Survey: 66% of Russian Lecturers and Researchers Use AI at Work
10 March 2026, 19:52 UTC+3
A new study by ITMO's Center for Science Communication, Yandex Education, and Yandex Cloud's Center for Technologies for Society shows AI is now part of day-to-day academic work across Russia. Among respondents, 84% say AI speeds up key research stages, while 58% say it helps them prepare teaching materials faster.
How AI supports teaching
- 54% use AI to process texts and images.
- 52% generate tasks, cases, and tests.
- 45% create presentations and visualize information.
- 32% automate administrative work (schedules, official emails).
- In IT and engineering, AI is also used to write and refine code.
The pattern is clear: routine goes to AI, time shifts to research, analysis, and methodology.
How AI fits research workflows
- 69% analyze and search for literature.
- 56% draft, edit, and structure texts.
- 47% process and visualize data.
- Some apply AI to specialized tasks: new materials and compounds, as well as social, economic, or humanities modeling.
Benefits with guardrails
Researchers use AI to get up to speed on new topics, assemble a starting bibliography, and spot current trends. At the same time, they verify sources, read original papers, and interpret results themselves. The message: use AI for momentum; keep humans in charge of judgment.
Skills and support
Most respondents (62%) learned AI tools on their own, while 38% received formal training. A third expect universities to back integration with policy, infrastructure, and training. For hands-on ideas and case studies in teaching, see AI for Education. For research workflows and tooling, explore AI for Science & Research.
Voices from the field
"We focused on the user experience of scientists from different universities, regions, and fields - from linguistics and archaeology to mathematics and natural sciences. The diversity of perspectives was key: some are cautious or disappointed, but many are already integrating AI tools into daily work. That range helped us build a clear, useful picture of where things stand," said Elena Katernyuk, the study's curator and analyst at ITMO's Center for Science Communication.
What educators want next
- More real cases of effective AI use in research and teaching.
- Specialized tools for education: problem generators with set parameters, personalized learning, and tests with detailed feedback.
Who took part
The study covered 16 Russian universities and included 150 lecturers across engineering, natural sciences, humanities, social sciences, and interdisciplinary fields. Methods: survey, interviews, and focus groups. Participants ranged from beginners to advanced users, with the focus on AI services and products built on ML algorithms and generative models.
- ITMO University
- Lomonosov Moscow State University
- HSE University
- Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology
- Novosibirsk State University
- St. Petersburg State University
- Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University
- Kazan Federal University
- Siberian Federal University
- Ural Federal University
- National University of Science and Technology MISiS
- European University at St. Petersburg
- Yaroslavl State University
- Don State Technical University
- Kamchatka State University
- Moscow City Pedagogical University
Practical steps for departments
- Publish a clear AI policy (use cases, limits, verification standards, data handling).
- Run short, role-based training for faculty and TAs; pair it with office hours or peer clinics.
- Pilot courseware tools that generate parameterized problems, adaptive practice, and rich feedback; track prep time saved and learning outcomes.
- Standardize research workflows: AI-assisted literature triage, citation checks, and data analysis with human review gates.
- Support coding assistants for IT/engineering, and chart rules for code provenance and licensing.
- Set up a cross-department working group to evaluate tools, procurement, data security, and ethics.
AI is already embedded in academic work. The opportunity now is to formalize how it's used, raise the floor on skills, and measure real gains in speed and quality.
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