Defending Theses in 2024: Alumni Experiences
As studies come to an end, students are required to write and defend their graduation theses. The press center of the "International Relations and Global Studies" programme spoke with graduates whose theses were recognized as the best in 2024 and asked them to share their emotions, future plans, and advice for younger students.
Ariana Pak:
To be honest, at first, the thesis seemed more like a necessity imposed by the higher education system rather than an internal drive. I realized that a challenging year was ahead: finishing my bachelor's degree, closing out project activities, extracurricular involvement, preparing for my master's degree, career plans, and a lot more in my personal life. I knew it would be hard, painful, nerve-wracking, and inconvenient, so I initially wanted to do just the bare minimum. However, as I started working hard on my thesis, my enthusiasm grew, and the minimum no longer satisfied me. I wanted more and better. In addition, I realized that the thesis was the quintessence of your knowledge and a reflection of you as a specialist. So, by the middle of my fourth year, I had one goal left: to write a thesis that I wouldn’t be ashamed of, especially in front of myself
The topics of the graduation theses at the IRGS are not limited to international relations and world politics. In one of the interviews, Semyon Pavlyuk, a lecturer in political geography, mentioned how broad the horizons of research for international relations students are. The topics of this year's graduates confirm this hypothesis.
Elizaveta Baranova:
The topic of my thesis is a comparative analysis of the EU and US approaches to regulating artificial intelligence and their cooperation in this area. I decided to explore AI in world politics because I've been working in this industry for almost two years and wanted to combine my professional interests with academic research. The topic partially stemmed from my coursework, which examined the same issue but in the field of information security. I chose to focus on the US and the EU to conduct a deep comparative analysis of both sides. Moreover, the European Union became especially interesting for study after the emergence of the EU AI Act — the first comprehensive legal framework for AI in the world. The US, in turn, is a leader in innovation in the industry and the birthplace of most AI giants like OpenAI. Since this is a new and rapidly developing field, I hoped to contribute to the research base. AI plays a significant role in international relations, and I thought it was important to highlight this. The issue of regulation is particularly urgent now due to rapidly advancing technologies that are being applied in both international security and the public sector. I expected that I would be able not only to explain why advanced technologies need to be regulated but also why it is done differently in different places and how different approaches affect cooperation.
The initial stage of writing a thesis is crucial as it sets the tone for the entire project, including its goals, research methods, and expected outcomes. Students need the guidance of a supervisor who can effectively impart knowledge on academic writing and help overcome difficulties.
Nikita Makarov:
I really wanted Maxim Vladimirovich Bratersky, the scientific supervisor of our programme and our professor in International Security, to be my 'mentor.' I personally approached him with this request. At the stage of stating the hypothesis and working on the structure of the thesis, he made a significant contribution to my research and helped me develop a solid work plan. He also answered questions and helped me navigate the literature. I would like to thank him specifically for his trust and responsiveness. This was one of the best experiences I had at HSE as a researcher and a major point of personal growth.
Alisa Kun shared her challenging story of working on her research.
The process began with gathering general information. I entered the key words of my thesis into various search engines and archives, like JSTOR and Google Scholar, and read articles. The difficulty was that there were no works dedicated specifically to my topic, but there were articles that covered individual aspects. For example, there were books only about international arbitration or mediation, or only about economic regionalism in the Asia-Pacific region. I then compiled all the key ideas and excerpts from the articles into a separate document with the pages and references indicated. After that, my draft had over 100,000 words. The entire process of writing the thesis took six months, with long breaks between actual productive work.
Graduates' future plans are as varied as possible: some plan to pursue a master's degree, while others want to take a break.
Elizaveta Golovtsova:
My future plans are grand, but they have little to do with academic research. This year, I’m going to New York to study journalism at Columbia University. My long-term goal is to work for the New York Times, writing great articles about elections and exploring social issues outside of the academic environment.
Graduates who earned high marks for their theses shared some important and not-so-obvious advice with those who are about to start writing their academic papers.
Andrey Staroverov:
A person’s productivity largely depends on their state of mind. I could catch a vibe while driving and write almost non-stop, enjoying the process. It’s important to look at it not as work but as research that you’re genuinely interested in and want to do for yourself.
Natalya Fleck:
Don’t leave everything until the last minute. My strategy was to start early, but only work on it when I had free time so that the work didn’t tire me out. Moreover, this approach helps you think through what you've already written, as sometimes ideas don’t come right away. Another piece of advice is to use apps and programmes that can help automate some processes, like KnightCite for formatting references.
Yulia Ovchukhova:
Format your references as you go. It might seem like formatting references is the easiest step compared to the rest, but it usually takes an entire day. Don’t put it off until the last moment. Also, gather as much information as possible on your topic. You never know what might be useful in the end. And make detailed plans. This way, you’ll know what to write in each part of your thesis. This clarity will give you confidence.
We congratulate the graduates on their well-deserved high marks for their research and wish them good luck!
This material was prepared within the "Press Centre for International Relations and Global Studies" project. Interviews: E. Gontsov (2nd year); editing and text: T. Petrov (1st year, press centre coordinator).