Skoltech and Nanjing University have launched the seventh International SMILES-2026 Summer School on Machine Learning. The in-person program at Nanjing University’s Suzhou Campus brings together 104 undergraduate and graduate students and early-career researchers from Russia, China, and other countries, while the online format has expanded the school’s audience by approximately another 300 participants. Interest in the school reached a record high in 2026: the organizers received 2,544 applications, and 585 candidates advanced to the extended stage of the selection process.

SMILES is being held in China for the second consecutive year. In 2025, the school took place outside Russia for the first time, hosted by Harbin Institute of Technology. This year, Skoltech’s partner is Nanjing University, one of China’s leading research universities and a member of the C9 League, which brings together nine of the country’s top universities. Nanjing University also ranks ninth worldwide by number of publications at NeurIPS, one of the leading international conferences in artificial intelligence.

SMILES-2026 participants with the school’s lecturers, organizers, and partners

The opening ceremony took place on July 14 at Nanjing University’s Suzhou Campus. It was opened by Zheni Zeng, Assistant Dean of the School of Intelligence Science and Technology at Nanjing University. The participants were welcomed by Tian Jiang, Assistant President of Nanjing University; Evgeny Burnaev, Academic Director of SMILES-2026, Vice President for AI Development at Skoltech, Head of the Skoltech AI Center, and Professor of the Russian Academy of Sciences; Wangzhou Dai, Associate Dean of the School of Intelligence Science and Technology at Nanjing University; and Alexey Zaytsev, School Director and Associate Professor at Skoltech.

Skoltech Vice President for AI Development Evgeny Burnaev welcomes the participants of SMILES-2026

On behalf of the school’s General Partner, the participants were welcomed by Alexey Belov, Head of Academic Initiatives and Partnerships at Alfa-Bank. Participant representative Shijie Sang also spoke at the ceremony. The distinguished guests included faculty members of Nanjing University, staff of the Skoltech AI Center, and representatives of the school’s partners.

The SMILES-2026 lecture program is one of the most international in the school’s history of overseas editions. It features 17 leading researchers from seven countries: Russia, China, the United Kingdom, the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam. They include professors from leading universities, heads of research groups, and authors of studies shaping the development of large language and generative models, medical AI, computer vision, spatial intelligence, and reliable intelligent systems.

The school was officially opened by Tian Jiang, Assistant President of Nanjing University

The school’s central theme is engineering AI and the transition from fundamental methods to reliable solutions for science and industry. Participants will study Bayesian machine learning, probabilistic modeling and uncertainty quantification, large language and generative models, medical AI, computer vision, and intelligent engineering systems.

Particular attention in the program is given to problems in which understanding the limits of a model’s capabilities is especially important. Participants will explore how to identify unreliable responses from large language models, quantify uncertainty, accelerate generation, work under data scarcity, analyze medical images, and reconstruct three-dimensional scenes. Other sessions will focus on recommender systems, AI agents, multimodal models, and the industrial application of artificial intelligence.

“Today, it is particularly important not only to keep pace with the rapid development of artificial intelligence, but also to critically evaluate new methods, understand the limits of their applicability, and transform scientific ideas into reliable solutions. SMILES creates a rare environment for this: young researchers work alongside leading scientists, discuss their findings with one another, and go through the entire process, from formulating a research problem to publicly defending their project,” Evgeny Burnaev said.

Alongside the lectures, participants will work in international teams on their own research projects. During the school, they will formulate research problems, conduct experiments, discuss interim results with their mentors, and present their final solutions at a public defense.

The project program reproduces the full research cycle, from an initial idea and the first experiments to incorporating expert feedback and publicly presenting the results. In previous years, SMILES participant projects have already formed the basis of at least four research papers accepted at conferences, including IEEE ICCQ and RANLP. The best results from SMILES-2026 may also be further developed into research papers, internships, or pilot projects with industry partners.

Alexey Zaytsev, Director of SMILES-2026 and Associate Professor at Skoltech

“Last year, SMILES was held in China for the first time, hosted by Harbin Institute of Technology. This year, we are continuing this trajectory together with Nanjing University. This confirms that this is not a one-off international event, but part of Skoltech’s systematic development of cooperation with leading Chinese universities. Participants will not only attend lectures, but also work together on projects, exchange approaches, and learn to make research decisions in international teams,” Alexey Zaytsev added. 

“For Alfa-Bank, supporting young talent is an investment in the future of technology. Through the Alfa Future program, we create opportunities for students to acquire up-to-date knowledge, work on real-world challenges, and independently choose their professional paths. SMILES brings together strong young researchers from Russia, China, and other countries, and it is precisely in such an international environment that ideas emerge which will shape the future of artificial intelligence and fintech. We are pleased to support the school once again and wish its participants not only to gain new knowledge, but also to find like-minded people with whom they can create the technologies of the future,” said Marat Ismagulov, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board and HR Director at Alfa-Bank.

Until July 26, participants will attend lectures and practical seminars, take part in a poster session, a roundtable on probabilistic methods in large language models, industry talks, and team project work. The final day will feature project defenses, an awards ceremony for the authors of the best works, and the presentation of certificates.

SMILES-2026 General Partner — Alfa-Bank.
Partner of the Young Scientists Support Program — T-Technologies Group.