HSE Holds Elections for Student Council and Ombudsman

On November 14, the campaign to elect the 9th convocation of the Student Council and the ombudsman for students’ rights at HSE University-Moscow started.

Students can nominate themselves until November 27. After that, the candidates will take part in debates and talk about their programmes, while other students will make their choice. Electronic voting will be held on December 17–24.

Any HSE student can nominate themselves for the Student Council and the position of ombudsman. Student councils of HSE faculties and dormitories are formed annually at the elections. Bachelor’s students and those studying in the relevant faculties or living in the dormitories can be elected to the student councils. International students can also be elected to the International Student Council, and doctoral students to the Doctoral Student Council.

Interested candidates need to fill out this form to run for a student council position and this one for the position of ombudsman. An election programme must be attached to the application. The programmes will be published in groups for each division and will appear on the HSE polling platform during the e-voting. Recommendations for preparing programmes can be found here (in Russian).

Full information about the elections is available in the official Student Council group on VK. For all questions about the elections and voting process, please contact the Student Council Election Committee.

Nikita Anisimov
HSE University Rector

HSE University’s self-government system is rightly considered one of the best in Russia. I am glad that the Student Council unites motivated, caring and responsible students who are eager to work, develop our university, and help their classmates. It is a truly living entity of student representation, through which students get the opportunity to participate in university management. In addition, students gain leadership and negotiation skills, learn more about the university and how to work in it, meet like-minded people and get opportunities to implement their ideas and projects. 

Both students and the university need a student council. We highly appreciate student work; we are open to cooperation with the new Student Council and are ready to implement even more ambitious projects.

Ruslan Aslanov
Chairman of the Student Council Election Committee, Former HSE Ombudsman

By nominating yourself to the Student Council, you don’t just get the opportunity to participate in HSE University’s management, speak with the administration on behalf of the students, and influence the adoption of almost every decision—you also get excellent experience of project activities, the opportunity to develop hard and soft skills, learn how the university is organised, and find awesome friends.

As for the position of ombudsman, this is a unique phenomenon in education. Such a large-scale and effective institution to protect student rights does not exist anywhere else. The ombudsman ensures that student rights are upheld in our giant ‘corporation’. I had the honour of being elected to this position twice, and based on my experience, I can say that if you have a keen sense of justice and you are ready to fight for this justice, you should stand in the elections.

I also invite everyone to participate in the voting. The more students vote, the greater the diversity of opinions will be represented when communicating with the university and the more students will feel their personal connection with the university.

Dmitry Zemtsov
HSE University Vice Rector

Every year, HSE students elect and are elected to our self-government bodies. Those who manage to beat the competition and get mandates will have an exciting and very useful year of work, while those who voted for a worthy candidate can be sure of high-quality representation of their interests. As administration representatives, we are happy to cooperate with the Student Council. The partner model of work allows us to involve students in solving all important issues of student life at HSE University, and this not only improves the quality of management decisions, but also gives students the opportunity to get a better feel for university life.

Don't be afraid to try—run for election! Working at the Student Council is an indispensable experience that will definitely be useful to you in the future.

November 14, 2022