Society

A fantastic bird at the entrance to ancient quarries, an exhibition hall by the ruins of a garment factory, and a pedestrian pontoon bridge over the Volga River are just some innovative ideas from master’s students of the Environment Design programme at the HSE Art and Design School, who presented their graduation projects to the local administration and developers in the city of Staritsa, Tver Region, on July 17.

Once a month, the HSE campus on Pokrovska hosts meetings of the Distinguished Alumni Lecture Series. This is a joint initiative by the HSE Alumni Centre and the ‘University Open to the City’ project team, where alumni give short talks sharing their experiences in career development and professional fulfilment. Anyone is welcome to attend, regardless of where they study or work.

Around 11 million people in Russia live with a disability. Of these, approximately 27% are of working age, yet only one in four is employed. HSE University and the Bank of Russia jointly organised a round table titled ‘Employment Practices for Students with Disabilities and Health Limitations.’

On May 7, 2025, Janja Lula da Silva — First Lady of Brazil and a prominent advocate for sustainable development who initiated the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty — visited HSE University. She held a private meeting with HSE University Rector Nikita Anisimov, where they explored promising avenues for strengthening Russia-Brazil collaboration in science and education.

On March 27, 2025, HSE University hosted a hybrid-format conference marking the completion of efforts to establish the International Movement on Financial Security. During the meeting, the charter and roadmap were adopted, and the presidium was elected.

In the run-up to the New Year, HSE University is participating in the Wish Tree charitable initiative for the third time. The project brings together people eager to do good deeds. Students, professors, and staff can pick a bauble from the tree in the atrium of the Pokrovka campus and fulfil a child’s dream.

From May to August 2024, 19 student expeditions took place across 15 regions of the country as part of the third season of the ‘Rediscovering Russia’ project. Currently, 10 more project expeditions are underway. The second stage of the application selection for autumn expeditions began in early August, with submissions open until August 16.

From May 31 to June 2, 2024, the second interdisciplinary conference ‘Researching the Deaf Community’ was held at the GES-2 House of Culture, organised in collaboration with HSE University. The international forum brought together experts from 11 countries and four continents. Participants discussed topics related to the social, cultural, and linguistic characteristics of people within the deaf community in the modern world.

The ‘People of Artek’ international contest is held annually by the Artek International Children’s Centre in Crimea. The contest is open to participants aged 12 to 17. In 2023, school students from 14 countries took part in the contest, with 69 of them visiting the Artek camp as winners.

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.