'Fifteen Hundred Stories of Success': How 2025 Graduation Ceremony of HSE University-St Petersburg Went
On July 3, the concert and sports complex 'Arena' hosted one of the main events of the year—the graduation ceremony of HSE University-St Petersburg. It gathered more than 4,000 guests: graduates, their friends and families, professors, mentors, and representatives of the university's industrial partners. Find out what the holiday will be remembered for, what plans the main characters have for their adult lives and how the alumni bid farewell to their student lives.
The alumni holiday started with a performance by HSE Music, Kinda Session and HSE Dance to the song 'This is me'. It was a musical statement: the student life made every graduate brighter and stronger. The hosts of the event were graduates Polina Leontieva (bachelor's programme 'Sociology and Social Informatics'), Daria Shturma (master's programme 'Arts and Culture Management') and Aleksandr Anokhin, student of the School of Social Sciences, and Vladimir Talanov, professor of the School of Law.
On July 3, degree certificates were awarded to 1,500 bachelor's and master's alumni of HSE University-St Petersburg, 245 of them with honours. The ceremony started with a welcoming speech by Anna Tyshetskaya, director of HSE University-St Petersburg, who presented the successes and victories of 2025 alumni.
Anna Tyshetskaya
'There are fifteen hundred of you. Fifteen hundred individual success stories. But what if we gather them all together? Over the years of your student life, you passed more than 140 thousand exams and tests and presented 1800 projects. Undertook more than 3000 internships at partner companies and published 1000 research papers. You won 344 nominal grants. Visited 40 countries and flew 4 million kilometres—it is like 100 times around the Earth! You have 100 sports victories. You devoted 21,000 hours to volunteer activities, fed 1000 stray dogs and implemented 240 volunteer projects', highlighted Anna Tyshetskaya.
She also asked to thank those people who accompanied and supported students during their studies—parents, mentors, professors and deans. The director of HSE University-St Petersburg underscored that the university was proud of its graduates, believed in their success and would always be there for them, because 'being an HSE student is for life'.
On behalf of the Board of Trustees of HSE University-St Petersburg, it was Alexander Loginov, vice president and director of the Far Eastern Macroregional Branch of 'Rostelecom', who congratulated the graduates.
Alexander Loginov
'This diploma is your personal victory, your personal breakthrough. I look at you and see a new force of St Petersburg and our whole big country. You will develop new technologies, found businesses and make ground-breaking discoveries. As the head of the trustee company, I tell you: 'We believe in you! Go for it, be creative and win! Your time has come!'
Deans and academic supervisors also gave a farewell to the alumni.
Tatiana Lezina
Dean of the School of Economics and Management
'Years later, you will fondly remember the hardest exams and strictest professors, telling your children about them with excitement and a touch of sadness. Now, your life is the main challenge. Artificial intelligence steps on our toes, but our alumni are not afraid. Knowledge, endurance, state of mind, character—all of these will help you build a successful career. You have a great asset—yourself. Invest in yourself, and the first investment is the new knowledge. I have a request: when you face challenges and victories on your way, always notice good, interesting people around. Stay positive—it helps to overcome all the difficulties'.
Adrian Selin
Dean of the School of Arts and Humanities
'The main thing for a professor is to see students’ motivation. When a person really wants to study from us. The fact that you are here today getting your diploma proves that you've succeeded. You chose programmes where you truly wanted to study, and you've done it. This is absolutely amazing!'
Alexander Sorokin
Dean of the School of Social Sciences
'As a marathon runner, I can say that getting a higher education degree is like running an ultra-marathon distance, and getting a higher education degree at HSE University-St Petersburg is like reaching the Olympic standard. Maintain the social capital which you've built at the university. Don't be afraid to set ambitious goals and move towards reaching them. I am sure the sky's the limit for you'.
Maria Soloshcheva
Deputy Director of the Institute of Asian and African Studies
'I will quote Aristotle. When he bid farewell to his mentees, he said that you needed three things for your interlocutor to understand and agree with you: logos, ethos and pathos. These are the knowledge and ability to think logically, morality and sense of justice, inspiration and love. These three things, which you have developed thanks to HSE University-St Petersburg, will make your life more successful, noble and happy. This is my sincere wish for you!'
Mikhail Mukhin
Dean of the School of Computer Science, Physics and Technology
'Thanks to your determination, passion for knowledge and work, you have gained really valuable experience and skills. Already now, you are one of the most in-demand young specialists in the labour market. I congratulate you on finishing this amazing but thorny path through integrals, differential equations, operators and many other things. We invite and wait for each one of you in our master's and PhD programmes as professors, researchers and just welcome guests. I wish you all success and luck, thank you!'
The SCPT dean also addressed HSE international alumni; there were more than 120 of them in the hall. He congratulated them on the university graduation and underscored that it was high time to answer the question: 'What would you like to be when you grow up?'
Anton Ilyin
Dean of the School of Law
'Your diploma is the key to all doors. It will allow you to explore and discover all the secrets of the visible and invisible world which desperately needs fixing. You can say with full rights: 'This diploma is mine'. Congratulations!'
Mitya Kharshak
Dean of the School of Art and Design
'These years with you were awesome. I don't know who learned from whom more—you from us or we from you. You are already professionals. You've mastered the profession which helps to form the visual image of the world. In recent years, I have visited two-three dozen universities in Latin America and Asia, and seen their student projects. Now, I can confidently say, you are the best in the world'.
The graduation ceremony's highlights were several university traditions: firstly, the harmonious shuffle of liripipes from the right side to the left, which symbolises that a student has officially turned into a graduate. Then, the performance of the studentship anthem and, finally, the alumni threw fifteen hundred graduation hats in the air.
The main characters of the ceremony admitted that on that day, they were full of mixed emotions: happiness, pride, a hint of nostalgia and excitement to start a new stage of life. The majority is already building their careers or planning to continue their studies, but everyone highlights: the most important thing is to stay in touch with HSE University and those people who have become the second family over these years.
Daria Efremova, graduate of the bachelor's programme 'International Business and Management':
'I will remember these four years for lots of things: difficult exam periods, hard tasks, and projects. But at the same time, I found new friends and social capital here... The studies were definitely interesting. HSE University-St Petersburg is probably the best place in the city where one can get a higher education. Here are wonderful professors with practical experience and courses without the fluff. I have already started working, now, I'm transferring from an IT company to the transport sphere. But I will miss the university!'
Anastasia Ryabova, graduate with an honours degree of the bachelor's programme 'Asian and African Studies':
'I'm graduating with honours. Today, I am definitely happy and proud of myself and my coursemates because it was a huge adventure, and we've made it! I am glad that my friends and relatives managed to attend the graduation ceremony. Of course, there is a hint of sadness, because it is the end, but it is definitely a new stage of life. I will remember the student years with warmth. For five years, I was the monitor of the cohort—a great responsibility. But I had the best groupmates. I plan to work in a field related to my qualification. I am likely to choose marketing. I won't forget Chinese as well—I want to improve my language skills further'.
Milana Zubulina, graduate of the bachelor's programme 'International Business and Management':
'I met this day with great joy. I finished it thinking: 'Thank God, the studies came to an end!' But it's been a month since the thesis defence, and when I come to the university building, I already miss it. Over four years, there have been so many stories... My favourite one is when we were in quarantine in the first year. There were three English groups in our cohort, and we got to know each other. Despite the distance learning, we went to the building on Kantemirovskaya Street for three-four months just to attend online classes together. We still keep in touch. My future plans are already clear—I have been working since the second year, so I'll continue my career'.
Anastasia Naumova, graduate with an honours degree of the bachelor's programme 'Economics':
'I am happy that there will be no more deadlines, we won't be spending nights on rewriting term papers and theses. But it's sad at the same time. This is the last time when we are at the university, see our professors and coursemates... The highlight of these four years was when our professor of microeconomics came to the exam dressed as Pikachu because he lost a bet to students. Now, I have a clear career trajectory because I have been working since the fourth year'.
Vladimir Vlasov, graduate with an honours degree of the master's programme 'Design':
'I'm sad that everything came to an end. I really liked studying; each presentation of our work was memorable. Now, I'm planning to apply for a PhD programme and continue to develop in the design sphere'.
Angelina Egorova, graduate with an honours degree of the master's programme 'Language Technology in Business and Education':
'I got my bachelor's degree in Kazan and studied in the master's programme at HSE University-St Petersburg for two years. HSE is truly different from all other universities in its training and educational system. Here, you can feel the unity—everyone really supports each other. There are a lot of clubs where you can try things out and develop professionally. An honours degree wasn't easy for me. To be honest, I am very happy today. I didn't expect that the stage would be that huge, such an extent... Extraordinary experience. My future plan is a PhD programme. I have already been enrolled in HSE University in the computer sciences programme'.
Kristina Vasenina, graduate of the master's programme 'UX Analytics and Information System Design':
'We have been waiting for this moment for so long. After six years, we finished this important stage of the student life. My bachelor's programme was also at HSE University, but in Nizhny Novgorod. Here, I am obviously impressed by the extent, if we are talking about the graduation ceremony, and as for the studies—by the faculty approach. In the master's programme, we got more freedom: we could choose what we liked more and work on these things. After the graduation, I already signed up for the 'Summer School' project, and tomorrow we will go to the Himalayas with sociologists to study how climate changes influence people'.
During the whole evening, the alumni and guests had a chance to use photo zones and interactive spaces where they could get messages from the alumni of previous years or send letters for their future selves. The holiday finished with the set by DJ Ilya Lavrov, and the 'Arena' hall turned into a dance floor.
The photos are published in the VK group 'Graduation of HSE University-St Petersburg 2025'. Follow the news and become a part of the HSE community!