News

HSE University’s administration is determined to prevent the lowering of grading standards for students’ academic performance. Teachers will be receiving new grading guidelines in the next two weeks. The proposed grading criteria will become mandatory for all courses. Other measures are planned as well. The list of such measures was discussed by the Rector’s Council on June 15.

Less than a year ago, the Faculty of Humanities at HSE University launched four large-scale projects, bringing together representatives of different disciplines from different departments and campuses of the University. Their goals, content, staffing and expected results were presented at a meeting of the Rector’s Council. Other departments have been tasked with developing their own large-scale projects, which HSE University will be able to include in its application for the ‘Priority 2030’ programme.

The results of the competition for the best academic and popular science papers in Russian by HSE staff members have been announced. This competition is a new one, organized by the university to celebrate the Year of Science and Technology. 257 applications were submitted, with 35 winners announced in the academic category and 30 in the popular science one. The winners were announced on Alexander Pushkin’s birthday. The organizers plan to make the competition annual, potentially opening it up for all Russian and international researchers writing papers and involved in science communication in Russian.

At the St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), HSE University signed Memoranda of Understanding with the University of Qatar and Hamad Bin Khalifa University. The agreements aim to strengthen the scientific potential of the universities and develop projects in teaching and research. In addition, HSE representatives took part in expert discussions at the Qatar National Pavilion at SPIEF.

The Telling Stories festival, organised by the Faculty of Communications, Media, and Design, has come to an end at HSE University. During two days, anyone could attend open lectures, discussions, master classes, performances, concerts, exhibitions, and screenings. Experts discussed the state of creative industries and tried to outline an image of the future by understanding the main challenges, prospects, and anxieties it presents.

Educational Studies, an academic journal founded by HSE University in 2004, has become the first Russian journal to enter the first quartile in Education in Scopus. This success relies on high requirements and thorough selection of publications, when the editorial board tries to select not just good papers, but particularly innovative studies.

On April 28, Elena Iarskaia-Smirnova, Head of the International Laboratory for Social Integration Research, presented a report on the main areas of activity and prospects for the development of the laboratory at a meeting with the Chancellor of the National Research University Higher School of Economics Yaroslav Kuzminov, the Vice-Chancellor and Director of the Institute of Social Policy Lilia Ovcharova, the Vice-Chancellor and Director of the Institute of Applied Political Research Valeria Kasamara, attended the discussion. Participants discussed the main areas of research and key research and partnership projects of the ILSIR and other research institutions of the Faculty of Social Sciences.

On April 30, the XXII April International Academic Conference on Economic and Social Development came to a close. This year it was organized jointly by HSE University and Sberbank, and the majority of the events were held online. HSE Vice President and Conference Programme Committee Deputy Chair Lev Yakobson spoke with HSE News Service about his initial takeaways from the event and its new format.