The successes and challenges of the IT-Cube Center: Smolensk IT specialists win competitions and benefit the region

In an era where digital literacy is becoming as basic a skill as reading and writing, supplementary education centers are playing the role of locomotives of a country’s technological sovereignty. The Smolensk Center for Digital Education of Children “IT-Cube”, operating on the basis of the Regional Academy of Technology (SOTA), is not just a computer class with modern equipment. This is a real forge of personnel, where the school desk meets with real industrial cases, and students become champions of the all-Russian and international level. The bright victories and festive posts on social networks hide the colossal work of mentors, systematic work and the very challenges that form the character of future engineers.

International breakthrough

One of the main events of the year for the Smolensk “IT-cube” was the entry into the international arena. For the first time, the teams of the center went to robotics competitions in the Belarusian city of Krichev. This is not just a medal ride, this is the diplomacy of the future. As noted by the mentor of the center Roman Vyatoshin, the guys begin to establish international relations with colleagues, and this happens not by word, but by deed.

The results exceeded all expectations. In the youngest category “WeDo Trajectory”, the first place was confidently taken by Egor Antonov. In the discipline "Kegelring" pupils Roman Vyatoshin and Dmitry Antonov and completely took the entire pedestal: gold from Ivan Antonov, silver shared Rodion Oleynik and Platon Voronkovsky.

This success is proof that in Smolensk “IT-cube” grow engineers who can compete in any arena. For children, this is an invaluable experience: they see that their code and their robots work not only in their native walls, but also in foreign venues, where judging and conditions differ from the usual regional stages. This forms the psychological resilience needed to work in the global IT industry.

An algorithmic star

If robotics is physics and mechanics, then algorithmic programming is pure mathematics and logic. There is no right to error, and the price of ineffective code is loss. The student of the "IT-cube" Vadim Blinov demonstrated an outstanding level of mastery of this art. He not only reached the final of the championship in algorithmic programming, but also took first place in the Central Federal District according to the results of qualifying competitions.

Algorithmic programming is a sport where participants need to write code that optimally solves a problem without going beyond memory or time. This requires a teenager to think at a speed comparable to that of a processor. Now, if, as the guys themselves say, “the stars will turn up,” Vadim will go to Makhachkala to defend the honor of the Smolensk region. For the region, this means recognition at the highest level: the Smolensk school of programming is able to compete with the strongest centers of the Central Federal District, where the best physico-mathematical lyceums are traditionally concentrated.

Information security as a national priority

In today’s world, technology ownership is inextricably linked to the ability to protect data. The team "[OF] Sota and Cube" successfully passed the qualifying stage of the championship of federal districts in the programming of information security systems. This is a competition where young programmers and system administrators prove their strength in protecting data from intruders.

At the end of October, the guys for the first time in their lives participated in competitions of this kind and immediately reached the final. The team included Alexander Androsenko, Vladislav Samusenkov and Alexander Andreev. Now they have a final in Orel.

Particularly noteworthy is the fact that part of the team has just returned from the final of the Russian Product Programming Championship in Krasnoyarsk, for which they will soon be awarded the first category in sports programming. This highlights the multifaceted talents of the Smolensk region. The ability to switch between product creation (product programming) and its protection (cyber security) is the specialist profile that is in demand in the Russian public and corporate sector.

Mentor as an Industrial Bridge

None of these victories would have been possible without teachers. The team of the center has a real star – a teacher of additional education Roman Vyatoshin, who is presented to the departmental breastplate of the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation “Youth and Professionalism”.

His path is the answer to the main challenge of modern education: how to make learning practice-oriented. Roman has been working in the education system since 2021, but before joining SOTA he went from deputy technical director to technical director in the private IT sector. He brought real industrial cases and development standards to the school. Today he mentors children in the areas of “Development of VR / AR applications”, “Fundamentals of programming” and “Robotics”, having the highest qualification category.

Achievements of his pupils speak for themselves: victories at the hackathons "Zarad" (2023, 2025), "Window in VR" (2023), "Prepare for the First Developer" (2025), the All-Russian hackathon "Reboot" (2026); prizes at the FEVRART championships (2024, 2025) and the 3D Modeller competition (2025). The personal victories of the mentor are no less impressive: the winner of the regional stage of the All-Russian competition “Master of the Year” (2025), the winner of the hackathon for mentors from MGBot (2025) and the all-Russian competition “Quantum Code” (2025), as well as the owner of a letter of thanks from the Governor of the Smolensk region. He is described as an innovative teacher with deep competencies who can find an approach to every child. It is these people who turn the “IT cube” from a circle of interests into a full-fledged “incubator” of IT startups.

Final of Leaders of Digital Transformation

The level of training in the center allows you to go to the sites where not schoolchildren compete, but established professionals. The team of “Patisson” (Nikita Evseev, Denis Shumilov and Sergey Vorozheykin) became the finalist of the eighth season of the International Hackathon “Leaders of Digital Transformation”.

Within a month, the guys worked on the creation of an “Intelligent monitoring system for the construction site”. The competition was held in Moscow, in the Lomonosov innovation cluster, in the framework of the LCT-Fest - 2026. The children were able to attend lectures from leading experts, take part in the quest and receive prizes.

According to the results of the competition, Patissons entered the top 10 strongest teams in their direction. It should be noted that this was not a children’s competition. It was attended by experienced developers from different parts of Russia and the near abroad. The jury noted that the decisions presented in the final were so strong and interesting that the choice of winners was extremely difficult. Getting the Smolensk team in the top ten is a great success, which brings the regional IT-cube to the federal level of recognition.

From code to stadium

The activity of the IT cube is not confined to server rooms. The center becomes an assembly point for solving the social problems of the region. Recently, a landmark meeting of the head of the Department of Physical Culture and Sports of the city administration of Smolensk Irina Kozhanova with representatives of the “Order of the Phoenix” took place.

The ideas of creating a unified sports navigator for the city and new formats of mass starts were discussed. How to make sure that every Smolyan finds a competition to his liking? How to combine sports schools, federations and sections in one digital space? And most importantly, how to spark interest in the movement among young people and representatives of silver age?

Another fact is significant: Irina Andreevna supported the Smolensk teams at the Russian Product Programming Championship in Krasnoyarsk. She not only met the guys, but also managed to immerse herself in the features of this new sport. Such involvement of the authorities in the life of the technopark is the most important factor of success. It blurs the boundaries between officials, teachers and adolescents, creating a single ecosystem for the development of the region.

Looking to the future

The success of the IT-cube center is not an accident. This is a natural result of the system, where the child’s talent meets the experience of an industrial mentor and the support of the region. The challenges are great, but looking at how Smolensk schoolchildren pick up the pedestals in Krichev and enter the top 10 in Moscow, there is no doubt: the IT cube in Smolensk is a success story that is just beginning. And this story is being written here and now, line by line of code, gear by gear, for the sake of the technological future of all of Russia.