'Our Сentre is a Major Multidisciplinary Project'
Meeting in April, the HSE Academic Council discussed the results achieved by the Human Capital Multidisciplinary Research Centre in 2020-2023 and its plans for the future. Lilia Ovcharova, HSE Vice Rector and initiator of the Human Capital Multidisciplinary Research Centre, presented an overview of the progress made, stating, in particular, that 25 subdivisions of HSE University are involved in the Centre's work and more than two thousand early-career researchers and students have been trained at the Centre. Rospatent (the Russian Federal Service for Intellectual Property Rights) has registered 22 intellectual property objects (IP objects) produced in the framework of the Centre's operation, and 28 educational products have been prepared by the Centre.
The world-class Human Capital Multidisciplinary Research Centre was established in 2020 within the framework of the Science National Project. The Centre is funded by a federal grant awarded in the form of government subsidies. The Centre represents a consortium of four leading organisations in human capital research: HSE University, the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, the Moscow State Institute (University) of International Relations, and the Russian Academy of Sciences N.N. Mikloukho-Maklay Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology.
'The goals pursued by the programme of the Centre's establishment and development include: solving a range of problems associated both with fundamental and applied research on human capital development; making Russia one of the world’s top five countries conducting research in the area of human potential; contributing to the attainment of Russia's national development goals; enhancing the attractiveness of the humanities and social sciences for Russian and foreign academics; and raising the prestige of research in the humanities and social sciences in Russia,' said Lilia Ovcharova addressing the Academic Council meeting.
She highlighted three most important results achieved by the Centre in 2023. First, intellectual tools have been created to establish favourable conditions for the formation of harmoniously developed and socially responsible individuals. Second, policy proposals and analytical materials have been prepared on the development of the labour market in the Russian Federation, intended to inform an expanded meeting of the State Council Presidium. Third, an Index of Creative Industries in Russian Regions has been developed, based on 48 indicators in four thematic areas: socioeconomic conditions, cultural environment, the economics of creative industries, and support for creative industries. 'Creative industries stand as a pillar of the country's development potential,' Lilia Ovcharova stressed.
Lilia Ovcharova
The Centre's research projects have produced a range of significant results. For example, the research project 'Social Stratification, Poverty and Inequality' provides an assessment of the impact of social policy measures on the standard and quality of life of the Russian population. The research project 'Graduates’ Labour Market: School-to-work Transition' offers an empirical assessment of the benefits from combining study and work depending on the educational characteristics, and also analyses changes in the structure of skills needed for the economy and valued in the workplace, including professional, social and non-cognitive skills. The researchers working on the project 'Neurocognitive Mechanisms of Communication and Speech' have identified neurocognitive mechanisms of prosocial and antisocial behaviour in various contexts. Time budgets in the context of child welfare have been analysed in the project 'Time Use Indicators for Measuring National Well-being.'
At present, 25 research subdivisions of HSE University are involved in implementing the Centre's research projects. 'Our Centre is a major multidisciplinary project. Its participants include autonomous academic institutes and centres, subdivisions of faculties, and international laboratories,' said the Vice Rector.
The Human Capital Multidisciplinary Research Centre at HSE University
64% early-career researchers under 39
28 educational products
108 стаpapers in peer-reviewed journals
2,086 early-career researchers and students
22 IP objects registered with Rospatent
26% research projects led by early-career researchers under 39
According to Lilia Ovcharova, an important aspect of the Centre's work is the creation of partnerships with academic and business organisations to facilitate research and product development. The uniqueness of the consortium is that it supports multidisciplinary initiatives and networking. 'For example, we have recently signed an agreement with Sber's "Investment to the Future" Charitable Foundation to start a collaboration focused on the topic of human centricity,' she said.
Human-centricity (recognising human potential as the driving force of a company's success stemming from proactive creative action) is one of the key areas of cooperation between the Centre and external partners for 2024-2025. Other areas include the creation of tools for assessing and improving the objective and subjective well-being of children in Russia, the development of a strategy for family and demographic policy and a strategy for action in the interests of the elderly, and expert support to promote a favourable environment for a harmonious and socially responsible personality.
Due to the Centre's efforts, 28 educational products have been developed since 2020, of which 12 in 2023. Thus, the Faculty of Geography and Geoinformation Technologies has introduced the specialisation 'Human Geography and Spatial Decisions' within the Bachelor's Programme 'Geography of Global Changes and Geoinformation Technology.' A course titled 'Development of soft-competence: multilingual, intercultural, and creative. Theory and practice' has been created for the School of Psychology of the Faculty of Social Sciences as part of the university-wide MAGOLEGO pool. The Institute of Education is offering an online course titled 'Key Competences and New Literacy.'
The Centre is committed to promoting the country's socioeconomic development and implementation of national projects, while contributing to the drafting of strategic documents of the Russian Federation. HSE researchers’ work was reflected in the Presidential Address to the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation in 2024, Lilia Ovcharova noted.
Nikita Anisimov
Nikita Anisimov, Rector of HSE University, expressed his high appreciation of the researchers' efforts, emphasising, 'The Human Capital Multidisciplinary Research Centre is an official, government-approved centre and the only one among the country's world-class multidisciplinary research centres to focus on the humanities, which is significant.'