HSE Graduation 2020: FAQ

On July 3, about 10,000 students of HSE University will graduate. And they will do so for the first time online. With all four HSE campuses together at once. With…a secret, highly anticipated headliner who will perform with grads on the same stage.

Where and how will the ceremony take place?

The HSE Graduation 2020 online ceremony will be held on VKontakte, and a co-host chat bot will serve as your main guide to post-graduate life. Graduates will find out what they need to do next in the chat, and the ceremony will begin on July 3 with a personal call.  The headliner concert will start at 8 pm Moscow time.

For the first time, the HSE graduation ceremony will honour graduates from all four of HSE University’s campuses—Moscow, St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, and Perm—at once. This has never been done before. Each 2020 graduate will be a part of this extraordinary moment in HSE history.

How do I register?

To register for graduation, 2020 graduates must send a message to the bot before July 1 with their personal invite code. All 2020 graduates will receive their codes along with a chatbot link via their HSE email accounts on June 20.

If you do not have access to your HSE email account, you can receive an invite code via your personal email by using the back-up registration option.

HSE faculty members, too, will celebrate the momentous occasion with the graduates and will be able to watch the online ceremony. Employees will receive details about how to register for HSE Graduation 2020 at the end of June.

The ceremony will begin with a personal call? What does that mean?

Yes. HSE is not just your alma mater, but a contact for life. We will contact each 2020 grad personally. Graduation marks the beginning of a new path—but that doesn’t mean you need to say goodbye!

Since we are unable to meet in person, HSE invites everyone to meet remotely so that we can properly celebrate those with whom we reached this significant moment together.

Who is the headliner?

It’s still a secret. But we will say that in the past, many HSE students did not get to see this performer in person, even though they really wanted to. Now, thanks to this year’s online format, they can even dance with the headliner on the same stage!

How can I get the most out of the online show?

First, register in advance in order to join the closed VKontakte group on time and not miss any important chatbot notifications. If you don’t have VK account yet, it’s time to get one. It’s really easy!

Second, just in case, check your VK settings to allow incoming calls: Settings> Privacy> Contact me> Who can call me> All users.

Third, stay in touch with your fellow HSE-ers and your (now) alma mater.  

Ksenia Mardanova
Head, Office for Alumni Relations and Career Development

Although our plans to congratulate the graduates in person changed because of the pandemic, when the situation gets better, each graduate of HSE University in Moscow will be able come to their alma mater and receive traditional gifts from HSE. We are sure that this year's online celebration will be no less momentous, thrilling, and heartwarming than the previous ones!

June 22, 2020