Happy 21st Academic Year: Short Story of Growth and Expansion

Last week at HSE University – St. Petersburg turned out to be really eventful. First of all, we finally met our international freshmen, or at least most of them. The orientation sessions, subsequent the Common Arrival Days, offered a chance to get acquainted with people, resources and processes.  Secondly, we celebrated HSE SPb Day devoted to the anniversary of the campus – it has turned twenty this year! During these years we have been dreaming about many things, but who don’t when they are young.

What’s new so far?

In 1998, we started with 100 people who studied at the campus, and we offered three educational programmes (in Economics, Management, and Law).

Now we have more than 6,000 students with over 10% of international ones, 30 full-degree programmes with over 30% of them taught in English in more than 10 fields of study, mobility programmes with more than 70 universities worldwide, 14 research centres, and over 30 extracurricular organizations.

Every year we develop new programmes. For instance, last year we presented a brand-new Bachelor’s programme ‘Design’, as well as two Master’s programmes ‘Management and Analytics for Business’, and ‘Information Systems and Human Computer Interaction’. Recently, these programmes have embraced their first-intake students. 

This year, the range of educational programmes is replenished with four more offerings, in particular Bachelor’s programme ‘Applied Mathematics and Informatics’, Master’s programmes ‘Programming and Data Analysis’ and ‘Computational Mathematics and Mathematical Physics’, ‘Industrial Programming’. Admissions 2019/2020 will be open in November.

25 new cooperation agreements have been signed this academic year, and around 10 to be signed till the end of 2018. These agreements regulate such areas of cooperation, as developing double degree and exchange programmes, joint research projects and educational programmes, etc.

One of the most significant achievements is a launch of four Double Degree programmes with European universities: Bachelor’s programmes ‘International Business and Management Studies’, ‘Political Science and World Politics’ both with the University of Rome Tor Vergata, Master’s programmes ‘Finance’ with ESSCA, and ‘Applied Economics and Mathematical Methods’ with LUISS.  

We could not avoid mentioning structural changes. Due to proliferation of fields of study within St. Petersburg School of Social Sciences and Humanities, it was broken up into two independent faculties – St. Petersburg School of Humanities and Arts and St. Petersburg School of Social Sciences and Area Studies. A completely new faculty which got a name St. Petersburg School of Physics, Mathematics and Computer Science was established.

Therefore, HSE University – St. Petersburg has 5 schools comprising 20 departments.

Fresh talents

Late August, we welcomed international students during Common Arrival Day who came to complete their Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes, as well as exchange programmes. In Russia, a new academic year starts September 1. HSE University – St. Petersburg is no exception.

More than 250 international students, who represent over 40 countries, were enrolled into the full-degree programmes this year. The majority of them arrived, but we are still waiting for those students who will start their first semester later. To be precise, Master’s programmes ‘Applied and Interdisciplinary History ‘Usable Pasts’ begins September 17, and ‘Comparative Politics of Eurasia’,Business and Politics in Modern Asia, ‘Strategic Management in Logistics’, ‘Information Systems and Human-Computer Interaction’ ‘Civil and Commercial Law’ begin October 1.

All in all, HSE University – St. Petersburg took aboard more than 2,000 newcomers this year.

‘In comparison to the previous year, the number of international freshmen has increased by 60% and the number of self-paid students has even tripled. Especially, we see a tremendous interest to the Master's programmes. I can say that year by year, we strengthen our position as a global university. The share of international students has risen beyond 10%’ , comments Maria Vrublevskaya, Director of the Centre for International Education.

The majority of students enrolled into the mobility programmes represent eminent universities, for example, Audencia Business School (France), Beijing Normal University (China), Humboldt University of Berlin (Germany), King’s College London (the UK), Sciences Po (France). Fifteen students from University College London (the UK) came for a semester to participate in particular ‘Study Abroad Programme in Russian Language and Culture’ (Academic Director Irina Schemeleva).

Earlier in July, five students from University of Rome Tor Vergata (Italy) arrived to the university under the Double Degree track agreements with the Italian university. 

Talking about our talents who leave us for a while, important to mention that the call for application to go abroad is open. So, don’t miss a superb chance to experience a new educational, cultural, language environment!

‘The number of out-bound mobility spots was increased by 40%, and counts 224 spots per semester this year’ , specifies Konstantin Platonov, Director of the Centre for International Cooperation. ‘Studying in a foreign country has a lot of advantages: it helps to practice language, develop a professional network, improve resume, and make new friends, of course’, he adds. 

We have a dream

This year is an important milestone for HSE University – St. Petersburg, as it is celebrating its anniversary. It may seem that 20 years is a short period in terms of a university’s lifelong, but at the same time 20 years is an age of a whole generation.

It is no coincidence that an anniversary motto ‘Dream and shape your future’ was chosen.  When you are young, you dream about exceptional things to be done in the future.

Last Saturday, we celebrated HSE SPb Day, an event devoted to the anniversary, that gathered students, their parents, lectures and scholars.

Before the main programme had started, guests were invited to travel around the numerous stations organized by HSE students. The evening continued with students’ performances, and IOWA the disco-tribe (as their frontwoman Katya prefers calling it) concert.

Yaroslav Kuzminov, Rector of HSE University, came from Moscow to St. Petersburg to congratulate students and his colleagues.

Frankly, I have a very simple idea of what can bring success. You cannot succeed if you look back at the past, regret about the things that have been failed, but only if you dwell in the future, believe that everything will work out, and have an interest in living a full life. 

  

   
    Yaroslav I. Kuzminov
    Rector 

Mikhail Oseevsky, President Rostelecom PJSC, and the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of HSE University – St. Petersburg, mentioned that knowledge, intelligence, abilities, creativity are in the greatest value today. That is why big companies have a strategic goal to support higher-ed institutions.

‘I want someone to come to the wall of wishes and make a wish: I want to become a president of Rostelecom one day. Happy Holiday!’, he said.  

Sergei Kadochnikov, Director of St. Petersburg campus, recalled what the university dreams about, and encouraged students to set inspirational goals, and believe in themselves, because they belong to a wonderful family called HSE University – St. Petersburg.

We dream about our students going to the different parts of the world for taking part in internships and exchange programmes; we dream about becoming a digital university; we dream about being a university for people of all ages!

Sergey M. Kadochnikov 
Director, HSE Campus in St. Petersburg