The Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics studies highly complex processes of interaction between molecules and atoms in solids and liquids, the quantum mechanics of these processes, and ultra-thin two-dimensional materials. HSE physicists, together with colleagues from leading academic institutes, investigate the properties of superconductors and topological materials, phenomena at ultra-low temperatures, as well as problems of turbulence and hydrodynamics.

On March 19, Academician and Professor Andrey Yaroslavtsev, Head of the Joint Department of Inorganic Chemistry and Material Science with the RAS Kurnakov Institute of General and Inorganic Chemistry, celebrated his birthday. To mark the occasion, he spoke with the HSE News Service about protons, membranes, and other areas of his research.

An international team including researchers from the HSE Faculty of Computer Science has presented KoWit-24, an annotated dataset of 2,700 Russian-language Kommersant news headlines containing wordplay. The dataset enables an assessment of how artificial intelligence detects and interprets wordplay. Experiments with five large language models show that even advanced systems still make mistakes, and that interpreting wordplay is more challenging for them than detecting it. The results were presented at the RANLP conference; the paper is available on Arxiv.org, and the dataset and the code for reproducing the experiments are available on GitHub.

By 2030, the global education system will need 44 million new teachers. Schools have already started rehiring retired teachers and issuing licenses for accelerated programmes. Experts from the HSE University Institute of Education have analysed the educational policies of almost 50 countries and published the report ‘World Education Policy—2025.’

More than 3,000 international school students took part in the INTO HSE International Olympiad, whose award ceremonies were held in Tashkent and Bishkek in March 2026. The university’s outreach events also included final examinations, presentations of academic programmes, and on-site selection tests for prospective applicants. In Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, nearly 200 participants received diplomas as winners and prize-winners. The best of them will be eligible to apply for state-funded places at HSE.

Forbes has published its eighth annual ranking of the best Russian higher education institutions. HSE University took first place. Its leadership was secured, among other factors, by strong support from employers and high performance in the Academic Environment metric.

Alexander Shokhin, President of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP), has been re-elected to lead the organisation for another four-year term. The decision was taken at an RSPP congress session held at the Russia National Centre. Since 1995, Alexander Shokhin has also served as President of HSE University. In addition, he heads HSE’s Department of Theory and Practice of Business–Government Interaction.

HSE University has become the leading Russian educational institution by the number of first-place positions in national graduate employment rankings. The rankings are compiled separately for each field of study, taking into account the share of graduates who find employment and their salary levels. The university ranked first in areas such as Mathematics and Mechanics (Master’s level), Computers Science and Engineering (Bachelor’s level), Information Security (Bachelor’s level), Asian and African Studies (Master’s level), Economics and Management (Bachelor’s level), among others.

On March 20, HSE University–St Petersburg hosted a vibrant event dedicated to the ancient Eastern holiday of Nowruz. Uniting the traditions of many peoples, this holiday symbolises the start of the new year and the renewal of nature.