Dmitry Zemtsov

Historical sabre fencing is actively developing at HSE University. In 2024, a student club dedicated to this martial art was established, and recently the HSE Open Cup was held in the atrium on Pokrovsky Bulvar. The tournament brought together representatives of 21 universities from different regions of Russia—from Crimea to the Far East—as well as from the Republic of Belarus.

In September 2025, young people in Nepal took to the streets, armed not with party slogans but with online chats. Researchers at HSE analysed a million messages on a Discord server to understand the mechanics of youth protest. Experts discussed why the protesters identified themselves as Generation Z and what lessons can be drawn from this experience.

As part of the Rediscovering Russia student expedition programme, HSE University organised a research trip under the framework of the School for Young Humanities Scholars to the New Chersonesos museum and church complex in Sevastopol. The results of this expedition will form the basis for proposals on educational projects aimed at shaping young people’s historical memory of the role of Chersonesos, Crimea, and the Byzantine legacy in the history of Russian culture and statehood.

On July 7, 2025, HSE University hosted a delegation from China at the historic Durasov House. The delegation, led by Wei Guotan, Chair of the University Council of Communication University of Zhejiang (CUZ), was welcomed by HSE Vice Rector Dmitry Zemtsov, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Creative Industries Tatiana Rivchun, and representatives of the HSE Institute for Creative Industries Development and the HSE Art and Design School—the initiators of the partnership with their Chinese colleagues.

A new expedition season has begun as part of the Rediscovering Russia project. Students from all degree programmes, disciplines, and campuses of HSE University are eligible to take part. As a result, each participant may not only earn additional academic credits, but also gain valuable practical experience, develop useful skills, and contribute to the development of Russia’s regions.

The selection process for the inter-university student expedition programme ‘Rediscovering Russia’ has concluded. The programme is implemented by HSE University in collaboration with the presidential platform ‘Russia —Land of Opportunity’ and Rosmolodezh’s programme ‘More Than a Trip,’ with support from the Russian Geographical Society. The expert council has approved the first 30 expeditions, with 12 universities and 18 organisations among the winners. These expeditions will take place from April to November 2025, covering 23 regions across the country.

Thousands of participants, top-tier speakers, reunions with friends, and a dance party—all of this came together to make the traditional HSE festival hosted by the university's oldest and largest student organisation, Ingroup CtC.STUDENT NIGHT took place on January 24–25, 2025 at the Pokrovka campus, where thrilling contests were followed by extracurricular lectures, and master classes alternated with stand-up performances and dance battles. Special guests included stand-up comedian Nurlan Saburov, indie rock band Sirotkin, and Olympic champions.

The parties concluded the agreement on November 29 in Moscow at HSE University’s campus on Pokrovsky Bulvar. The document was signed by Pacific National University Rector Yury Marfin and HSE University Vice Rector Dmitry Zemtsov.

On November 23, 2024, the final round of the Innovations in Education Contest took place, marking the 11th season of the initiative that unites innovators in education. The competition is organised by HSE University and Alfa-Bank. This year’s event was the largest in its history, with over 1,000 applications from more than 3,000 participants across all federal districts of Russia. The final showcased 12 innovative projects, with winners receiving awards, including the grand prize of 1 million roubles.

As its central theme, the conference focused on finding a balance between upholding high academic standards at universities and promoting the well-being of both students and faculty. The first plenary session examined the phenomenon of student families, with conference participants discussing how these families fit into the broader demographic context and proposing measures to support them.

The competitive selection of the inter-university student expedition programme Rediscovering Russia has ended. The expeditions will take place from May to November 2024 and will cover 26 Russian regions. Students and graduates from any university countrywide, including foreigners, can apply for any expedition.

The World Youth Festival held in the Sirius Federal Territory closed on March 6. A substantial team from HSE University was actively involved in the event. Here are some of the key projects and discussions at the WYF involving participants from HSE University.

On February 13-19, 2024, the fifth HSE University Model United Nations #HSEMUN24 was held at the Higher School of Economics with the support of the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs.

On February 5, 2024, the award ceremony for the winners and laureates of the Student Research Paper Competition (SRPS) 2023 took place. The competition received 1,730 papers in 25 categories from university students across Russia.

Student NIGHT is a traditional HSE festival organised by Ingroup StS. On January 24–25, 2024, the Pokrovka campus turned into a huge party area, with lectures taking place alongside fitness sessions, a dance floor, quests, and themed clubs. Designer Artemy Lebedev, hip hop singer Antoha MC, and Olympic champions were the headliners of the party.

From January 15 to February 15, the project website is accepting applications to organise and conduct expeditions for the 2024 season as part of the Rediscovering Russia project. In 2023, 1,000 students from 157 universities took part in the expeditions.

For the tenth year in a row, the Competition of Innovations in Education (KIVO) is accepting innovative project submissions—educational training resources, apps, platforms, events and media, methodological and technological developments and much more. The top 30 projects will be presented at the ‘startup alley’ of the Catalyst for Innovation in Education conference in Moscow. The creators of the best project will be able to conduct joint research with scientists from the HSE University Institute of Education. There will be two waves of applications; the first closes on October 15 (and offers certain bonuses to project creators), while the second closes on October 31.

On September 5th, which is the International Day of Charity, the Service Learning programme was launched at many of the country’s universities. HSE University hosted a meeting with deputy deans and faculty project managers, followed by a large NGO fair, where both students and HSE University staff got to know more about  partner NGOs and planned further joint projects.

Polina Chichulina enrolled in ICEF MSc Financial Economics after completing her bachelor’s studies at HSE Faculty of Economic Sciences. Currently in her first year of the programme, Polina joined SPIEF Academy 2023. Here’s how Polina defines the key advantage of MSc Financial Economics, how ICEF students benefit from the alumni engagement, and what major highlights SPIEF Academy came with in 2023.

The timeliness of Russia’s first cyber gaming platform, the importance of closing the gender gap in the IT industry, and the future of international cooperation in the Arctic were just some of the issues discussed at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). The HSE News Service reports on some of the topics of discussion at the forum.

The Rediscovering Russia project invites universities, commercial and non-profit organisations to apply to organise and conduct student expeditions in 2023. Candidates can apply until June 15^th, and the winning expeditions will receive financial and organisational support.

HSE University has hosted the project session ‘The Big Challenges Faced by Yamal’, whose speakers included Governor of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug (YaNAO) Dmitry Artyukhov, HSE University Rector Nikita Anisimov, and Vice Rector Dmitry Zemtsov. HSE University students designed concepts for expeditions to the region that they will be able to embark on in 2023–2024 as part of the ‘Rediscovering Russia’ project.

On April 17, HSE University and Vitus Bering Kamchatka State University signed a cooperation agreement at the Durasov House on Pokrovsky Boulevard. The new partnership will include joint expeditions, research, and educational activities, including a permanent expedition to research and preserve the languages ​​and cultures of Kamchatka.

The first selection of winning expeditions of the inter-university student programme ‘Rediscovering Russia’ has been completed. The programme is being implemented by HSE University together with the presidential platform ‘Russia - Land of Opportunity’ and the ‘More Than a Trip’ programme. The Expert Council approved 47 applications, with 17 universities and 23 organisations among the winners. The expeditions will take place from April to July 2023 and will cover 41 Russian regions.

This year, HSE University started celebrating Student Day on the evening of January 24, when the traditional Digital Night festival kicked off at Pokrovka. For the first time since 2019, it was held in the pre-pandemic format: the quizzes, board games, lectures, dancing and master classes didn't stop until 6 am.

The 2nd Congress of Young Scientists was held at the Sirius Park of Science and Art in Sochi. HSE University representatives took an active part in it, working at various venues where a wide range of topics were discussed—from university development to machine learning and scientific cinema.

KAVKAZ.RF summed up the initial results of the Rediscovering Russia student expeditions to the North Caucasus that were organised by HSE University and the Russia is the Land of Opportunities non-profit organisation. Drawing on the results of three expeditions, students prepared video depictions of six North Caucasus republics, developed a branding concept for Dagestani carpets, and drew up a new tour route through North Ossetia-Alania.

HSE University together with Northern Caucasus Resorts with the support of the ‘Russia – Land of Opportunity’ platform have launched a series of research and practical expeditions in the North Caucasus as part of the All-Russian project ‘Rediscovering Russia’. They aim to attract young researchers to find solutions to some of the urgent problems hindering the region’s economic development.

Youth as a driver of economic development, the Arctic as a region of constructive cooperation, and innovation as a way to dispel illusions. Experts from HSE University took part in sessions of the 2022 St Petersburg International Economic Forum and HSE Rector Nikita Anisimov answered questions in the interactive studio of the Knowledge Society.

This year’s jubilee programme of Economfest turned out to be particularly eventful. Congratulations from university leaders, meetings with teachers, games, contests, quizzes, a job exchange with KPMG and Changellenge, as well as popcorn, cotton candy and cake were prepared for students, applicants and guests of HSE University.

The results of the National Technology Olympiad (NTO) of the 2021/22 academic year were recently announced. The Olympiad project office operates through HSE University.

Dmitry Zemtsov on student organizations, the university’s third mission, and Salvador Allende

The design was developed by HSE University students

Irina Martusevich was appointed Vice Rector responsible for HSE University Staff, Elena Odoevskaya was appointed Vice Rector for coordinating HSE digital projects, and Dmitry Zemtsov was also appointed Vice Rector