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‘For Research, HSE Is a Dream Place As It Is a Research Friendly University’
© iStock
HSE Institute for Statistical Studies and Economics of Knowledge (ISSEK) boasts an international research team, with scholars from all over the world cooperating on various research projects. HSE News Service has talked to Rainer Harms, Leading Research Fellow from Germany, and Sabyasachi Tripathi, Research Fellow from India, about what brought them to ISSEK, what research projects they are engaged in, and what distance work has been like for them in these past few months.
Rainer Harms
joined ISSEK in 2019
The relationship between HSE and the University Twente has a long history: Aard Groen and Alexander Chepurenko first started cooperating on the topic of entrepreneurship. My involvement with HSE started in 2017 when I attended European Entrepreneurship Summer School.
The contact with HSE got a new dimension when I met Dirk Meissner, who is the leading partner on the Entrepreneurship Double Degree with TU Berlin, which ISSEK HSE has also been cooperating with. It was thus natural to strengthen the ties.
ISSEK is known for leading research on science and technology foresight
Understanding, predicting and shaping the way how technology impacts our society is at the heart of technology entrepreneurship, which is my particular domain. Here, the Laboratory for Economics of Innovation, headed by Professor Meissner, is my “home base”. For example, with Prof. Dirk Meissner we are considering a double degree programme with UTwente. Vitaly Roud, the Deputy Head of the lab, has amazing analytical skills on issues such as lead users and lead entrepreneurs.
On Distant Work and Teaching
Distant work has never really been much of an issue: My network is global and local at the same time. On the one hand, we need to find ways to remain effective: not every online meeting has to last an hour. On the other hand, I save minimum an hour on commuting time every day, between Germany and The Netherlands. I learned that 30 minites one way by Moscow standards is laughably little. But it adds up.
Dirk and I did a course on Corporate Entrepreneurship this year. The online format allows us to bring in guest lecturers from practice. Usually this is harder, because they would have to travel. However, increasing student engagement during online lectures remains a challenge. The largest challenge for online education—at the level of the classroom—is to create student groups that actually “work”.
Once a team has met physically, they usually work fine online. But creating a strong team fully online remains an issue
Some fully networked companies have developed solutions here. If we transfer them to the classroom, online education can become more effective. At the level of the programme, online education raises the question of profile. Programmes and universities need to find a way to differentiate.
Personally, the pandemic time can help you to find out what is relevant to you
For example, I realized how important it is to spend quality time with family and friends. Professionally I want to work more on high-impact projects, rather than getting caught up in the hustle and bustle of daily irrelevant activities.
Sabyasachi Tripathi
joined ISSEK in 2019
After my Ph.D. in 2013, I was working as a Research Fellow and Assistant Professor in various places and universities in India. I came to know about HSE while I was preparing an econometrics syllabus for my master's degree students. I was looking for some standard syllabi which are published by different universities in the world.
I found the syllabus followed by HSE one of the best
I also looked at HSE publications and faculty profiles. I find that for research, HSE is a dream place as it is research friendly university. When I learnt about the HSE postdoctoral fellowship, I applied and was lucky to get the position.
As I have got another year's extension, I will be here one more year. I am trying very hard to produce some good quality research papers. Then I will apply for a tenure track Assistant Professor position in the best universities in the world, including HSE.
I am working under Dr. Evgeniy Kutsenko, Senior Researcher and the head of the Cluster Development department of ISSEK. I did my Ph.D. in India’s urban agglomeration and economic growth. Later on, I did work on different issues related to development such as poverty, inequality, inclusive growth, pro-poor growth, etc. However, I tried to focus on the urban perspective only.
At ISSEK, I am also working on urban issues—specifically on how cities in Russia have emerged as the centres of innovation activities. Cities are generally considered to be centers of innovation as they foster creative systems that multiply the capacity of networking and encourage the generation of knowledge and innovation.
Preliminary results show that it is true for Russia as well—that cities are not the only engine of economic growth but also spur innovation
I live now in HSE Guesthouse at 50 Ulitsa Bolshaya Pereyaslavskaya, near to Prospekt Mira. I do work from the guest house and I send it to my supervisor for his comments and suggestions by email. Then again based on his comments and suggestion I revise the research work. So working from home is not a big deal—as long as I have my laptop and a stable internet connection. However, as I am abroad and my family members are in India, I sometimes worry about the current situation with COVID 19. However, I work hard to overcome all the odds and to keep myself positive and motivated.