Syed Zaidi is a 23-year-old international student from Pakistan. He is currently a first-year master’s student in Cognitive Neuroscience at HSE University in Moscow seeking to explore the complexities of human behaviour and cognition from a multidisciplinary perspective. Syed spoke to the HSE News Service about why HSE is the best place to realise his potential, what makes Moscow and Karachi so similar, and why he misses home-cooked food most of all.

For the first time, the HSE MIEM Pseudoscientific Conference brought together students from different faculties to find answers to absurd but surprisingly profound questions. Why can't Skynet cook dumplings? How do the stars affect your grades? The organisers and participants of the conference proved that even the strangest joke can sound scientific if approached with a qualitative methodology.

‘Spheres’, a creative industries forum, took place in Perm on December 6, 2024, bringing together industry experts, representatives of the authorities, and the public. Researchers from HSE University in Perm presented a study on the state of creative industries in Perm Krai and a comprehensive assessment of their development prospects.

A team of researchers, with the participation of physicists from HSE University, replicated the 1969 experiment on superconductivity and its properties. The scientists induced superconductivity by deteriorating the interfaces between the layers of superconductors and ferromagnets in the system, resulting in better performance of spin valves compared to the classical version. 

On November 29, the campus hosted the Expert Day of the HSE University-St Petersburg and University of Technology Malaysia mirror laboratory. Over the year, the researchers studied the socio-legal bases of social enterprises in Russia and Malaysia, formed portraits of social entrepreneurs, and conducted a comparative analysis of institutions of social entrepreneurship.

In early December, the HSE Cultural Centre hosted an Ossetian Culture Day. It was organised by student associations from Ossetian communities at HSE and other Moscow universities. Before the grand concert, guests were invited to sample traditional Ossetian cuisine and participate in a contest to win prizes. 

Eating fruit, wearing traditional outfits, and surviving the Moscow cold: Prep Year students from Vietnam, Iran, and Ghana talk about the New Year traditions in their countries and their plans for the celebration in Russia.

On December 9, 2024, the winners of the Vyzov Prize for Future Technologies were announced. Professor Leonid Fershtat from the Joint Department of Organic Chemistry with the RAS Zelinsky Institute of Organic Chemistry was honoured in the ‘Future’ category for his advanced research on creating functional organic materials for multi-purpose use based on high-nitrogen molecular architectures.

HSE has announced the latest ‘International Academic Cooperation of HSE University’ open competition of joint basic research projects. The competition is aimed at strengthening global scientific collaboration, expanding the university's research agenda, and involving students and postgraduates in world-class fundamental research.