HSE Strengthens Partnerships with Italian Universities
From 19 to 23 February 2018, an HSE delegation headed by HSE Rector, Yaroslav Kuzminov, visited 7 partner universities in northern Italy and met with approximately 100 colleagues. HSE delegation members were honored to take part in a ceremony celebrating the 150th anniversary of Ca' Foscari University of Venice [1] and the official opening of the 2017/2018 academic year. The ceremony was attended by Ca Foscari faculty staff and students, leaders of other local institutions and the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella. The HSE Rector took part in the academic procession with Ca Foscari Rector, Professor Michele Bugliesi, as well as the leaders of HSE partner universities. This included Provost of University College London, Professor Arthur, President of Korea University, Professor Yeom, Rector of University of Naples Federico II, Professor Manfredi and Rector of University of Bergamo, Professor Pellegrini Morzenti.
The delegation’s visit to the University of Padova [2] was an opportunity for the Rectors of the University of Padova and HSE to exchange information on new programmes and opportunities to enhance student and research mobility. They signed a Memorandum of Understanding with 4 addenda, which opens doors for student and staff exchanges in the fields of Economics (with HSE in Moscow, Saint Petersburg and Perm) and Mathematics and Computer Science (with HSE’s Moscow campus). To support future student and staff exchanges with HSE in Economics and Management, the University of Padova has applied for the Erasmus+ KA107 Call 2017 and is currently waiting on the result. Vladlen Timorin, Dean of HSE’s Faculty of Mathematics, and Sergei Obiedkov, Deputy Dean for Research and International Relations at HSE’s Faculty of Computer Science, took part in a scientific conference in honour of Tullio Levi-Civita. The conference was organized by the University of Padova and dedicated to the invaluable contributions of the Italian mathematician. The University of Padova expressed sincere hopes to cooperate with HSE as a promising strategic partner in Russia.
The delegation also visited the University of Bologna [3] which has been a partner of HSE since 2009. Notably, 63 Italian students and 76 HSE students have participated in a student exchange programme under the existing university-wide agreement. The meeting addressed prospective areas of cooperation, including double degree programmes in political science and economics, and expanding institutional cooperation to the field of mathematics.
Later, the HSE delegation, represented by Vice-Rector, Ivan Prostakov, Director of HSE in Saint Petersburg, Sergei Kadochnikov, and Manager of Office for International Cooperation,, Alyona Sutormina, travelled north to visit HSE’s partners in Milan. This included the University of Milan, Polytechnic University of Milan, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, and the Giangiacomo Feltrinelli Foundation.
The Polytechnic University of Milan [4] is the most prestigious technical university in Italy. In addition to engineering, it also focuses on architecture, design and business education. The meeting was hosted by the School of Management and attracted faculty and administrative staff members representing various PoliMi areas. All participants expressed interest in developing cooperation with HSE and outlined their specific proposals. HSE master’s students at the Vysokovsky Graduate School of Urbanism were invited to take part in the Summer School in Urban Planning organized by PoliMi on Como Lake in late August 2018. There is also an opportunity for HSE students studying in the MA programmes in Governance of Science, Technology and Innovation to take part in the semester abroad scheme with PoliMi. HSE delegation members also introduced PoliMi colleagues to appropriate short-term and full-degree programmes offered by HSE to international students.
At the University of Milan [5], the delegation discussed the summer school, the Russian Studies short term programme, potential cooperation with the Center for Language and Brain, and a system of fellowships for UniMi master students studying abroad.
The representatives of Catholic University of the Sacred Heart [6] expressed their interest in developing cooperation with HSE. HSE is considered a strategic partner in Russia and meeting participants spoke of their readiness to invest their energy and resources in this cooperation. Areas of primary interest were outlined, including double degree programmes in Finance and Big Data, as well as the possibility of launching a new Master’s programme, Russian Studies & Doing Business in Russia.
HSE’s Fondazione Giangiacomo Feltrinelli partners confirmed their intention to develop joint research projects with the HSE School of History and are looking forward to taking part in future events.
The tour of HSE’s Italian partner universities was a wonderful opportunity to share university news and explore strategies, as well as to exchange practical information and renew contacts. As a result, institutional partnerships were established and agreements signed which outline cooperation and student exchange with the University of Padova. This has created a new destination for academic exchanges. New areas for academic and research projects were identified with all the universities visited. These will be included in the partnership plans to be drawn up by the HSE Office for International Cooperation and colleagues at HSE’s Italian partner institutions.
[1] HSE has cooperated with Ca Foscari University in Venice since 2012. 16 students from Ca Foscari are currently on exchange at HSE, and 18 HSE students are currently studying in Venice.
[2] The University of Padova is one of the “BIG 5” large-scale classical Italian universities (along with La Sapienza, University of Bologna, University of Milan, and University of Turin); University of Padova has the largest number of departments awarded the ‘Excellence’ status by the government.
[3] There is a student exchange programme with University of Bologna for all HSE faculties and levels of education, as well as a double degree programme in political science. 7 HSE students have already obtained two degrees from HSE and Bologna, a further 2 HSE students will graduate in 2018.
[4] Polytechnic University of Milan in the rankings: QS 170, THE 301-350; Subjects: QS 7 (Art and Design), 14 (Architecture), 49 (Computer Science), 51-100 (Business and Management Studies). There is a student exchange programme between MIEM HSE and PoliMi School of Industrial and Information Engineering.
[5] There is a student and staff exchange with HSE School of Linguistics. This year, HSE is hosting 2 interns from UniMi who are studying Russian.
[6] Catholic University Sacro Cuore in Milan is the largest private university in Europe and has campuses in Milan, Rome, Brescia, Piacenza and Cremona. Positions in the rankings: QS 481-490, THE 501-600; Subjects: QS 51-100 (Law), 101-150 (Economics and Econometrics), 169 (Social Sciences and Management). There is a student exchange programme with HSE’s Faculty of Economic Sciences, School of Linguistics, School of Philology, and School of Foreign Languages.
More information in Italian:
The speech of the President of the Italian Republic Sergio Mattarella at the Ceremony dedicated to 150th Anniversary of Ca' Foscari University of Venice here.
A note about the event in Venezia Today here, in Ca Foscari News here, in Aska News here.
Photo gallery here.
About HSE visit to University of Padova: