In December 2025, HSE University hosted the first Forum of the BRICS Law Schools Consortium organised by the HSE Faculty of Law. The forum brought together 42 international delegates from 14 universities in Belarus, China, South Africa, India, and Indonesia. The programme included the adoption of decisions on the future areas of activity of the BRICS Law Schools Consortium, which was established at the initiative of the HSE Faculty of Law.

The HSE Art and Design School has opened its major exhibition ‘The Great Disorder’ at two venues—the Winzavod Centre for Contemporary Art and at the Ekaterina Cultural Foundation. The main theme of the project was reflections on chaos as an integral part of life in the modern world.

The CTF Russian Cup is one of the country’s key cybersecurity competitions and is held in the CTF (capture the flag) format. The semi-finals and the final took place in December at the Smart City Pavilion at VDNH. The winners were the HSE student team VDNKh, whose members are students of HSE MIEM and the HSE Faculty of Computer Science.

The School of International Regional Studies at the HSE Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs (WEIA) held the International Conference ‘The World Majority and the West amid Geoeconomic and Civilisational Transformations.’ This was the seventh time the conference had taken place, bringing together researchers from 13 countries.

On International Volunteer Day, December 5, 2025, the HSE Cultural Centre hosted its annual awards ceremony for students actively engaged in volunteer work. Throughout the year, these students supported the HSE Centre for Leadership and Volunteer Work by participating in a wide variety of events both on and off campus.

HSE University–St Petersburg has hosted the third expert meeting devoted to social entrepreneurship. The event featured presentations of two books that explore the roles of universities and business in creating conditions for developing a socially responsible society.

An international team that included Prof. Marina Butovskaya from HSE University studied how willing parents are to care for a child depending on the child’s resemblance to them. The researchers found that similarity to the mother or father affects the level of care provided by parents and grandparents differently. Moreover, this relationship varies across Russia, Brazil, and the United States.

In December 2025, HSE ICEF held a student meeting with Stefan Dürr, founder and President of the EkoNiva Group. The entrepreneur spoke about his journey from running a small farm in southern Germany to building the largest agribusiness in Russia. The event continued a series of meetings between ICEF students and prominent Russian practising economists and business leaders.

The Сentre of Digital Technologies for Nature-Based Solutions at HSE University and the Kazakhstan-based company SAFC are planning joint work on the implementation of climate projects in Kazakhstan. Specialists from the HSE centre visited the site of the country’s first forest climate project and signed a cooperation agreement with SAFC.