Education news at HSE University

In the very first days of the transition to distance learning, many HSE departments had to quickly make the necessary arrangements to allow students and faculty to work remotely. The eLearning Office has been at the forefront of these efforts with staff working well into the night to keep the educational process running smoothly and on schedule. eLearning Office Head Engenia Kulik breaks down the main takeaways from these difficult weeks.

The Central Evaluation and Accreditation Agency (ZEvA) has accredited two HSE – St. Petersburg programmes in political science: the Bachelor’s Programme ‘Political Science and World Politics’ and the Master’s Programme ‘Comparative Politics of Eurasia’. The accreditation, which lasts six years without additional conditions, affirms that the programmes meet international education quality standards.

Eva Guerrero Forteza was born in Mallorca, Spain, where her mother, father and sister still live. Eva has a curious mind and a ‘wish from place to place to roam’, as the great Russian poet Alexander Pushkin wrote. After earning a degree in physical therapy, she worked in Spain, New York, and then in France. But, Eva notes, she has always dreamt of learning Russian and living in Russia. That’s why she first came to St. Petersburg to study Russian, and, in August 2019, enrolled in HSE’s Master’s programme ‘Socioeconomic and Political Development of Modern Asia’ in Moscow.

HSE University has found it easier than other universities to adapt to the current situation under the pandemic and transition to online education. On March 25, at a press conference at TASS, Russia’s largest news agency, HSE Rector Yaroslav Kuzminov spoke about the transition and shared his predictions about what the near future holds for education development.

On March 23, the working group of the Russian Ministry of Science and Higher Education devoted to university education met again to discuss how education should be organized as Russia seeks to prevent the spread of COVID-19. In particular, the group discussed tactics involving volunteerism on university campuses, examples from universities abroad, and developing student questionnaires in order to pinpoint the issues that Russian universities have encountered in their transition to distance learning.

For students interested in pursuing careers in international law or economic integration, HSE University’s Faculty of Law offers the Master’s Programme ‘Law of International Trade, Finance and Economic Integration’. Previously taught in both Russian and English, the programme is now taught in English only. HSE News Service spoke with two first-year international students about their studies, living in Moscow, and their overall impressions of the programme.

The programme is aimed not only at students, but also city administration employees, IT specialists, and company managers. Course content allows students to learn about the latest successful developments in megacity digitalization in the context of Moscow. There is no other course like it offered in Russia or the world.

On March 17, the Institute of Education hosted its annual seminar dedicated to issues in education. This year’s seminar addressed the topic, ‘Higher Education during an Epidemic: The Possibilities of Digital Technology’. For the first time in eight years, the seminar participants—representatives of Chinese, American, and Russian universities—participated in the event remotely.