Hannah Kanu, from Sierra Leone, is a student of the Master’s in Law of International Trade and Dispute Resolution at HSE University. With 2024 coming to an end, the HSE News Service has asked students to reflect on the year gone by and their time at the university in general. In this instalment, Hannah talks about discovering Russia and the rewards and challenges of studying in Moscow—including the Russian word she finds the most difficult.

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.

Researchers at the HSE Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience have investigated how the emotional impact of advertising affects the amount people willing to donate to support animal welfare. The findings indicate that willingness to donate is most accurately predicted by heart rate and facial muscle activation. The study has been published in Social Psychology. 

As we look forward to 2025, FES professors have prepared a video message for students and colleagues. In this heartfelt address, they convey their warmest wishes, congratulations, and aspirations for a year filled with fruitful endeavors and remarkable accomplishments.

In support of World AIDS Day 2024, the HSE Spanish Club and the HSX Student Club organised a lecture in English dedicated to the fight against the disease in Russia and Spain. The event was attended by students from Spain, Bolivia, El Salvador, and Colombia.

Representatives from the HSE Institute of Education have visited leading Indian universities and several research centres. HSE staff gave guest lectures on the Russian education system, highlighting its features and opportunities for international students. The visit aimed to strengthen academic collaboration between the two countries. 

The annual conference ‘ESG Corporate Dynamics: The Challenges for Emerging Capital Markets’ 2024 has been held at the School of Finance. The event brought together over 20 scholars from leading universities in China, Egypt, Malaysia, and other countries.

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. 

Andrey Manin's research focuses on membranes, but he has not yet decided whether to dedicate his PhD thesis to those used in water desalination or those involved in new types of electricity generation. In this interview with the HSE Young Scientists project, he recalls how he once disliked organic chemistry, enjoys watching retro films at Illusion Cinema, and was fascinated by Red Square as a child.