Freshmen “Magician” Initiation Ceremony for Comparative Social Research
On November 9th, HSE’s Master’s Programme “Comparative Social Research” held the Initiation ceremony for the first-year students.
This year’s, the theme for the holiday was “Scientific Mashup at Hogwarts”. A cozy-autumn magical atmosphere united both the ceremonial part and the entertaining one.
Guided by Marauder’s Master’s explorer Map, the freshmen embarked on a quest through various locations at Myasnitskaya 20, which gave them the chance to test their knowledge of the campus as well as their skills in Sociology, Statistics, and other fields of science.
In one location, books were flying across the screen which was depicting the Hogwarts library, while CSR freshmen hunted for magical clues to solve a riddle.
n another location, the main theme from Harry Potter played while participants were passing a candy quiz.
In the third location, in the vaulted cafeteria of HSE, as in the famous vaulted dining hall of Hogwarts, freshmen solved the crossword puzzle.
n the fourth location, within the walls of a real scientific laboratory, students were solving a little statistical task featuring Harry Potter’s characters.
The winning team – those who completed all the challenges first – received the merch prizes of HSE and Ronald F. Inglehart Laboratory for Comparative Social Research.
Anna Almakayeva, the head of the Laboratory, also attended the ceremony, sharing her well wishes and guidance for the students.
As evening fell, Programme's Academic Supervisor Ekaterina Mitrofanova altogether with freshmen pronounced the Sociologist’s pledge in order to direct students towards the productive study and honest research.
To consolidate intentions, students pulled magic wishes for the school year from the Sorting hat. Masters-magicians could seal their wishes with the wax-seal using the Hogwarts stamp.
Midway through the tea party, a contest was held for the best homemade treat, with the winner receiving a music box that played Harry Potter’s iconic theme.
The night concluded with informal chats, tea, and board games.
Mischief managed! 🪄