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Regular, long-term seminars are an important part of the work of HSE research teams. Petr Parshakov, Professor at the School of Economics and Finance of the Faculty of Computer Science, Economics, and Social Sciences at HSE University–Perm and Head of the International Laboratory of Intangible-Driven Economy, talks about the laboratory’s regular seminars: why such meetings are needed, how they are organised, the secret of successful seminars, and the place seminars hold today in academic life.

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) pose challenges not only in medicine, but also in education, social policy, and technology. Scientists, doctors, educators, and government representatives have discussed how science and practice can help people with such disorders at the conference ‘Autism. Challenges and Solutions.’ For the first time, the event has been held at HSE University.

The International BRICS Competition Law and Policy Centre at HSE University presented the scientific report ‘From Fields to Futures: Competition, Financialisation, and Digitalisation in Global Grain Value Chains.’ The document was prepared as part of expert support from the BRICS Working Group on Competition Research in Food Markets. The presentation took place at the academic conference ‘Emerging Challenges of Competition Law and Policy in the BRICS and Beyond’ on September 12, 2025, in Cape Town (South Africa), which the BRICS Centre organised together with the University of Cape Town on the sidelines of the 9^th BRICS International Competition Conference.

Researchers at HSE University have found that identifying with one’s country can support psychological coping during difficult times, particularly when individuals reframe the situation or draw on spiritual and cultural values. Reframing in particular can help alleviate symptoms of depression. The study has been published in Journal of Community Psychology.

From August 26–29, 2025, the largest annual linguistics conference, Societas Linguistica Europaea, took place in Bordeaux, France. Doctoral students and researchers from HSE University took part in the event. The paper ‘Lability Drift in Modern Aramaic languages’ by Elena Shvedova was highly praised by the expert community and took first place among PhD student presentations. In an interview with the HSE News Service, Elena Shvedova spoke about her research and the conference itself.

Voice assistants have become part of everyday life. They can plan routes, play music and films, and answer questions. But the quality of their speech requires assessment. To address this, students of the Applied Artificial Intelligence Workshop at the HSE University and VK Engineering and Mathematics Schoolhave developed neural networks capable of evaluating speech synthesis.

An international team, including scientists from HSE University, has demonstrated for the first time that the anterior and posterior portions of the human hippocampus have distinct roles in associative memory. Using stereo-EEG recordings, the researchers found that the rostral (anterior) portion of the human hippocampus is activated during encoding and object recognition, while the caudal (posterior) portion is involved in associative recall, restoring connections between the object and its context. These findings contribute to our understanding of the structure of human memory and may inform clinical practice. A paper with the study findings has been published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.

Mark Angelo Gajardo, graduate of the Master's programme 'Comparative Politics of Eurasia,' presented his research at the 28th World Congress of Political Science organised by the International Political Science Association (IPSA).

Researchers from the HSE Institute of Education conducted a sociological study at four small, non-selective universities and revealed, based on 135 interviews, the dual nature of student care at such institutions: a combination of genuine support with continuous supervision, reminiscent of parental care. This study offers the first in-depth look at how formal and informal student care practices are intertwined in the post-Soviet educational context. The study has been published in the British Journal of Sociology of Education.

A team of Russian researchers, including scientists from HSE University, used AI to analyse 4,500 students’ subscriptions to VK social media communities. The study found that algorithms can accurately identify both high-performing students and those struggling with their studies. The paper has been published in IEEE Access.