Skoltech has opened applications for the international SMILES-2026 Summer School on Machine Learning. The school will take place from July 13 to 26, 2026, in Suzhou, at the Nanjing University campus, with 100 participants attending in person and 300 joining online. This year’s central theme is engineering AI: large language models, multimodal and vision-language systems, generative models, multi-agent systems, digital twins, and their industrial applications.
SMILES-2026 brings together two strong schools of thought in artificial intelligence: Skoltech, the Russian university leading by number of publications at A* conferences, and Nanjing University, a member of the C9 League — the alliance of nine leading research universities in China — which also ranks ninth worldwide by number of publications at NeurIPS, a premier AI conference. Participants in SMILES will become part of an academic environment in which fundamental ideas, engineering challenges, and international collaboration come together in a coherent two-week trajectory of growth: from introductory courses on large language models, through topics such as Bayesian machine learning, uncertainty quantification and AI safety, generative models, and computer vision, to the poster session, expert assessment of participant projects, and the final project defense. Lectures will be delivered by researchers from Skoltech, Nanjing University, and a number of leading international research centers. Alongside the lecture program, participants will work in teams on their own research projects. Over recent years, such projects have led to four papers accepted at leading conferences, including IEEE ICCQ and RANLP.
The school is intended for senior undergraduate students, master’s students, PhD students, and early-career researchers from Russia, China, and other countries. Based on previous years, the competition stands at around ten applications per place, ensuring a genuinely strong and motivated cohort. The school serves as a gateway into the professional research community: after SMILES, many of its participants go on to collaborate with leading research groups that propose project topics for the school.
“This year, Skoltech is holding the seventh edition of the SMILES Summer School on Machine Learning for those interested in AI that is both intellectually substantive and practically relevant. We want participants to see how reliable engineering solutions grow out of fundamental ideas — from large language and generative models to digital twins and AI systems for critical industries,” said Evgeny Burnaev, Skoltech Vice President for AI Development, the director of the Skoltech AI Center, and Professor of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
“For a strong young researcher, SMILES is an opportunity to become part of a professional community, to work alongside leading scientists, and to personally experience the path from a research idea to a publication, an internship, or a practical implementation. The school functions as a social elevator — and this is confirmed by the many examples of its former participants,” added Alexey Zaytsev, School Director, Associate Professor at Skoltech, and the head of the Skoltech–Sberbank Applied Research Laboratory at the Skoltech AI Center.
“Alfa-Bank consistently invests in the development of talent and next-generation technologies. Our partnership with the international SMILES summer school is a contribution to shaping a new generation of specialists capable of creating and implementing advanced AI solutions. We are convinced that support for educational initiatives of this kind not only strengthens the scientific communities of Russia and China, but also lays the foundation for technological leadership in the global economy,” said Marat Ismagulov, HR Director at Alfa-Bank.
SMILES covers accommodation and meals for in-person participants. These participants may also be eligible for full or partial reimbursement of airfare to China from major Russian cities. Applications are open until May 12. The list of admitted participants will be announced on May 30, and the school will begin on July 13.
SMILES-2026 General Partner — Alfa-Bank. Partner of the Young Scientists Support Program — T-Technologies Group.
