Giovanni Pirari is a Research Fellow at the International Laboratory for the Study of Russian and European Intellectual Dialogue. He is interested in Russian language, history, and poetry, with a particular focus on visual and symbolic representation. In an interview with the HSE News Service, Giovanni discusses his spiritual understanding of the Russian language, his first encounter with the world of Dostoevsky, and his experience living in Moscow.

HSE University and the Central University announced the launch of two joint bachelor's and master's degree programmes in the field of information technology. This year, the first admission to the bachelor's programme ‘Design and Development of Information Products’ will open with the support of T-Bank,the programme’s industrial partner.

On July 13-14, 2024, the annual large-scale VKontakte festival took place at Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium. HSE University, as usual, participated in the event. The university's tent featured a variety of activities, including emotion recognition challenge, quizzes about artificial intelligence, IT career testing, a smile detector, VR gaming, and a blue tractor equipped with a smart sprinkler system.

On July 10, HSE University-St Petersburg launched the International Summer School—a series of classes for students from India, Vietnam, the Republic of Korea and other countries. Foreign guests are getting to know the university, attending lectures in six fields of study, and enjoying an inspiring cultural programme.

HSE University and the project team of ‘Hikes of the First—More than a Trip’ are working on a strategy to promote hiking tourism among young people through 2030. At the HSE University project session, honoured travellers of Russia, trail builders, and representatives from various institutions, such as HSE University and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of Russia, came together to work on proposals. 

HSE University has signed a memorandum of understanding with India's leading university, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. All HSE campuses will participate in the collaboration. Under the memorandum, the two universities will share teaching experience, conduct joint research, and organise short-term academic and cultural exchange programmes.

Forbes Education has released a new ranking of the top 20 Russian universities with the most trusted degrees, based on a survey of the country's leading companies. HSE University tops the list, followed by Lomonosov Moscow State University, Saint Petersburg State University, and Bauman Moscow State Technical University.

The Data Culture Project, a module of the educational programme at HSE University, was launched seven years ago. Thousands of students have since participated in the project's courses, and now it has expanded to all HSE campuses. In 2024, a total of 26,903 students passed independent exams on digital skills. Several updates to the course are planned for the upcoming academic year. 

The HSE Faculty of Law hosted an online meeting with law schools and expert centres from BRICS countries. At the initiative of the Dean of the Faculty of Law Vadim Vinogradov, a Consortium of BRICS Law Schools was established, comprising representatives of leading higher education institutions from a number of countries.