allows to make an engineering analysis of digital twins of civil and military industry products. Due to the rise in costs of field experiments, it is these digital images of various objects (from an airplane wing to a miniature microcircuit), backed up by appropriate mathematical models, that become the basis for the production of high-tech products and make it possible to significantly reduce and lower the price of its preparatory stage. The modernisation of the programme in 2017 was marked by a win in the grant competition administered by V. Potanin Charitable Foundation.

• Fundamental Computer Science and Information Technologies (track «Informatics and Computer Sciences»). The objectives of the programme refer to the needs of regional and federal nationwide IT-companies. The Master's programme is designed to release highly knowledgeable IT specialists capable of performing the functions of senior personnel in software development projects: having deep knowledge and understanding of the specifics of modern software development processes, able to analyse, predict and manage various stages of the software development process, able to work in the conditions of uncertainty and variability of functional requirements to software; fluent in foreign languages. The grasp of special competencies allows a graduate to successfully perform tasks related to organisational-managerial, analytical and project professional activities.

• Software Engineering (track «Software Project Development Management»). The learning in this master's programme is fundamentally organised in such a way as to provide graduates with creative, leading positions in their future careers. The curriculum copies the international standard for training programmers Computing Curriculum. The educational process is realised in close cooperation and on the production base of the Innovation Design Centre (IDC) of the Technopark-Mordovia in accordance with the agreement concluded between the Technopark and the National Research Mordovia State University.

In 2022, the Faculty scholars developed Master's programme track «Application Development Technologies» under «Fundamental Computer Science and Information Technologies» degree programme. The language of instruction is English. The said track deals with technological, organisational and managerial activities of learners. Upon graduation, learners should be ready to participate in a wide range of modern software development projects and manage these projects.

Departments

The Faculty consists of 4 departments:

• Calculus, Algebra and Geometry (Chaired by Ph.D., associate professor O.G. Kostrov). The department provides the fundamental mathematical training of learners;

• Applied Mathematics, differential equations and theoretical mechanics (Acting Chair Ph.D. holder E.V. Desyaev). The department is in charge of graduates enrolled in the bachelor and master degree programmes «Applied Mathematics and Computer Science»;

• Computer-aided Design Systems (Chaired by PhD holder in Technical Sciences, associate professor A.V. Shamaev). The department is in charge of graduates enrolled in the bachelor and master degree programme «Software Engineering»;

• Fundamental Computer Science (Chaired by Ph.D., associate professor A.G. Smolyanov). The department is in charge of graduates enrolled in bachelor and master degree programmes «Fundamental computer science and Information Technologies».

These departments employ about 50 lecturers; most of them are PhD or Higher Doctorate degree holders with the academic rank of full professors or associate professors. The Department of Applied Mathematics, Differential Equations and Theoretical Mechanics has, among its staff, a corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences - V.F. Tishkin.

Research

The Faculty pursues successful researches in many areas of fundamental and applied mathematics:

• Mathematical modeling, numerical methods and software packages. Research is conducted by the staff of the Department of Applied Mathematics, Differential Equations and Theoretical Mechanics under the guidance of V.F. Tishkin (Higher doctorate degree holder., Professor, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences). The research group looks into high-precision algorithms for modeling fluid and gas flows; parallel computing. In addition, research efforts extend into mathematical modeling and forecasting of socio-economic processes.

• Differential equations and mathematical theory of controlled processes. The research team from the Department of Applied Mathematics, Differential Equations and Theoretical Mechanics is engaged in this line of research. Applications of stability theory including problems of chemical kinetics, biology, etc., various problems of oscillation theory, stability theory and control are investigated, a method for determining reliability characteristics in dynamic systems has been developed.

• Hydrodynamics of dispersed media. Research team of the Department of Applied Mathematics, Differential Equations and Theoretical Mechanics is in charge of this. In the framework of this research, an analytical method has been developed for solving the problem of hydrodynamic interaction of a finite number of dispersed particles in a viscous liquid flow. An analytical method has been constructed that allows describing the flow of a viscous liquid containing an infinite three-dimensional periodic lattice of rigid spheres. Simulations of the thermohydrodynamic and electrohydrodynamic interaction of particles in suspensions are patterned.

• The most developed areas of scientific activity of the Department of Fundamental Computer Science refer to the application of intelligent information technologies (neural networks, machine learning) and are directly related to the interests of enterprises located the Republic of Mordovia. They are: development of a mathematical model for calculating the effective cropping system, forecasting the time of machinery breakdowns and repairs, developing and testing algorithms for monitoring and prediction maintenance, building a recommendation system for the selection of effective research teams.

• Automation of design engineering and testing of electrical systems of transport and space hardware for electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) of elements. The work is supervised by the Department of Computer-aided Design Systems. A new spectral strategy for designing EMC elements of autonomous electrical systems has been developed, implementing the latest achievements in the fields of mathematical modeling, numerical methods of analysis of complex systems, and modern information technologies. Separate CAD software have been realised at leading enterprises of the Republic of Mordovia.

• The laboratory «Mathematical and Computer Modeling of Nanostructures» conducts research on the spectral theory of Schrödinger operators and its applications to the physics of nanostructures and mesoscopic systems of reduced dimension. In particular, the spectral analysis of periodic Schrödinger operators with a homogeneous magnetic field is made. In the field of physics of nanostructures and mesoscopic systems (including systems with non-planar geometry), magnetic response, transport and optical properties are being investigated.

The development of the mentioned research strands and the results obtained were not possible without firm ties with the leading scientific centres of Russia and neighboring regions. At various stages, such ties were established with St. Petersburg, Moscow, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod and other universities, as well as with the St. Petersburg Division of the Steklov Institute of Mathematics, Tallinn Polytechnic School, Saint Petersburg Electrotechnical University, Ivanovo Power Engineering Institutes, Bauman Moscow State Technical University and other universities.

The Faculty offers a few PhD programmes and interested students can build their scientific career by applying for said programmes.

Computing laboratory

As of today, the computing laboratory has eight classrooms furnished with modern computers with necessary licensed and freely distributed software and Internet access. More than 150 computers are used in learning. All computer classes have multimedia projectors. The equipment installed in computer classrooms is constantly updated.

All classes are integrated into a single local network of the Faculty. Each undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate student as well as faculty member is provided with a personal account to access the network.

The laboratory welcomes learners with special needs (especially those with disorders of LMS/the musculoskeletal system).

Undergraduates and master degree seekers working at the computing laboratory have the opportunity to use computing clusters manufactured by «T-Platforms» and «HP» for high-performance parallel computing in their academic and research projects. It is also possible to use virtualisation technologies to simulate the operation of various operating systems and local networks.