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Yandex
ML Prize

Yandex prize for scientists and educators in machine learning
We’ll start accepting applications for the next round soon
  • 18.09–16.10.2023
    Application period
  • 19.10–20.11.2023
    Interviews
  • December 2023
    Prize ceremony

Areas

Yandex awards this prize for outstanding work in the scientific fields that it is engaged in. Yandex researchers are cutting-edge innovators who work on problems that still don’t have a solution.

The algorithms, methods, and technologies they create are used in many Yandex products, including Yandex Search, the voice assistant Alice, and self-driving vehicles.

  • Speech recognition and speech synthesis
    Research that helps voice assistants understand speech and respond to users.
  • Computer vision
    Research that helps self-driving vehicles navigate in space and enables computer systems to extract information from images.
  • Information retrieval
    Methods for handling huge amounts of data and identifying patterns in it.
  • Natural language processing and machine translation
    Research that enables language models to generate texts and online translators to understand hundreds of different languages.
  • Generative models
    Algorithms for neural networks that create text, video, audio, or images at the user’s request.

Nominations

  • First publication
  • Researchers
  • Young academic supervisors
  • Academic supervisors
  • ML Educators
  • Yandex researchers

First publication

Candidate requirements

Students and postgraduates studying at a university or research institute in Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, or Uzbekistan

A first publication or talk at a A* or A conference in 2022-2023

Prize

  • A cash prize amounting to 500,000 rubles (excluding personal income tax) paid once
  • 500,000 rubles that can be spent on any Yandex Cloud services for computing, storing and publishing datasets, and model training i The grant shall be used within a year from the publication date of the Competition results
  • 1 TB of Yandex 360 disk space for personal use
  • A promo code for a 360-day Plus Multi with Amediateka subscription i Applicable in the following countries: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia,Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan.

Researchers

Candidate requirements

Studying or working at a university or research institute in Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, or Uzbekistan

Publications or talks at a A* or A conferences, and at least one thesis in 2022-2023

Prize

  • A cash prize amounting to 500,000 rubles (excluding personal income tax) paid once
  • 500,000 rubles that can be spent on any Yandex Cloud services for computing, storing and publishing datasets, and model training i The grant shall be used within a year from the publication date of the Competition results
  • 1 TB of Yandex 360 disk space for personal use
  • A promo code for a 360-day Plus Multi with Amediateka subscription i Applicable in the following countries: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia,Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan.

Young academic supervisors

Candidate requirements

Up to five students with publications at A* and A conferences

Working at a university or research institute in Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, or Uzbekistan

Prize

  • A cash prize amounting to 1 million rubles (excluding personal income tax) paid once
  • 500,000 rubles that can be spent on any Yandex Cloud services for computing, storing and publishing datasets, and model training i The grant shall be used within a year from the publication date of the Competition results
  • 1 TB of Yandex 360 disk space for personal use
  • A promo code for a 360-day Plus Multi with Amediateka subscription i Applicable in the following countries: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia,Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan.

Academic supervisors

Candidate requirements

More than five students with publications at A* and A conferences

Working with students on theses or dissertations at a university or research institute in Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, or Uzbekistan

Academic degree

Prize

  • A cash prize amounting to 1 million rubles (excluding personal income tax) paid once
  • A promo code for a 360-day Plus Multi with Amediateka subscription i Applicable in the following countries: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia,Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan.

ML Educators

Candidate requirements

Authors of courses in the field of ML who are holding classes at universities or research institutes in Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, or Uzbekistan

Prize

  • A cash prize amounting to 500,000 rubles (excluding personal income tax) paid once
  • 500,000 rubles that can be spent on any Yandex Cloud services for computing, storing and publishing datasets, and model training i The grant shall be used within a year from the publication date of the Competition results
  • 1 TB of Yandex 360 disk space for personal or professional use
  • A promo code for a 360-day Plus Multi with Amediateka subscription i Applicable in the following countries: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia,Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan.

Yandex researchers

Candidate requirements

Full-time employees or Yandex Research residents

Publications or talks (affiliated with Yandex) at A* and A conferences

Prize

  • A cash prize amounting to 500,000 rubles (excluding personal income tax) paid once
  • A promo code for a 360-day Plus Multi with Amediateka subscription i Applicable in the following countries: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia,Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan.

Prize winners

2022
2021
2020
2019
Young researchers
Academic supervisors
  • Maxim Kodryan
    Maxim KodryanFRC CSC
    Deep learning, neural networks, optimization and generalization of neural network models
  • Taras Khakhulin
    Taras KhakhulinSkoltech
    Сomputer vision, view synthesis, 3D avatars
  • Petr Mokrov
    Petr MokrovSkoltech
    Optimal transport, Fokker–Planck equation, Wasserstein gradient flows, nonlinear filtering, Bayesian logistic regression
  • Sergey Samsonov
    Sergey SamsonovHSE
    Markov chain Monte Carlo, reinforcement learning, stochastic approximation, Markov chains
  • Maxim Velikanov
    Maxim VelikanovSkoltech
    Deep learning theory, optimization, infinitely wide neural networks, statistical physics
  • Ruslan Rakhimov
    Ruslan RakhimovSkoltech
    Neural rendering, 3D human understanding, computer vision, deep learning

Prize Panel

  • Evgeny Burnaev
    Evgeny BurnaevHead of Skoltech Applied AI Center, Head of AIRI Research Group
  • Alexey Gusakov
    Alexey GusakovHead of Machine Intelligence and Research, Yandex
  • Alexander Krainov
    Alexander KrainovDirector of AI Technologies development, Yandex
  • Alexey Shpilman
    Alexey ShpilmanHead of AI development programs, Gazprom Neft PJSC, Head of the Centre for Data Analysis and Machine Learning at HSE Campus in St. Petersburg
  • Stanislav Smirnov
    Stanislav SmirnovPhd and professor at the University of Geneva, St. Petersburg State University, and Skoltech

FAQ

  • Are the Yandex ML Prize and the Ilya Segalovich Award the same thing?

    Yandex ML Prize is the transformation of the Ilya Segalovich Award. Yandex ML Prize covers 11 countries. It’s intended for the researchers, academic supervisors, and educators advancing the ML discipline. The Ilya Segalovich Award laureates can apply for the Yandex ML Prize.

  • Can I apply in multiple categories?

    No, you can only apply for one nomination.

  • I’m studying at a foreign university. Do I qualify for the prize?

    Yes, so long as your university or research institute is located in Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, or Uzbekistan.

  • I’m a graduate student in my last year. Do I qualify for the prize?

    Yes, anyone earning a specialty, bachelor’s, master’s, or postgraduate degree at a university or research institute in Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, or Uzbekistan can apply.

  • I’m studying at a private university. Could I win a prize?

    Yes, so long as you’re doing research in machine learning: computer vision, information retrieval, natural language processing and machine translation, speech recognition and synthesis, or generative models.

  • I’m not on a scholarship. Do I qualify for the prize?

    Yes. You can apply.

  • My scientific paper was declined for publication. Can I apply for the prize?

    No. You can only apply if your work has been published.

  • My scientific achievements don’t yet meet the requirements for the prize. Can I still participate?

    You can nominate a supervisor or professor working in the field of ML.

  • My supervisor works with universities and research institutes in other countries. Can I nominate them?

    Yes. Working with foreign universities and research institutes does not disqualify anyone from receiving the prize.

  • How do I nominate someone for ML Educator nomination?

    The professor and a group of their students who have completed their course must apply.