Each School 21 campus carries its own local character and flavor. At the opening ceremony for the Belgorod campus, German Gref, president and chairman of the board of directors of Sberbank, shared his view on what the campus represents in the region.
He noted that Belgorod’s campus embodies harmony and thoughtful design, created to support study and innovation. The study areas form clusters named after the region’s principal rivers: Oskol, Nezhegol, and Valuy. The campus covers an area of 2700 square meters and offers 200 workstations for students and instructors.
“Times are changing very quickly and we need to be prepared for it. Therefore, the most important thing you can learn at School 21 is not to be afraid of changes, but to be able to adapt to these changes. Man will always create new perfect systems, and someone will need to operate and develop them,” Gref stated, underscoring the growing need for professionals who can navigate evolving technical landscapes.
He emphasized that the frequency of system changes will drive rising demand for experts who know how to work with them, a trend visible across education and industry.
The Belgorod project, titled School 21 Belgorod, was launched by Sberbank at the initiative of the regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov, with support from the Agro-Belogorye group of companies and Belgorod Holding Chairman Vladimir Zotov. The collaboration reflects a regional commitment to expanding IT education and workforce readiness.
Gladkov described the project as a forward-looking investment: “The image of the future is extremely important to us. And School 21 is an investment in the future. The school has become an excellent continuation of the regional project for continuous IT training in our schools.”
On March 11, the campus welcomed its first qualifying intensive program, with more than 212 participants. In total, over 3,000 applications were submitted for training, all from residents of the Belgorod region, signaling strong local interest and engagement.
Currently, more than 4,900 people from 70 regions of the country study at nine School 21 campuses across Russia. Plans call for seven additional School 21 campuses to open by year’s end, expanding access to technology education and hands-on learning opportunities.