HSE University Receives Highest Grant under Priority 2030 Programme
HSE University has proved its leading position in the first group of the ‘Research Leadership’ field under the Priority 2030 programme. The university has also received the highest grant for teaching digital competencies to students, demonstrating its educational leadership in the fields of digital technologies and AI.
HSE University Vice Rector
‘Since 2017, HSE University has been continually developing its concept for the comprehensive teaching of digital and big data competencies to students across all educational programmes and fields. This produces results and lays the foundation of HSE University’s leadership in education in the field of AI. It will also allow us to further develop AI tools and work with big data in relation to various subject areas.’
With support from the Ministry of Education and Science and the Ministry of Digital Development, the Data Culture Project—now a required subject for all HSE University students—has been integrated into the ‘Digital Department’ project of the Priority 2030 programme since 2022.
Students in all fields learn methods and tools for analysing big data in order to solve professional tasks. Representatives of leading Russian digital companies are involved in independently assessing the development of comprehensive digital skills.
Head of the HSE University Big Data and Information Retrieval School and the Digital Department project
‘Today, Data Culture is a large system; every year, we attract more than a hundred teachers and assistants, develop new methodological materials, create online courses, and work with academic supervisors to develop new opportunities for students through courses and projects. Our teachers include developers and analysts from major IT companies, and our graduates are actively involved in the project. Without doubt, Data Culture is the foundation that has allowed us to take a leading position in teaching digital skills to students.
And this is only the start of the journey. There is a qualitative shift underway in the field of AI in relation to the emergence of large generative models and the growth in the amount of data available in many fields. Moden AI methods are largely rough around the edges and difficult to use. There are often no simple or easy-to-use tools, but we must still provide students of all fields with the skills to implement AI in their work. We are already designing and implementing courses on adapting neural network methods for applied tasks. In the near future, we will strengthen the project component of learning: every student must be able to demonstrate their digital competencies by completing a project using modern machine learning and AI methods. We believe that AI is an important tool which will transform many professions and processes, and our students will certainly be able to lead this transformation.’
HSE University is open to cooperation with other universities. The university’s educational IT module can be implemented not only within HSE double-degree programmes, but also independently in a hybrid or fully online format. The model developed at HSE University to integrate the digital competencies module into main educational programmes allows students in any field to attain digital competencies.
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At HSE University–St Petersburg, Experts Discuss How AI Changes Tourist Routes and Cultural Heritage
Neural networks are no longer simple travel assistants; now they decide what to include on the route and what to skip. Artificial intelligence changes how people perceive a place and shapes the image of tourist centres. At the II International Scientific and Practical Conference ’Information Technologies in the Preservation and Promotion of Cultural Heritage,’ researchers discussed who controls algorithmic solutions and in what ways, and whether authentic traditions get lost in them.
HSE University to Launch 11 Projects with Research Centres from Five Countries
HSE University has announced the results of its International Academic Cooperation (IAC) competition for joint fundamental research projects. Five projects have received full funding, while six more have been awarded partial funding. The research teams include scholars from Brazil, South Africa, China, India, and Oman. Alexander Balyshev, HSE University Vice President, shared details of the 2026 IAC competition winners.
HSE University to Present Its Projects at the International Youth Festival
The International Youth Festival (IYF) will be held in Yekaterinburg from 11 to 17 September 2026. HSE University will take an active part in the event. The university's booth will present a space settlement mock-up, robots, and the iFORA big data analysis system. Fifty HSE students will visit festival venues, and experts will participate in the business programme.
Biologists Discover 'Molecular Fingerprint' of Preeclampsia
Researchers at HSE University employed a new method to model hypoxia in placental cells during pregnancies complicated by preeclampsia and identified molecular markers of tissue hypoxia. Since hypoxia is one of the key mechanisms underlying preeclampsia, these findings are important for a more accurate and timely diagnosis of the disease and for the development of effective treatment methods. The paper has been published in Placenta.
‘Hedgehog’ Versus ‘Relatives’: Researchers Measure How the Brain Responds to Unexpected Words During Natural Speech
Russian neurophysiologists, including researchers from HSE University, have demonstrated the feasibility of using event-related fields (ERFs) to study brain activity during natural speech perception. The researchers showed that this approach can be applied not only to individual words but also to continuous speech. Their findings indicate that words whose meanings differ significantly from the preceding context require longer processing times. The study also reveals that the brain processes function words in two stages: first, it identifies their grammatical role and then uses this information to predict the next word. The study has been published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.
Scientists Develop Algorithm for More Reliable Processors in Data Centres
Researchers from HSE MIEM and Samara University have developed the LRF-3D algorithm to automatically bypass idle nodes in three-dimensional networks-on-chip. Thanks to its hierarchical architecture, the algorithm outperforms existing solutions in both speed and path accuracy, improving processor reliability for use in data centres, supercomputers, and AI computing. The source code and test results are publicly available.
Researchers Rank Recommendation Algorithms Using Sports Tournament Model
Researchers from the AI and Digital Science Institute at the HSE Faculty of Computer Science have developed an approach for selecting recommendation algorithms more effectively. Their approach uses pairwise comparisons of algorithms to create a tournament table, with the overall ranking based on their performance across all datasets in the tournament. This can reduce the number of algorithms that need to be tested when developing new services, saving both time and money. The study was presented at the 32nd ACM SIGKDD Conference on Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining (KDD 2026).
Researchers Develop Method for Direct Generation of Regulatory DNA
Researchers at HSE University have developed a model for generating promoters and enhancers—DNA sequences that regulate gene activity. The model works directly with DNA nucleotides, without first transforming them into a continuous numerical representation. This solution could be useful for applications in synthetic biology and gene therapy. The study results were presented at the ICLR 2026 Workshop ‘Generative AI in Genomics (Gen^2): Barriers and Frontiers.’
Researchers at HSE University and Sber Train Neural Networks to Better Predict User Preferences
The HSE FCS AI and Digital Science Institute and Sber have introduced a new architecture for recommendation systems that combines two classes of models, enabling algorithms to better predict users’ interests and needs. A preprint of the paper has been published on arxiv.org and presented at Urban ML.
HSE Graduate School of Business and Alfa-Bank Hold Summer School for Students from China
Twenty-seven students from Chinese universities took part in the international summer school ‘Digital Product Management’ organised by the HSE Graduate School of Business and Alfa-Bank. Over the course of a week, participants explored the Russian economy and business environment, learned about current technology trends, and worked through the key stages of digital product development step by step—from researching user needs and defining a problem to developing a prototype and presenting their final project.