The Seven Winners of the Student Project Contest
In early April the spring Student Project Contest conducted its final phase—the public defense. HSE News Service spoke with the winners about how their projects can be useful for every HSE student.
The competition is held once a season: in early April the first round of the spring competition was completed. To participate in the public defense, competition participants were required to pass two phases:
- Students submit their projects via the HSE Family website. This involves coming up with the project concept, its aims, programme, and estimated expenses in addition to introducing the project team members. The project is then evaluated by staff members of HSE Student Initiative Support Centre.
- After the review is completed, the projects are put to a vote, in which students, employees and HSE graduates can take part. At the same time the projects are assessed by experts. Half of the teams in each category who receive the most votes and evaluation points get the opportunity to defend the project at the public defense.
The Council of the Student Initiative Support Fund evaluates the public defense and makes a final decision about which projects will receive funding. Teams can receive up to 300,000 rubles to carry out their projects.
Here are the 7 projects that won in the latest competition.
Open Your Eyes Charity Organization
The Open Your Eyes team often arranges visits to orphanages that it serves. This year 13 trips have already been organized. Open Your Eyes participated in the competition in order to provide volunteers with transport, since their current resources are insufficient.
There are two ways of participating in the organization's activities. The first is to register for the next trip on the group page in Vkontakte. After registration, you will attend an organizational meeting, where you’ll learn about the event programme and get some advice on how to behave during the visit.
The second option is for those who already have experience with charity. If you want to join the charity’s team, you should write to the curator or leave a message on the webpage.
HSE CTF Student Organisation
CTF (Capture the Flag) is a computer system vulnerability search competition. The aim of the project is to organize international competitions as part of a two-day conference on information security at HSE.
Registration for Real CTF has already closed, but you can follow the updates and announcements of future events on the CTF page.
Mass Media Production School
The Mass Media Production School is organizing the first HSE talent show, which is designed to improve intercampus relationships. The project participants requested financial support for organizing the show.
HSE Intellectual Clubs Association
‘The Intellectual Crow’ is a trivia tournament, which attracts the best teams from cities all over Russia. This is one of the association’s main activities, which has been held regularly since 2005. The association requested financial support from HSE for the ‘The Intellectual Crow 2019’.
The tournament will be held in May, and registration for some activities has already started. Everyone interested is welcome to take part in the event.
Extreme Sports Club
One of the main sport clubs of HSE Moscow organizes HSE Summer Fest. The aim of the project is to bring HSE students and staff together for sport activities. The festival programme includes trainings, championships in different sports, as well as lectures. Both HSE staff and students will participate in the festival.
HSE Perm Tourist Club
The HSE Perm Tourist Club aims to introduce students to the natural attractions of the Urals and Russia, as well as to help them develop outdoor skills. The team requested funding for buying equipment—tents, sleeping bags, backpacks, etc. All club hikers will be able to use them.
Students of all universities in the Perm Region and HSE lecturers can participate in the club’s activities, though preference is given to HSE students and regular participants. In order to take part in the club activities, please follow the club updates on the official group in Vkontakte.
ESN HSE Moscow
ESN is an organization created to support and develop international student mobility. The project team wants to organize HSE Exchange Night — an event intended for sharing experience among students, who participated in mobility programmes.
For news about the upcoming event please see the ESN group page on Vkontakte.
HSE News Service spoke with contestants about their experiences.
Why do you think your project was successful?
Yana Suleymanyan, PR Director of the Open Your Eyes charity organization:
‘We always try to go above and beyond: we strive for more volunteers, more trips, more activities, more people we can help, more difficult and better work. At the same time, we try to make sure that even those who have just joined the organization immediately understand how we work and how they can help. Our organization is not just about active work; it’s also about the atmosphere, joint trainings and trips, and infinite support. Only when people feel comfortable are they ready to move mountains, which is what we strive for.’
Andrey Skuratov, the founder of the HSE CTF:
‘I think, our project was successful because we do our job honestly, with sincerity and full dedication, not to mention the fact that information security is now one of the most popular areas in the labor market. The market needs specialists with practical skills and experience, which is what we give to all participants.’
What advice can you give to those who will participate in future competitions?
Yana Suleymanyan, PR Director of the Open Your Eyes charity organization:
‘First of all, don’t entrust one person with all application procedures, because there are a lot of materials and it’s not easy to prepare them well. Delegation of responsibilities, such as accounting estimates and programme development, can make the preparation process easier. As for the public defense, make an interesting presentation and do not repeat your application text, since the Council members have already read it. Cover the main points, without making a long presentation.’
Viktor Vlasov, Head of the HSE Perm Tourist Club:
‘You must be sure that the project will reach its audience. By gathering feedback from participants of your events and gaining experience, you find your audience. You also need to believe in yourself, to gather a team of motivated people and not to be afraid to ask for help.’
The next Student Initiative Competition will be held in the summer. The application dates will be announced in the second half of May. HSE students, staff members and graduates can take part in project defense, provided that the project is coordinated by a student. For more information about the competition, please see the Student Initiative Support Centre page.