‘We Are Always Open to Collaboration, and China Is One of Our Most Important Partners’
From July 20 to 27, 2026, the HSE Faculty of Urban and Regional Development (FURD) is hosting a summer school for students from Tianjin University dedicated to the preservation of cultural heritage. Throughout the week, participants have attended lectures, practical workshops, and field visits to some of Moscow’s most iconic heritage sites. The summer school is the faculty’s first international programme of this kind and forms part of the expanding educational cooperation between Russia and China.
At the opening ceremony, representatives of the Faculty of Urban and Regional Development welcomed the Tianjin University students and introduced them to the programme, the faculty’s research areas, and future opportunities for collaboration. During the week, participants have been exploring international and national standards for heritage protection, examining the legal framework governing cultural heritage, and studying contemporary approaches to heritage management.
The summer school was initiated by Victoria Khomich, First Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Urban and Regional Development and Head of International Affairs. ‘Our faculty addresses the full range of urban development issues, and we actively share our expertise with our partners. We are always open to collaboration, and China is one of our most important partners,’ said Victoria Khomich. As 2026–2027 have been designated the Cross Years of Russia–China Cooperation in Education, she noted that it is particularly important to develop new initiatives and student exchange programmes. ‘Many years ago, a summer school in Tianjin, China, opened an entirely new path for me. I hope that our summer school will provide students with unforgettable experiences and unique opportunities,’ she added.
The curriculum of the summer school also focuses on the role of cultural heritage in the contemporary city. As Elena Magomedova, Senior Lecturer at the Vysokovsky Graduate School of Urbanism, explained, the programme introduces participants not only to Moscow’s history but also to the ways in which heritage can be integrated into urban development.
‘We firmly believe that preserving cultural heritage sites is a vital element of modern urban development. There is an ancient cultural code that we must not lose,’ she said. She added that throughout the programme, students would become researchers of the urban environment, exploring places with hidden histories, long processes of development, and complex destinies.
Both Russia and China possess exceptionally rich historical heritage, making the programme an excellent opportunity to exchange experience and compare approaches to preserving historic sites. According to Elena Magomedova, participants are encouraged to develop their own perspective on the urban environment, while the organisers have shared not only their professional expertise but also their passion for the city. As part of the programme, students also worked on a real cultural heritage site—the former Imperial Post Office building—where they developed a concept for its future use and development.
During the meeting, Victoria Khomich also introduced the guests to HSE University through a series of key facts and figures. HSE ranks first among Russia’s top 100 universities in the Forbes ranking, offers 128 bachelor's programmes and 213 master's programmes, and brings together research centres, laboratories, and projects across its campuses.
The Faculty of Urban and Regional Development team also introduced the faculty’s key areas of activity. Ruslan Goncharov, Head of the Vysokovsky Graduate School of Urbanism, presented its academic programmes and projects, while Diana Kodzokova, Deputy Dean for Research, introduced the faculty’s academic journal Urban Studies and Practices, inviting the Chinese colleagues to collaborate on future joint issues.
The First Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Urban and Regional Development, Victoria Khomich, also outlined plans for the launch of the BRICS Urban Development Institute, scheduled to open in 2026. The institute will focus on comparative research into urban development approaches across the BRICS countries, promote Russian expertise, and create international platforms for academic discussion and educational programmes. Its principal areas of expertise will include territorial development, urban regeneration, urban ecology, artificial intelligence in urban planning, digitalisation, smart cities, urban infrastructure, transport planning, and the creative economy.
Alongside the summer school on cultural heritage preservation, the Faculty of Urban and Regional Development is working with the School of Architecture at Tianjin University as part of HSE University’s International Academic Cooperation project. The research teams are studying cities experiencing both population growth and population decline, as well as broader demographic change, while conducting field research in a number of Russian and Chinese cities.
Part of the meeting was dedicated to the HSE Centre for Arctic and Northern Urban Studies. Nadezhda Zamyatina, Director of the Centre, Professor at the Vysokovsky Graduate School of Urbanism, and Principal Investigator of the project ‘Dynamic Urbanistics: A Comparative Analysis of the Cities with Rapid Population Changes in Russia and China,’ explained that the centre is one of the faculty’s newest academic units. Its research focuses on northern Russian cities, although, as she noted, northern and cold-climate cities in both Russia and China face many of the same challenges, including population decline, industrial downturn, and the consequences associated with these trends.
As part of the visit, the students and experts from Tianjin travelled to Obninsk. Nadezhda Zamyatina explained that this would not be a sightseeing excursion but a research-based field study. Participants explored the city on foot, documented its urban landscapes through photography, and prepared short analytical texts based on their observations. She added that Obninsk combines Soviet-era and contemporary urban features, making it a valuable case study for understanding cities undergoing transformation.
The summer school programme also included visits to Kolomenskoye, museums, and landmarks representing Moscow Modernism, the Soviet avant-garde, and other architectural styles. Another highlight was a visit to the Durasov House, one of HSE University's buildings and a designated cultural heritage site. The participants visited the estate immediately after the opening ceremony.
At the conclusion of the programme, the students will present projects based on sketches, photographs, and other materials collected during their fieldwork. The organisers hope that the summer school will equip participants with both a solid theoretical understanding of heritage preservation and practical analytical skills for studying the urban environment.
The summer school is more than an educational programme; it also represents a continuation of the lively student dialogue between the two universities. At the end of the opening event, HSE University students presented gifts to their guests from Tianjin University, gave them a tour of the campus, and then set off together on the first heritage walk exploring Moscow’s cultural landmarks.
Text by Polina Almakaeva, third-year student of the Bachelor’s in Advertising and Public Relations
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