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HSE University Review

The Higher School of Economics is a community of scientists, teachers, students and alumni. We grow together and collaborate with each other, sharing ideas and knowledge to help our colleagues to achieve success in science and education. All of our work is open for discussion, constructive criticism and suggestions. This digest is intended to communicate scientific developments and news at HSE to the international academic community and beyond. In these pages, we seek to represent the vast diversity of our interests and expertise. This publication is not only an overview of our achievements, but also a call for further joint work and exploration.

The scholars and researchers featured in our digest are ready to hear from you. If you would like more information about a specific study or want to subscribe to receive future issues, please contact HSE’s press service: press@hse.ru, +7 495 772 9567.

The sixteenth issue of HSE Review is dedicated to HSE international laboratories. This year, HSE University marks 10 years since the creation of its first international laboratories. We were the first university in Russia to begin investing our own funds to create research centres headed by international scholars. You will learn more about three new International Laboratories, two projects that won the Mega-Grant Competition funded by Russia’s Ministry of Science and Higher Education, and the current research of HSE laboratories.

Neurolinguists from HSE international Centre for Language and Brain have confirmed experimentally that for people with aphasia, it is easier to retrieve verbs describing situations with several participants (such as ‘someone is doing something’), although such verbs give rise to more grammar difficulties.

Professor of the HSE School of General and Applied Philology Mira Bergelson reveals why megacities need to preserve multilingualism. Chief Research Fellow of the HSE International Centre for the History and Sociology of World War II and Its Consequences Oleg Khlevniuk studied the phenomenon of street trading in Post-Soviet Russia.

Researchers from HSE Laboratory of Methods for Big Data Analysis devised an algorithm that helped to catch new particle at the Large Hadron Collider. You will find out which particles were identified and how HSE researchers helped to do this.

In addition, Maria Efremova from HSE Centre for Sociocultural Research and her colleague from Bremen International Graduate School of Social Science studied how childhood poverty affects self-confidence in adulthood. They showed that poverty experienced in childhood reduces self-esteem and self-assurance even in adults who later achieve financial success.

The fifteenth issue of HSE Review is dedicated to higher education. HSE University held the Tenth International Higher Education Conference that focused on contributions of higher education to society and economy: global, national and local. In the conference took part over 400 attendees represented 15 countries and all continents apart from Australia.

Furthermore, HSE University has created a Faculty of Geography and Geoinformation Technology in partnership with the Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IG RAS). The Faculty, which will focus on issues related to global climate change, geoinformatics and social geography, plans to launch its first Bachelor’s programme in 2020.

Tatiana Semenova and Evgenia Shmeleva from the HSE Centre of Sociology of Higher Education found out that students cheat and plagiarize more if they believe that most of their classmates do it. Researchers from the School of Management, HSE Campus in Perm, concluded that Higher education is unable to adapt changes quickly. 

At the same time, Alexandra Bochaver with colleagues from other scientific organizations has studied cyberbullying among teenagers.

In addition, an international team of researchers, which includes physicist from HSE University Sergey Popel, have discovered that, with an impending earthquake, the parameters of internal gravity waves (IGWs) can change five days before a seismic event.

The fourteenth issue of HSE Review is about the university’s young scientists involved in research in different academic fields. Furthermore, HSE’s new complex at Pokrovka opened, it is the university’s largest and most modern Moscow campus.

In this edition director of the Centre for student academic development Andrey Kozhanov told about the Science Republic project as well as about how to explain your research to your grandma.

HSE psychologists in a recent empirical study made the conclusion that touching different types of surfaces can result in certain emotions. At the same time, researchers of HSE Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience and the Max Planck Institute for Cognitive Sciences propose a new approach to post-stroke rehabilitation. The breakthrough finding made by the HSE Laboratory of Bioinformatics scientists is about using machine learning to discover that the two most widespread DNA structures – stem-loops and quadruplexes – cause genome mutations that lead to cancer.

In this issue, you will also learn about taxes in the energy sector and how they impact in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The economist from the School of Finance of HSE University Victoria Dobrynskaya analyzed secondary market prices of Lego. The conclusion of the study is an investment in Lego can yield returns of up to 600%.

In the thirteenth issue of HSE Review you will find out about the XX April International Academic Conference on Economic and Social Development that was held at HSE. This year, over 1500 participants attended in 239 sessions, where more than 700 papers were presented. Some studies are published in the current issue.

Demographer Eugeny Soroko analyzed the phenomenon that in many countries, fewer people marry during leap years. Also for the April Conference HSE Centre for Transport Economy has conducted the first econometric analysis of the factors influencing the level of automobilization in major Russian cities. At the same time, researchers from HSE Perm, in collaboration with an American colleague, confirmed the theory that imposter syndrome fully mediates the link between perfectionism and psychological distress.

This edition also informs about neuroscience studies. Researchers from the Higher School of Economics and York University have become the first to analyze the results of 82 functional neuroimaging studies on working memory mechanisms in different adult age groups. Scientists at the HSE Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience have proposed training transplanted muscles in advance with new movements so that the brain can learn to use them more quickly after autotransplantation.

In addition, in this issue you can learn that researchers from HSE and Yandex, as part of the LHCb collaboration at CERN, have been the first to discover CP violation in charm meson decays.

The twelfth issue of HSE Review focuses on online education. The Higher School of Economics and the online learning platform Coursera held the eSTARS international academic conference for the second time. Participants concluded that large online courses would be in even greater demand with the rising quality and accessibility of education; however, they will not replace traditional in-person interactions between students and teachers. In addition, the annual International Advisory Committee (IAC) meeting took place in Moscow this past December. The items on the agenda of the meeting were new faculties, personnel development, internationalization, and much more.

This issue also informs about forefront studies of the HSE scientists. Dmitry Abbakumov, head of the HSE Centre for Psychometrics in eLearning, in collaboration with colleagues from the University of Leuven made improvements to the model for assessing academic achievements. At the same time, Ivan Smirnov and Elizaveta Sivak analyzed 62 million public posts on the most popular Russian social networking site VK and found that both men and women mention sons more often than daughters.

The current issue features article about how biologists discover method for early detection of Parkinson’s. New approach makes it possible to diagnose disease long before onset of symptoms. In this edition you will also find out how researchers from the HSE Nizhny Novgorod have created a technology to help neural networks identify certain people on video, detecting their age and gender more quickly and accurately. Furthermore, physicists from the HSE and the Space Research Institute have identified a mechanism explaining the appearance of two dusty plasma clouds resulting from a meteoroid that impacted the surface of the Moon.

In the eleventh issue of HSE Review you will get acquainted with the Higher School of Economics new faculties. HSE University will begin enrolling students in undergraduate programmes at recently opened the Faculty of Chemistry and the Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology. These faculties will work in partnership with leading institutions of the Russian Academy of Science where students will carry out research. You will also learn about the IX International Russian Higher Education Conference “Universities in Search of a Balance between New and Familiar Goals” that took place at HSE in October. Participants of the conference discussed issues concerning educational policies, including internationalization of education, bridging the gap between schools, universities and labor markets, as well as changes in the academic profession.

This issue also presents several education studies. Researchers from HSE and KU Leuven have developed a method of measuring improvements in students’ proficiency in digital learning environments. In a study by HSE Centre for Institutional Studies researchers have identified factors behind interregional student mobility.

This edition focuses on some studies in other fields. Demographers from the Higher School of Economics and University of Southern Denmark have created a detailed color map of population ageing in European countries. Elena Chebotareva, a psychologist from HSE, compared the coping strategies used by French and Russian students, as well as their impact on psychological well-being. Academic supervisor of the HSE International Laboratory of Positive Psychology of Personality and Motivation Ken Sheldon determined the causes to which a person attributes his or her success and failures.

Scientists from HSE have developed a method that allows physicists at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) to separate between various types of elementary particles with a high degree of accuracy. Researchers from HSE Centre for Cognition and Decision Making have discovered brain cortex activity differences in children with arthrogryposis.


In the tenth issue of HSE Review you will learn about the opening of Faculty of Urban and Regional Development and Centre for Language and Brain. You will also find out about the model of a future residential block made by experts and students of the Shukhov Lab.

This edition focuses on some studies conducted by HSE scientists. It includes news about how researchers teach the neural network to carry out video facial recognition using a single photo. HSE neuroscientists have developed a new generation of MEG devices. Furthermore, in this issue engineers have explained how to improve the accuracy of measuring devices using nanotechnology.

Psycholinguists from Centre for Language and Brain have built eye-tracking database on reading in Russian. You will find the news about this in the tenth issue. At the same time, scientists uncover new facts concerning working memory in children. Researchers from Faculty of Physics determine space weather near Earth’s closest exoplanet. This issue also informs how solitude differs from loneliness and how vortex flows penetrate the interior of a liquid.


In the ninth issue of HSE Review you will find out about XIX April International Academic Conference featuring a presentation and discussion of the paper “12 Solutions for new education”. You will also learn about Russian National Award in Applied economics, which was held during the conference. In addition, this edition includes news about opening of Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience at HSE.

Review presents new studies of HSE scientists in different areas. Researchers at HSE Institute for Statistical Studies an Economics Knowledge (ISSEK) examined biotechnology patenting in the BRICS countries and published their findings in Trends of Biotechnology. Senior associate researcher at HSE Francesco Sarracino explained why economic growth does not necessarily contribute to human happiness. There are some cutting edge researches about how GDP affects success in eSports and how machine learning helping to save money at CERN. In this issue you will also find out socially significant studies about what are the limits of frankness in posts about sexual violence and how unemployment affects political destabilization in Western and Eastern Europe. Moreover, icing on the cake is physical article about dust cloud around the Moon.


In the eighth issue of HSE Review you will find out about the meeting of the International Advisory Committee under the leadership of Nobel laureate Eric Maskin. Furthermore, you will learn about new rules what are applied to dissertation defense for PhD and DS degrees. You will get acquainted with the new programme in the Internet of Things and Cyber-Physical Systems. The edition presents the research of the specialists from HSE and the University of Leipzig. They have developed a model, which ensures timely and effective predictions of polymer behavior in mixed solvents. Researchers from IDlab have examined the role of corporate universities in developing human capital.

In this issue, you can also learn about influence of Neurotechnologies on the appetite for Risk or how to maximize the benefits from partners in developed countries via investments in intellectual resources. Researchers from HSE have explained how to analyze cosmic rays through the use of mobile phones. By the end of the edition Rostislav Kapeliushnikov has exploded the theory that robots will replace humans and by 2100 there will be 75% unemployment.


The seventh issue of HSE Review focuses on Data Culture and presents the latest university researches related to technologies and social phenomena. Last studies about neural networks and artificial intelligence which recognize human emotions and odour will probably awaken your interest in science.You will also find out how researchers are developing a system of algorithms that help physicists look for new particles in the Large Hadron Collider. We hope that you will be interested in faculty of Physics which is welcoming its new master’s students who will create devices to study space plasma, analyse data from satellites, learn to determine space weather and create a map of the universe in a partnership with Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The edition also informs about upcoming projects and the position of Higher School of Economics in global university rankings which has improved upon last quarter result.


The sixth issue focuses on HSE’s advancement in global university rankings and showcases several recent research projects led by HSE scientists, with emphasis on projects that were presented at HSE’s XVIII April International Academic Conference. It covers an international seminar entitled ‘Universities, Inclusive Development, and Social Innovation’ where the relationship between universities and governments in developing social and economic policy was discussed. Ronald Inglehart, Academic Supervisor of the HSE Laboratory for Comparative Social Research, traces changes in public opinion to rising inequality and a resulting cultural xenophobic backlash, coupled with prevailing feelings of insecurity.

In this issue, you can also learn about a new brain mechanism that generates cognitive dissonance and discover how scientists from the HSE Centre for Cognition & Decision Making have employed a mouse model to elucidate the influence of nicotine on cells in the prefrontal cortex. The current issue also features a story about how researchers from the HSE International Research Laboratory for Institutional Analysis of Economic Reforms have established empirical associations for 2D:4D ratios in areas such as academic performance, uptake of financial services, and employment


In the fifth issue of the HSE Review you will find out about the new Faculty of Physics, the Laboratory for Experimental Urban Design, and the development of the university’s international laboratories. In particular, this edition presents the research of the Center for Language and Brain which expands on the neuroanatomical model of semantic aphasia. The discoveries of the researchers add to existing scientific knowledge about the neurological architecture of language by highlighting the interactive nature of linguistic processing.

Furthermore, in this issue you can learn why morning people should not work at night. Experts from HSE’s Center for Cognition & Decision Making have found out that early risers demonstrate a quicker reaction time at night when solving tasks than night owls. However, early risers make more mistakes along the way. In addition, the HSE Review tells you about how researchers from the new Faculty of Physics have developed an analytical theory, which binds the structure of coherent vortices formed due to inverse cascades in 2-D turbulence with the statistical properties of hydrodynamic fluctuations.


The fourth issue of HSE Review presents HSE’s latest sociological research related to problems currently facing society at large. In particular, leading Russian and foreign experts of the HSE Laboratory for Comparative Social Research discuss the aspects of newly arising conflicts between elites and the masses, the impact of economic inequality on social trust, and the varying attitudes towards corruption on the part of different countries. Furthermore, the issue also features other HSE research projects. For instance, you can find out how mathematics is used in uncovering oncological illnesses, why people in Russia are skeptical of medical breakthroughs, and how an aging population will affect global development. Moreover, students from HSE’s School of Cultural Studies share their impressions of a recent research expedition to Iran.


The third issue of HSE University Review focuses on issues of science and technology and innovation policy, as well as analysis of trends in technology development, education, the knowledge society in Russia and aboard, and forecasting science and innovation. Our experts from the Institute for Statistical Studies and Economics of Knowledge (ISSEK) discuss factors of technological breakthrough and share their impressions on which markets and industries should receive investment today. Additionally, this issue covers a mathematical approach to preventing sexual assault in internet chat rooms, the interrelation between values systems and the high level of mortality among young people, and unique graffiti from the 12th century that contains a message about the murder of Prince Andrey Bogolyubsky and a list of his killers. Olga Dragoy, head of the HSE Center for Language and Brain, talks about what takes place in our brain when we hear speech or say something and how trauma and disease impact our speech capabilities.


In the second issue, we have paid considerable attention to education both as a process and as a field of study. Global ratings confirm that HSE is the leading university in Russia and a leader among international universities in development studies. We hope that you will be interested in our special courses on Coursera, a platform that has already become popular with hundreds of thousands of students studying remotely. HSE is also involved in a Russian online education project, which you can learn about in this issue. The Angelina Jolie phobia, financial market black swans, and an unknown Pasternak autograph all are among the highlighted discoveries of HSE researchers.


In the first issue, you can learn about HSE’s annual April Conference, which brings together thousands of renowned scientists and experts to discuss current social and economic problems. While reading an interview with Fields Medal winner and HSE Professor Andrei Okounkov, you will be charmed by the ways in which mathematics works. From quantum cryptography and neuroeconomics to obsession with symmetry and amorous addiction, our researchers’ interests are very broad and their work is internationally recognized.