HSE University Awarded for Creating Daycare Playrooms for Staff and Students
On June 18, 2026, the laureates of the Award for the Best Human-centred HR Management Practices were honoured at the 26th International Forum HREXPO PRO PEOPLE. HSE University received an award for the creation of daycare playrooms for children of HSE staff and students in the ‘Protection of Life and Well-Being’ category.
The HREXPO Award is an annual event aimed at identifying, supporting, and promoting the best practices of a human-centred approach in personnel management. The best practices become a guideline for the further development of human-centred approaches in the field of personnel management and the formation of a modern culture of working with human capital in Russia.
In 2026, HSE University received an award for the creation of daycare playrooms for children of HSE staff and students in the ‘Protection of Life and Well-Being’ category. Children from 3 to 12 years old can stay in the playrooms at the university under supervision.
Today, more than ever, it is important to maintain family values and create an environment in the workplace where we do not have to choose between our careers and families, and that is exactly what we focus on, says Dinara Sokolova, project Manager of the HSE Office of Staff and Student Benefits.
The university has created daycare playrooms for children: these are not just spaces with toys, but full-fledged rooms with supervisors, changing areas, and places for creative activities and workshops. The university administration focused on solving three tasks. The first is basic safety and hygiene for young children. The second is enabling children to spend their time efficiently in a comfortable and convenient space, not merely sitting in a room and waiting for their parents. The third, and most important, is to give parents the opportunity to focus on their work or study, knowing that their child is supervised by professionals.
The project has been completely digitalised: there are no paper applications, all bookings are made in an internal information system, where parents only need to select a date and time. The HSE Office of Staff and Student Benefits plans to scale this practice to regional campuses in St Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, and Perm.
This year, more than 100 applications from organisations in various sectors of the economy, from industry and the banking sector to education, healthcare, and government agencies, were submitted for the Award for the Best Human-centred HR Management Practices at the HREXPO forum. After a multi-stage selection process, the shortlist included 27 organisations and practices that paid special attention to staff development, well-being, professional growth, and the creation of a comfortable working environment.
Not only major corporations, government agencies, and leading educational organisations, but also relatively small companies and institutions implementing vibrant and effective human-centred initiatives, became award laureates.
The award ceremony was organised by HSE Centre for Human-Centricity and Leadership.
