Community news at HSE University

On November 10th,HSE ART GALLERY opened an exhibition showcasing pieces by second-year students of the Master’s programme in ‘Contemporary Art’ under the supervision of famous Russian artist, Vladimir Dubossarsky. A special feature of the exhibition is its sound design: all the images are accompanied by compositions of sound artists, most of whom are also students of the HSEArt and Design School. They focused on the theme of forced relationships, the impact of the pandemic on the creative process, and the mixing of art forms.

An online event dedicated to the 250th anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven was held as part of HSE University’s A University Open to the City project. The event’s online format made it possible to include not only musical fragments, but also detailed comments from experts. In particular, they discussed whether our current times under the conditions of the pandemic have anything in common with the time in which the great composer lived.

Leandro Cassius, from Brazil, studied at the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs, and graduated from HSE in July 2018 with a BA in World Economy. In his interview with HSE News Service, he looks back on his time at HSE and talks about his career plans

The Blazar Fair, a satellite event of Cosmoscow, is designed to help young talents develop and promote themselves. Fresh ideas, trends, Russian and international practices of contemporary art - all of this can be found at the Museum of Moscow from September 9 to 13, 2020.

HSE Alumni Awards ceremony was held online this year. In 2020, 104 alumni were nominated for the award and 12 000 people submitted their votes.

HSE researchers Irina Arzhantseva and Heinrich Haerke from the Centre of Classical and Oriental Archaeology (Faculty of Humanities) have been involved in the discovery of the earliest domestic cat yet found in northern Eurasia. The presence of Dzhanik (as the archaeologists have begun to call the tomcat) implies that there was a reasonably large settlement with a sedentary population even 200 years before it was surrounded by big walls and was called a town.

This year, Russia’s largest science and technology festival, Geek Picnic, was held online for the first time. Despite the new format, the festival programme included all of the event’s usual key features: expert lectures, workshops, competitions, and opportunities to socialize and network with fellow tech and science enthusiasts. HSE University once again served as the festival’s content partner.

How can you meet new people beyond your university and your immediate professional circle? Is it possible to make new friends during the pandemic when we are all self-isolating? Renata Sabirova, a fourth-year student of the HSE Faculty of Law and co-founder of the online chat service, Neplokho Poboltali (‘We’ve Had a Nice Chat’), helps answer these questions. She spoke with the HSE News Service about online lounges that are open to the country and the whole world.