IMI (Iryna Magitech Institute) is the premier higher education institution in Iryna, located in the city's North Heights district. IMI is the oldest institution of higher learning in the entire Corvidan Archipelago, although similar universities and colleges have since been established on islands such as Oxana and Septeiven. IMI was founded in 678 as the Iryna Magical Institute. Its primary focus was on arcane research, theory, and spellcasting applications. An influential early figure was Theophanes, a member of the school's very first graduating class and the origin of arcane theories that paved the way for later magitech innovation. Education in magitech engineering became an important selling-point of the school, and in the 900s, IMI's name was changed to reflect its unique educational programs. However, despite its name, IMI does not exclusively teach arcane subjects, offering programs in a comprehensive selection of academic fields.
IMI class buildings, administrative offices, and student dormitories are concentrated in a section of North Heights adjacent to Parliament Park, referred to as the IMI campus. Full-time students typically live on campus for convenient access to school resources and to socialize with other students. Students who study part-time while working or who have other residency preferences can commute to IMI; the campus has two subway stops, making it easy to access from other parts of the city. However, IMI is fairly insular, rarely visited by anyone not employed or enrolled there.
The IMI academic schedule is divided into three trimesters, each 23 weeks long. The last week of Months 4, 8, and 12 are school holidays. Each academic program at IMI requires students to complete a set number of classes in various disciplines, although the exact pace at which the student takes those classes is entirely their choice. Most students finish most programs within 4 years. If students enroll in IMI as soon as they finish secondary school at age 16, they typically complete their studies at IMI by age 21. Although students can enroll during any trimester, it is Irynian tradition for students to begin their studies in Month 5, to allow themselves a break between the end of secondary school and the start of higher education. If they maintain full-time enrollment, most students will finish at the end of Month 4. Because of this tendency, the end of the trimester in Month 4 has acquired a great deal of cultural significance over the school's 300-year history. On Day 25 of Month 4, tens of thousands attend the Commencement Ceremony, a celebration of the graduating students' achievements. There are too many to honor individually, so the ceremony is organized as a showcase of each program's top students. The programs selected for the showcase are often controversial among the students, who complain that achievements with less visual interest are downplayed in comparison to explosive magical displays. Graduates wear black robes and black wide-brimmed hats, decorated with colored sashes corresponding to their school.