With the year almost over, the HSE News Service has been asking students about their reflections on 2024 and their hopes for the future. This latest instalment focuses on Abdalla Abdelgadir, a 31-year-old student in his first year of the Master’s in International Relations. Abdalla talks about the adversity he faced in his journey to Russia from his home of Omdurman, Sudan, as well as how his passion for international cooperation extends beyond the classroom.

HSE University partnered with the First Eurasian Congress of Linguists dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS). The congress served as a platform for discussing relevant issues in linguistics related to all language groups of Eurasia and other regions worldwide. Approximately 200 researchers from 46 foreign countries and 300 Russian linguists from 50 regions of Russia participated in the event. 

On December 20, the Faculty of Economic Sciences hosted the Third Sino-Russian Workshop on Innovations and Innovativeness, organised in collaboration with the School of Economics at Shanghai University. Three representatives from each institution, including staff and PhD students, presented at the seminar. The participants discussed factors influencing company innovativeness, the role of leaders in R&D investments, and the impact of digital transformation.

Preparations are underway at HSE University for Parallel Computational Technologies (PCT) 2025, an IT conference covering all aspects of the use of cloud, supercomputer, and neural network technologies in science and engineering. Applications to present at the conference (including those from early-career scientists) are open until January 1, 2025.

In December 2024, HSE University welcomed successful candidates for tenure-track positions and postdoctoral fellowships. This year, the university strengthened its teaching and research teams with 39 international faculty members, each holding a PhD from leading international institutions such as Maastricht University, the University of Pennsylvania, École Polytechnique, Xi'an Jiaotong University, the National Autonomous University of Mexico, Hunan University, and many others.

In early December, the finals of the Yandex Cup international programming competition took place in Tashkent (Uzbekistan). The prize, which totalled a record 16 million roubles, was shared among the winners from Russia, Belarus, Japan, the USA, Portugal, and the United Kingdom. Dmitry Rempel, student of the HSE Faculty of Computer Science, won in the Backend track.

HSE University hosted a joint research seminar to review the 2024 results of the Strategic Project 'Human Brain Resilience: Neurocognitive Technologies for Adaptation, Learning, Development and Rehabilitation in a Changing Environment.' The event showcased the progress and outcomes of fundamental and applied projects focused on developing technologies for neurodiagnostics, neuroadaptation, and neurorehabilitation.

The Möbius Contest, established in 1997, aims to identify the best student research works in mathematics and provide financial support to their authors for continuing their scientific work in Russia. It offers students the opportunity to receive feedback on their initial research results from leading mathematicians.

Dr Gerwin Schalk is a professor at Fudan University in Shanghai and a partner of the HSE Centre for Language and Brain. Dr Schalk is known as the creator of BCI2000, a brain-computer interface system. In this interview, he discusses modern neural interfaces, methods for post-stroke rehabilitation, a novel approach to neurosurgery, and shares his vision for the future of neurotechnology.