'AI, Diplomacy and Cultural Heritage': Main Theses in Expert Sessions of HSE University-St Petersburg Faculties at IPW-2026
HSE University-St Petersburg International Partners' Week continued with the Academic Day. Experts from different countries and researchers from HSE University held more than ten strategic sessions and discussed the ethics of AI use, the development of diplomacy in the age of multipolarity and new formats of university cooperation.
The Academic Day of the HSE University-St Petersburg International Partners' Week brought together more than 100 representatives from 45 universities in Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and other regions. The experts developed new models of cooperation across different spheres, from integrating artificial intelligence into education to climate politics.
Anton Zarubin, Dean of the School of Computer Science, Physics and Technology (SCSPT), presented an advanced educational model to the colleagues from Mexico, China and other countries. SCSPT is built on the principle of an IT company: from the first days, students work on real-life tasks for software developers and engineers, carry out team projects and master product thinking. Professors in the educational programmes are leading employees of the industrial partners: VK, YADRO, BIOCAD, 1С. To scale up this approach, he recommended that colleagues involve large companies in designing the curriculum and initiate the creation of laboratories with mentors-practitioners.
Anton Zarubin
Dean of the School of Computer Science, Physics and Technology
'Today, technologies are changing at such speed that the classical educational model cannot catch up. The curriculum updates once every several years, but the approaches in the industry may become outdated in six months. It turns out that a student gets a diploma, but a part of what they've learned is outdated. When building a faculty based on the model of an IT company, we solve this problem through a flexible approach, thanks to which the content of the programmes is reconsidered more often: if a new tool appears, we see it and react. Due to the involvement of experts-practitioners in teaching, students get a real understanding of how the industry is structured on the inside and how a team should check their code. We are building a bridge between students and their future employers’, shared Anton Zarubin.
The School of Arts and Humanities brought together researchers of cultural heritage at the session 'Antiquities in Contemporary World: Trying to Understand Space, Purpose and Image'. The expert discussions focused on the changes in practices to preserve architectural monuments. According to the scientists, modern technologies allow us to digitise buildings; however, in the age of high technology, the preserved buildings receive a new value.
'The objects of cultural heritage are integrated into general city landscapes. The architecture allows us to form ideas about the past. For instance, through monuments, we immerse ourselves in the details of social structure and get to know the historical figures of different epochs', emphasised professor Davis Sansolo from UNESP (Brazil).
Professors from the School of Social Sciences held a series of sessions on student motivation, ethical aspects of AI use in education, and intergenerational differences in research and teamwork. Researchers from HSE University-St Petersburg and international speakers also exchanged their practices in the sphere of sustainable development.
Aleksei Sorbale
Associate Professor at the Department of Political Science and International Affairs
‘Together with the colleagues from India and Latin America, we discussed how the model of multi-level governance helps or intervenes with sustainable development in different regional contexts. The results of research presented at the sessions are of a practical nature and can be helpful not just to the representatives of the academic community but to stakeholders, business and local communities as well. The climate problems in Russia, India, Brazil and Mexico are similar in many ways, but the ways to solve them are different, and it is interesting and strongly efficient to compare them. Such joint panels are both an experience exchange and an opportunity to build long-lasting scientific ties and prove the status of HSE University as an international centre for scientific competencies’, shared Aleksei Sorbale, academic supervisor of the Bachelor's programme 'Political Science and World Politics' and the Master's programme 'Data Analytics for Politics and Society'.
The dialogue about the AI role in humanitarian disciplines continued during the session of the St Petersburg School of Art and Design. Representatives of the academic community and leaders of the creative industry discussed how neural networks influenced the culture and whether authors' rights could exist in the age of prompt engineering. The experts agreed that it was important not to lose the role of a human in the generated content.
The experts of the Executive Education Institute focused on the challenges of large companies. As Kseniia Karadzha, deputy director of the Executive Education Institute, believes, the global economic transformation requires new approaches to solving the personnel issue. The session participants shared the international experience of developing programmes for specialists in the management sphere.
National branding in the multipolar world was the central topic of the session of the Institute for Asian and African Studies. Researchers from Russia, China, Mexico, Indonesia and France identified unique strategies of shaping the reputation of the Asian and African countries and highlighted the importance of media in creating national brands. Elena Soboleva, deputy director of the Institute, especially emphasised the role of digital platforms as soft diplomatic power. As an example, she named the social network TikTok, which was developed in China but gained popularity among users all around the world. Maria Soloshcheva, academic supervisor of the Bachelor's programme 'Asian and African Studies', spoke about the way in which, in the framework of its pan-African policy, the PRC adapts the methods and tools of soft power for creating a favourable image of the country in various regions of the African continent.
'The real sector of Indonesia significantly depends on the country's brand and its local sights. The creative economy of the country, including tourism, involves 24,7 million people, which is about 18,7% of the national workforce. The growth of this sector plays a key role in supporting the economic activity of the young generation', shared Dr Rahmatsyam Lakoro from the Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (Indonesia).
The topic of international cooperation continued in the session of the International Office. Speakers from Russia, Mexico, Malaysia and Japan focused on the benefits of the academic mobility programmes. According to Daria Sanochkina, head of the International Student Mobility Office, in other countries, HSE students get to know new educational approaches and become a part of the international environment. Yoshio Yamamoto, dean of the School of Engineering at Tokai University (Japan), underscored that mobility programmes created the environment for the exchange of cultural values.
Daria Sanochkina
Head of the International Student Mobility Office
'Participating in mobility programmes, students practice their language skills and get new knowledge. But the most important thing is the acquired experience and confidence that they can do anything. International students who come to HSE University-St Petersburg open up lots of opportunities and see prospects for themselves. This is a key factor for revealing their potential', emphasised Daria Sanochkina.
'Communication with students is vital already at the selection stage for the mobility. We are striving to make them fearless when coming to us or going to partner universities', added Juan Antonio Carmona García, professor of the National Polytechnic Institute (Mexico).
The programme for the day finished with the session covering cooperation with the universities of Latin America. HSE University-St Petersburg presented a new model of deeper integration with the partner universities. It is based on the joint research, cross-country mentorship of professors and internships at real-life companies.
