On July 3–4, 2024, the IX BRICS Civil Forum was held in Moscow for the first time since the association was expanded by five new countries in January 2024. Participants emphasised the importance of personal interaction between public figures, civil activists, as well as the work they do to strengthen and enrich friendly relations between BRICS countries, based on mutual respect. The forum was organised by the BRICS Expert Council–Russia, which is established at the HSE University.
 

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.

On July 3, 2024, the International Preparatory Year programme held its graduation ceremony. This academic year, 215 students (150 on state-funded and 65 on fee-paying places) from over 50 countries were enrolled in the programme. Graduates from Nigeria, Sudan, and Vietnam shared their impressions with the HSE News Service. Alexandra Nazarchuk, Director of the International Preparatory Year Programme talked about their achievements and plans for the coming year.

The President and founder of CCLAR (LATAM Chamber of Commerce in Russia), Domingo Garcia of Mexico, completed his master's programme in International Management at HSE University this year. However, he is not planning to return to his homeland; instead, he wants to live in Moscow, develop his organisation, attract new partners, and start a family with his Russian girlfriend. In an interview with the HSE News Service, he explained his decision to move to Russia and enrol at HSE University.

HSE University is home to many student associations, including cultural clubs, where students find a home away from home, learn about each other’s cultures, celebrate holidays, and meet new friends. Read on to learn about the Greek Club, the Serbian Club, the Moldovan Club, and the HSE Chamber of Nationalities.

During his early years at university, physicist Ivan Makhov worried that he might be dismissed, but today he is heading a study supported by a grant from the Russian Science Foundation. In this interview with the HSE Young Scientists project, he shares his work experience using a closed-loop cryostat, his dream of conversing with Einstein, and favourite location in his hometown of St Petersburg.

Scientists at the AI Research Centre and the AI and Digital Science Institute of the HSE Faculty of Computer Science applied classical reinforcement learning algorithms to train generative flow networks (GFlowNets). This enabled significant performance improvements in GFlowNets, which have been employed for three years in tackling the most complex scientific challenges at modelling, hypothesis generation, and experimental design stages. 

Seyedmohammad Seyedi Asl, Research Fellow at the School of International Regional Studies, spoke to HSE News Service on his report ‘Global South, BRICS, and Iran's Foreign Policy’ presented at the round table ‘Russia and the Most Influential Countries of the Global South: Comparing Approaches to the New International Political and Economic-Financial Order’, his research interests and impressions of working at HSE University, and living in Moscow.

The HSE Faculty of Geography and Geoinformation Technology has become one of the organisers of the ‘Nature and Climate’ photography contest. The goal of the contest is to celebrate the beauty of nature and its connection with climate, as well as to showcase modern approaches to studying natural ecosystems and their role in climate regulation. The contest is open to all, and the best photographs will be displayed at an exhibition in September, timed to coincide with the fifth anniversary of the faculty.