Research & Expertise

HSE University holds the status of a National Research University, a prestigious title given to a limited number of universities in Russia. As such, it has a strong commitment to training students to conduct academic research starting from the first year of bachelor’s studies. The university rewards academic research and creates an environment where students can participate in research competitions and work in research centres.

On February 10, the award ceremony for the winners and laureates of the 2024 Student Research Paper Competition took place at HSE University. Out of the 1,916 students to submit projectsto the competition, 320 participants became winners and laureates and were awarded in four categories: social sciences, economics and management sciences, exact sciences, humanities and creative industries.

Rainer Matos Franco, from Mexico, defended his PhD thesis with honours at HSE University this June. In his dissertation, Rainer Matos Franco examines the history of anticommunism in Europe during the 1920s. The HSE News Service spoke with Rainer and his academic supervisor, Tatiana Borisova, about the significance of the Lausanne Process for the Cold War and contemporary history, the opportunities provided by HSE University for international PhD candidates, and the challenges of working with a vast database of historical sources.

On April 6–8, HSE University-St Petersburg will hold the HSE International Model United Nations. Registration is open till March 1. Participation is open to both university and high school students.

A meeting of the Association of Global Universities was held in the White Hall of the Durasov House at HSE University. The participants welcomed new members of the association, summed up the results of the work in 2023 and outlined goals for the next year. They paid special attention to the International Open Doors Olympiad, which attracts students from all over the world. Interest in the Olympiad is growing as foreign applicants get the opportunity to study at leading Russian universities for free.

The 8^th Russian Comics Conference ‘The World of Comics’, organised by the HSE Institute for Oriental and Classical Studies, took place online in March 2023. Over the two days of the conference, 44 comics researchers from Russia, France, China, and Malaysia presented their papers on comics history, narratives, visuals, and animation.

On March 15, Judas Everett defended his doctoral dissertation ‘The Effect of the Patterns in the Dissolution of Communism on the Transition to New Systems in Eastern Europe’, which investigates the relationship between the demise of communist regimes in Central and Eastern Europe and the quality of democracy in the post-communist regime. The defence took place remotely. His academic supervisor was Professor Andrey Akhremenko of the HSE University School of Politics and Governance at the Faculty of Social Sciences. In his interview, Judas talks about the topic of his research and explains why political science is more important than ever.

Abdul-Raheem Mohammed from Ghana has recently defended a PhD dissertation in cognitive psychology at HSE University via remote procedure. Abdul-Raheem and his academic supervisor, Dmitry Lyusin, talked to the HSE News Service about their cooperation, the advantages and complications of remote PhD defence at HSE University, and the prospects of cognitive science in African countries.

At the recent seminar of the HSE International Laboratory for Social Integration Research, Isaac Olumayowa Oni, HSE doctoral student and lab research assistant, spoke about African migration to Russia. In an interview with HSE News Service, Isaac discussed his research and talked about what it’s like to study at HSE and live in Moscow.

Any student or 2020 graduate of a Russian or international university is eligible to take part in the Student Research Paper Competition. Papers can be submitted from September 1 to October 15. The competition has been held at HSE University since 2003.