Society news at HSE University

On the 22-23rd June the BRICS Competition Law and Policy Forum took place at HSE St Petersburg. The international conference was organised jointly by the HSE-Skolkovo Institute for Law and Development, the Centre for Law, Economics and Society at UCL and the Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS). Heads of antitrust departments and experts from the BRICS and the EEC were joined by leading academics and experts on competition law from Europe and the US.

A degree in philosophy does not mean you have to remain a theoretician, and there’s a way to transform basic knowledge into not only a business, but money as well. HSE graduate Ilya Menzeleev, the co-founder of the hip-hop and soul label Hustle Flower, tells Success Builder how the Silver Age of Russian Poetry fits into rhythm and blues, why Russians should love ‘black’ music, and how Aristotle helps the music business.

The building that used to house St. Petersburg's Patriotic Institute has held its status as an educational establishment for more than 200 years. The campus was placed under the operational control of the St. Petersburg Higher School of Economics in 2006.

Starting your own business is usually a good thing, but it’s very scary, especially for someone with an honours diploma and a promising future in finance. Ekaterina Frolova, an ICEF alumna and the founder of CitYkids, a chain of children's centres, tells Success Builder why she forewent a career as a bank clerk to work with children, how to provide young moms with leisure time, and what motivates happy people.

Dr. Marina Larionova, Head of the International Organizations Research Institute has been awarded with Honorary Diploma by the President of the Russian Federation for contribution to social and economic development of Russia, working achievements, public activities and longstanding dedicated work.

Business is fashionable, but how do you know what your calling is? The ‘chocolate baron’ from the International College of Economics and Finance (ICEF), Oleg Guskov, told 'Success Builder' how to build a business around sweets, whether a luxurious lifestyle can motivate you to open your business, whether it’s possible to recoup investments in just a month, and why you should lure in workers from women’s magazines.

On April 24, Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia (2008-2012) John Beyrle gave a lecture at the Higher School of Economics on American and Soviet cooperation in the Second World War. The lecture also commemorated the 70^th anniversary of Elbe Day, when Soviet and American troops met at the River Elbe on April 25, 1945.

You don’t have to invent a new business model, but can simply take one and use it on an existing market with a smaller project that will work for the benefit of the Russian economy. This is what HSE alumnus Pavel Mokrushin, the owner of the café chain  Brusnika  (Lingonberry), did. He tells Success Builder why he studied at HSE after Moscow State, as well as how what he does is better than the warm chair of a clerk and how the small café is able to survive among the 66 restaurants on Maroseyka Street.