Education news at HSE University

After practicing criminal law for 30 years, Rife Kimler of Texas, USA was in need of a break and a change of scenery. Long interested in Russia, the lawyer researched Russian programmes online and opted for HSE University’s Master’s Programme in Russian Studies. In an interview with HSE News Service, Rife discussed what he likes about Moscow and why he has not regretted his decision to study Russian politics and culture at HSE.

The smart blanket was presented at Sirius Scientific and Technological University in Sochi and awarded first place at a physical sciences hackathon. Over the course of one day, 15 student teams had to choose a topic, study the market, develop a concept, and present a prototype of their electronic device.

What’s the best way to learn Russian? Is it difficult to get used to the Siberian winter? Can you teach Russian language if you’re not a native speaker of it? Andres Cuéllar, a student of the Master’s programme ‘Russian as a Foreign Language in Cross-Linguistic and Cross-Cultural Perspective’, has discussed these and other issues with HSE News Service.

This year, HSE University and the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art have launched a new master’s programme in Curatorial Practices in Contemporary Art for future curators and art managers. Two instructors of the programme – Valentin Dyakov, Curator of the Garage Museum, and Maria Kravtsova, Chief Editor of the ArtGuide Portal – spoke with HSE News Service about the Russian art sphere, how the role of curators has changed, and what skills a successful curator needs to have.

Today’s publication of four international subject area rankings in the life sciences, physical sciences, psychology, and medical and health sciences by the Times Higher Education (THE) marks the end of this year’s rankings cycle, which includes the four major world rankings—THE, QS, ARWU, and U.S. News & World Report.

This fall, Madhavi Karunarathne came to HSE University from Sri Lanka, where she earned her bachelor’s in finance at the University of Colombo. She is now beginning her studies in the Master’s Programme ‘Strategic Corporate Finance’. The new master’s student came through Russia’s Open Doors Scholarship Project for international prospective master’s students, which allows scholarship recipients to study at one of 21 participating Russian universities tuition-free. Madhavi spoke with HSE News Service about why she chose HSE, what it was like to participate in the Open Doors Scholarship competition, and how she is liking her studies.

For 12 days, students and teachers of the HSE School of Asian Studies travelled across the Republic of Bashkortostan. The trip was organized as part of the Rediscover Russia project. HSE News Service spoke with participants of the trip about their immersion in  Russian Islamic culture.

Over the last several years, hackathons have gone from being competitions for geeks to a must-have line on the resume of almost any job seeker. HSE University students are participating in these kinds of competitions more and more often, and they sometimes even organize their own. Alexander Popovkin, head of HSE’s Hacking Club, spoke with HSE News Service about the benefits and drawbacks of hackathons.