How the HSE Faculty of Computer Science Is Meeting the New Academic Year

Ivan Arzhantsev, Dean of the Faculty of Computer Science (FCS) of HSE University, discusses student motivation, science, business, and the Faculty’s future plans.

— What makes the HSE Faculty of Computer Science different from its counterparts at other universities?

— Although leading universities have much in common, tough competition plays a large part in helping departments distinguish themselves. One of our advantages is that we have completely renewed our Applied Mathematics and Information Science programme. In 2014, we were able to adopt effective approaches used by leading Russian and foreign educational institutions. We learned from the experiences of colleagues at Stanford University, L’École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), the Yandex School of Data Analysis, and many other Russian universities. We have been continuously improving our programme over these years.

We have been guided by the needs of science, business, our students, and the principles of our development strategy. The Software Engineering (SE) programme has been evolving since 2006, but always with these needs in mind. In 2018, the programme went through a high-profile international accreditation of a non-governmental agency that certifies programmes in engineering and technologies (ABEТ). Last year, we launched a new English-taught double degree programme in Applied Data Analysis (ADA) in cooperation with the London School of Economics and Political Science. The ADA Academic Council has all the opportunities to make the most of the academic experience, which the Council is happy to use.

— Whenever we talk about teaching computer sciences, the question arises about what the appropriate balance between science and business should be. Have you struck a balance between these things at your faculty?

We have, and we have struck the kind of balance we intended. We expected to admit the best applicants, and we were able to do so. This year, 39 winners and runners-up of the final stage of the All-Russian Olympiad of high school students in informatics, mathematics, and physics have enrolled in the Faculty of Computer Science.

We assume that 15% of our students will focus on theoretical studies, while the majority of our graduates will gain employment at major IT companies.

— Tell us a little about your students’ motivation. A classic problem of Russian university education is that 16-year-old high school students are forced to choose a university where they will have to spend the next four to six years of their lives. However, at this age, a person usually finds it difficult to understand what he or she really wants.

Our faculty is a perfect venue for students to figure out what they want to do. Let me explain why. Very few first-year students know whether they should focus on fundamental science or look for a job in the commercial sector. They will be able to make up their mind when doing their undergraduate programme, as they will have a chance to meet leading scientists in one of the 11 premier scientific laboratories at our faculty. Students can work as research assistants there, writing their term papers and theses under the supervision of world-class researchers. This will help our students decide on their future career path. If they realize that science is not their cup of tea, they will be able to specialize in applied research and development or become specialists in applied data science or programme engineering. Some people may even develop an interest in linguistics or sociology. If so, they may pursue a master’s degree in either of these fields, where they will be welcomed with open arms, because they will have gained valuable, in-demand skills in our programme. When students enrol in the Faculty of Computer Science, they do not limit their future options.

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— What are the FCS laboratories like?

There are two types. First, we’ve got large international laboratories with one or more international experts working there. Each expert leads a research team focusing on a specific area or problem. For instance, the new International Laboratory of Stochastic Algorithms and High Dimensional Inference (HDI Lab) is led by Eric Moulines, Professor at École Polytechnique (Paris) and a full member of the French Academy of Science. The laboratory is currently working on an ambitious project that is involved with the mathematics of deep learning.

We also have research and teaching laboratories. Each of these laboratories usually is comprised of one or two, or, in some rare cases, three adult researchers and 10–15 students and doctoral students who work there as research assistants. The laboratories are established to encourage young people to get involved in research.

— What about soft skills? It is not enough for students to acquire highly specialized knowledge in a specific subject. They should also be familiar with how to navigate the market, how the industry works, and how to communicate. These skills are tough to teach.

Yes, they are, but soft skills are important at HSE University. Our university’s motto is ‘We do not learn for school, but for life’. This is HSE’s fundamental principle. We’ve got a wide range of opportunities, including informal ones, to develop our students’ soft skills. We organize various student clubs. These are an important way to socialize and maintain informal contacts. Student and research seminars teach our students how to prepare presentations, deliver speeches, participate in discussions, and advocate their viewpoint in accordance with scientific ethical norms. The rules of HSE University encourage student independence and a mindfulness of their own behaviour. For instance, at the beginning of September, our first-year undergraduate students have to do a bridge course before they enrol in the regular study courses.

Our students learn from the outset how things work at the faculty and the level of professionalism that is expected at HSE University. HSE’s professional culture is very different from that of traditional universities

For instance, HSE University not only rejects any form of deception and fraud, but also explicitly formulates its general approach to such improper behaviour in its rules and regulations, which everyone must follow. Another example relates to the rules for exam retakes and dismissals. If you fail assessments in three or more courses during one examination period, you will be dismissed automatically, and no connections or achievements will be able to save you. HSE University teaches their students to take responsibility for their own actions from the first days of their studies.

— Can your students monitor how their teachers comply with the rules?

Of course. Getting feedback is a well-established procedure at HSE. Our students assess their teachers four times a year. They assess both the quality of the teaching materials and the teaching itself. For instance, I teach algebra, and the questions I have to answer in the course of assessment help understand the content of my subject and how available I am for communication when I am not lecturing. All students are obliged to take part in the assessment, and the results are strictly confidential. I quite agree with the management of our faculty in thinking that this is an ideal tool to enhance the quality of teaching. Note that this approach not only provides a stick, but a carrot, too. At the end of the year, students choose the best teachers. Best teachers receive a substantial increase in pay in the next academic year along with respect and recognition.

— Many professors come to your faculty from the industry. How do you attract and retain them? How do you teach them to work with students?

It is quite a challenge to attract people from the industry, but we manage to do it thanks to a number of factors. First of all, most teachers who come to us from business are young people. They remember how they were taught, and what worked and what didn’t work for them when they were students. Having spent a few years working in the industry, they feel motivated to properly prepare their students for the field. We cannot always maintain their enthusiasm for many years to come, but we are happy if we can do it for a while, and we are grateful to our colleagues for finding time in their tight work schedules to teach our students. Secondly, there are some people with innate teaching abilities. Blessed are those companies that understand this and, without creating any obstacles, allow their employees to devote one day a week to teaching. This is a win-win situation for both the companies and the faculty. Nothing good would come out of it if people were forced to teach. The company cannot just make their staff work at a university unless they want to. Over the years, we have been deeply grateful to Yandex for encouraging its employees to teach at the Faculty of Computer Science.

— Speaking of universities, am I right in thinking that a faculty like yours should not only teach students to be conscientious and hardworking employees, but also to see potential opportunities for business development to start a business of their own? In other words, create something new that has never existed before.

I believe this is one of the issues we have yet to solve. I would be wrong to call our students active entrepreneurs. There are some students – most of them study software engineering – who are now setting up, or already running, a startup business of their own. Some of our graduates engage our students in their projects. However, we would like to see more activity there. We intend to foster a culture of entrepreneurship and, specifically, startups. We expect all our students to acquire entrepreneurial skills and learn the legal, organizational, and technological side of the things. We have already held an initial course in entrepreneurship for our teachers. HSE University has a very successful business incubator. We hope a combination of the above factors will soon produce a desirable effect, and our students will master the required skills.

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— I would also like you to touch upon doctoral programmes, which is something completely different from entrepreneurship. What is their role at the Faculty of Computer Science? What encourages people to go on with their studies after four years of undergraduate work for a bachelor’s degree and another two years of work for a master’s degree?

This is a tricky question. It is worth noting that our three-year doctoral programme is giving way, slowly but steadily, to a four-year one. On top of writing a thesis, doctoral students will also have a curriculum to comply with and a state examination to take. As you can see, it is not an easy task to complete. On the other hand, HSE University is now entitled to award its own bachelor’s and master’s degrees, which allows us to comply with the international standards for the dissertation defense procedure and to make this procedure more convenient for all the participants of the process. In Russia, a doctoral candidate usually defends his or her dissertation before a Dissertation Committee of 20–30 people. We set up a large committee to approve the dissertation topic and appoint the Dissertation Committee. The Dissertation Committee consists of five people, including some international scientists. There can be up to two representatives from HSE University in the Committee. Each member of the Committee reviews the dissertation carefully, provides feedback, and after the defense, votes for or against awarding of the academic degree. The Big Dissertation Committee only approves the voting results.

Alternatively, candidates may use their own articles as the text of their dissertations if the articles comply with or exceed the requirements of the State Commission for Academic Degrees and Titles and have been published in scientific journals indexed in Web of Science and/or Scopus. This is a significant advantage for many students. The list of scientific qualifications has been updated, too. We have established a Dissertation Committee for computer sciences. Four dissertations have been defended there last year.

Students used to be able to defend dissertations in mathematics, physics, or engineering only. Today you can meet graduates who have PhDs in Computer Science

— What do you think of the fact that many students work during their studies?

This is quite reasonable for seniors, especially if they work in their profession and their jobs are helping them develop pertinent skills. However, it is very bad if undergraduate students begin working in the first or second year of their studies. We try to prevent that, explaining to the students that a minor gain now might lead to a major loss in the future. We tell them that some smart students were dismissed because they had underestimated their abilities. Yet, we are not in a position to prohibit our students from looking for a job since attending the classes and lectures in the HSE University is not compulsory. Our arsenal of tools to combat early employment includes personal scholarships, e.g., the Ilya Segalovich Scholarship, which is granted annually to 16 students and doctoral students. We also provide our students with opportunities to work as research assistants at HSE’s laboratories, where students receive a salary and an opportunity to take on creative tasks. The more time undergraduate students spend on their studies, the better professionals they will become in the future. This will certainly be beneficial for their future career and salary prospects. Do not start working too early.

— What else does the new academic year have in store for the Faculty of Computer Science?

We have some exciting news to share. First of all, the faculty has moved to the new HSE building on Pokrovsky Boulevard. It is a splendid building, but most importantly for the Faculty of Computer Science, there are 25 computer classes and large lecture rooms. We are starting a new life.

We also have some good news about our computer equipment. We began working with only personal computers at our disposal. Meanwhile, no faculty of computer science can do without a powerful computation cluster. HSE University procured a cluster in spring 2019. It is now up and running. The cluster will meet the needs of all the faculties that use computer technologies in their work. This has helped us to bring our faculty to the next quality level in terms of a whole number of parameters.

One of our major goals for the next five years is to implement some interdisciplinary projects. HSE University has been running the Data Culture project for two years. As part of this project, all undergraduate students of the Moscow Campus are supposed to study the basics of data management. The students may either take a course in digital literacy or learn the basics of data analysis and Python. We will then go on to scientific and applied projects in economics, sociology, linguistics, and cultural studies in cooperation with the relevant faculties of HSE University. Much of the groundwork has already been laid.

Original interview in Russian can be found here.

October 04, 2019

Education