Research & Expertise

HSE University-St Petersburg opened a representative office of the Satellite Laboratory on Social Entrepreneurship at the University of Campinas in Brazil. The platform is going to unite research and educational projects in the spheres of sustainable development, communications and social innovations.

Can a Formula 1 race become a testing ground for digital forecasting, and how can climate intelligence help companies adapt to shocks? The second session of International Symposium “Foresight in a Rapidly Changing World” within XXVI April International Academic Conference named after Evgeny Yasin focused on finding answers to these questions. The discussion, which brought together experts from Russia, Canada, France, and Brazil, was moderated by Yulia Milshina, Deputy Director of the ISSEK Foresight Center (HSE University).

The database created at HSE University can serve as a foundation for studying children’s eating habits. This is outlined in the study ‘The Influence of Age, Gender, and Social-Role Factors on Children’s Compliance with Age-Based Nutritional Norms: An Experimental Study Using the Dish-I-Wish Web Application.’ The work has been carried out as part of the HSE Basic Research Programme and was presented at the XXVI April International Academic Conference named after Evgeny Yasin.

A team of researchers from the HSE International Research and Educational Foresight Centre has examined how global trends affect the quality of human life—from life expectancy to professional fulfilment. The findings of the study titled ‘Human Capital Transformation under the Influence of Global Trends’ were published in Foresight.

On April 20–21, the HSE School of Foreign Languages held the V International Scientific and Practical Conference ‘Languages. Education. Development’ (HSE LED). It was organised in an online format and dedicated to current trends in the development of modern knowledge in linguistics and pedagogy. Over two days, about 1,700 participants (including more than 220 speakers) took part in the event— 40% more than in the previous academic year.

How can states maintain governability and stability in a world where established rules are rapidly losing their force? Prof. Ali Farazmand of Florida Atlantic University answered this question in a presentation delivered at the XXVI April International Academic Conference named after Evgeny Yasin. The scholar proposed examining the transformation of the global order through the lens of two ‘mega-shifts’—from the rise of global corporate capitalism to the emerging multipolarity of today—and demonstrated why this transition between eras requires fundamentally new approaches to governance.

Scientists at HSE University have identified a molecular mechanism underlying aggressive breast cancer. They found that the signals supporting tumour growth originate not from the tumour itself but from its microenvironment. The researchers also demonstrated that reduced levels of the IGFBP6 protein in the tumour microenvironment lead to the accumulation of macrophages—immune cells associated with a higher risk of cancer recurrence. These findings already make it possible to assess patient risk more accurately and may, in the future, enable the development of drugs that target cells of the tumour microenvironment. The study has been published in Current Drug Therapy.

Renewable energy and labour productivity do not always contribute to environmental sustainability. Technological innovation is the only factor that consistently has a positive effect. This is the conclusion reached by an international team of researchers, including Natalia Veselitskaya, Leading Research Fellow at the HSE ISSEK Foresight Centre. The study has been published in Sustainable Development.

Scientists at HSE University have discovered that in preeclampsia—one of the most severe complications of pregnancy—the placenta remodels its lipid metabolism, reducing its own cholesterol synthesis while increasing cholesterol transfer to the foetus. This compensatory mechanism helps sustain foetal nutrition but accelerates placental deterioration and may lead to preterm birth. The study findings have been published in Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences.

HSE researchers evaluated the accuracy of technology forecasts in the transportation sector over the past 50 years and found that the average accuracy rate does not exceed 25%, with the lowest accuracy observed in aviation and rail transport. According to the scientists, this is due to limitations of the forecasting method and the inherent complexities of the sector. The study findings have been published in Technological Forecasting and Social Change.