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 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.

On December 13–15, 2024, the final round of the Northern Eurasia Contests, the semi-final of the International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC), took place. Six teams from the HSE Faculty of Computer Science participated, and each of them won an award. The overall winner was the FCS team Surstrumien Bobra.

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.

In the run-up to the New Year, HSE University is participating in the Wish Tree charitable initiative for the third time. The project brings together people eager to do good deeds. Students, professors, and staff can pick a bauble from the tree in the atrium of the Pokrovka campus and fulfil a child’s dream.

Russian scientists at Zhirmunsky National Scientific Centre of Marine Biology, HSE University, and MSU have studied Phoronis embryolabi, a rare species of marine invertebrate found in the waters of the Sea of Japan. The study's findings contribute to our understanding of the evolutionary adaptations of marine organisms to extreme conditions. The study has been published in Zoologischer Anzeiger.

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.

A delegation from HSE University-St Petersburg headed by Director Anna Tyshetskaya has paid a working visit to Oman. One of the main items on the itinerary was negotiations with Rahma bint Ibrahim Al Mahrouqi, the Minister of Higher Education of Oman, on key areas of cooperation and the organisation of exchange programmes for HSE students and faculty.

Men are three times more likely than women to commit traffic violations while driving and to be involved in accidents. Perhaps it comes down to cultural norms and the different attitudes men and women have toward driving. These are the conclusions reached by Anton Kazun, Assistant Professor at the HSE Faculty of Economic Sciences, and Research Assistant Mikhail Belov.