News

Alexey Efimov has been appointed Head of the School of Asian Studies at the HSE Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs. He brings with him 18 years of experience of living and working in China. Alexey Efimov was involved in opening the RIA Novosti bureau in the People’s Republic of China, took part in establishing the Sputnik China news agency, and from 2019 served as Deputy Trade Representative of the Russian Federation in China. Elizaveta Trubnikova spoke with Alexey Efimov in an interview that sheds light on how a career path from analyst to journalist and diplomat in China shapes one’s understanding of the East, why soft skills are crucial for today’s international affairs professionals, and what prospects lie ahead for the development of the School of Asian Studies.

Daniel Minasian came from Armenia as an exchange student to spend a semester at HSE University–St Petersburg. Majoring in Korean Studies, Daniel chose courses offered by the Institute of Asian and African Studies. Read on to discover how his exchange studies went and what this experience brought him.

An international team including researchers from HSE MIEM has developed a catalyst that enables fast and low-cost hydrogen production from water. To achieve this, the scientists synthesised nanoparticles of a complex oxide containing six metals and anchored them onto various substrates. The catalyst supported on reduced graphene layers proved to be nearly three times more efficient than the same oxide without a substrate. This development could significantly reduce the cost of hydrogen production and accelerate the transition to green energy. The study has been published in ACS Applied Energy Materials. The work was carried out under a grant from the Russian Science Foundation.

Yadviga Sinyavskaya studies communication technologies, particularly social media. In this interview for the HSE Young Scientists project, she discusses testing the social brain theory on real-world data, the merits of Gogol’s Dead Souls, and ways to prevent burnout.

Gisel Sarahi Vergara Herrera, second-year student of the Master’s programme ‘Arts and Culture Management,’ became a winner of the StudRussia all-Russian competition for international students. Her project was awarded the first prize in the ‘Creative Spirit’ category. Read on to find out about Gisel’s work and experience of participating in such a large-scale contest for international students.

A large-scale open day for prospective applicants to the HSE Film Institute took place at the HSE Cultural Centre. The event was structured in full accordance with the laws of dramaturgy, and the guests became not merely spectators, but active participants in the acting process.

The in-person superfinal of the Continental Chess League (CCL) has taken place in Moscow. The experimental project by HSE University lasted three months, bringing together 2,000 online players from Russia and 16 other countries. The strongest players were determined across eight stages. The eight finalists fought it out over three days, with the overall winner named as 18-year-old Erdem Khubukshanov, an international master who is expected to attain the title of grand master next year.

Heads of HSE University’s departments and campuses discuss their accomplishments and the implementation of global initiatives with HSE University Life.