From Computer Science to Design: Browse HSE St Petersburg Summer School's Course Offerings

© HSE University – St Petersburg

With multidisciplinary topics and an exciting cultural programme, the summer school offers an opportunity to obtain useful skills, explore the city of St Petersburg, and meet new friends from different countries. This year, participants are invited to choose from a wider range of academic fields – from social science and design to data analysis and programming.

ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS

Personal Finance and Welfare Management

What is this course about?

Personal finance management might be very challenging. Especially when it comes to investment strategies, reducing the risks associated with debt capital, taxation, insurance, etc. This is exactly what this course has to offer to allow students a better understanding of fundamental aspects of personal finance management.

Whom does it suit?

Everyone who pursues personal welfare.

When does it occur?

1 – 12 July.

Learn more

BRICS in Global Economy

What is this course about?

BRICS nations have been developing as one the most influential alliances in terms of contribution to the world’s economy, foreign markets expansion, or enhanced liaisons with other emerging economies. How do these countries do that? What challenges do they face? What countries might join the quintet in the future (if any)? These and other essential topics are in focus of the course.

Whom does suit?

Theorists and practitioners of doing business, as well as owners of acquisitive minds.

When does it occur?

15 – 26 July.

Learn more

Sports Economics

What is this course about? 

In 2017, the acquisition of Neymar cost PSG £198 million. Was this a lot or a little? In fact, this was world's biggest football transfer of all-time. Nowadays, sport goes far beyond ‘faster, higher, stronger’, as it is one of the most best-selling products with hundreds of thousands of customers. This course helps slice and dice the details of this industry. 

Whom does it suit?

Economics and journalism students, genuine sport fans and glory hunters.

When does it occur?

15 – 26 July.

Learn more

International Business: Challenges and Perspectives in a Turbulent World

What is this course about?

Imagine the following situation: there has been a significant decline in production of Puerto Rican rum due to a reduction in raw materials, namely sugar cane, that has been utterly ruined by a hurricane, caused by an ordinary butterfly flapping its wings in the Amazon rainforests. Simple actions yield large effects, and this principle applies to business. The course teaches students to see a bigger picture and make better decisions operating in uncertain environment driven by transformative political, economic, and technological change.

Whom does it suit?

Finance, economics, political science students; junior entrepreneurs.

When does it occur?

29 July – 2 August.

Learn more

Financial Risk Management

What is this course about?

Imagine a newscaster saying, ‘After four sessions of losses, the Dow Jones hit a fresh low today. ‘Who is that guy, and what exactly is he losing,’ some people may ask. Others familiar with Dow Jones Industrial Average may inquire about its influence on a dollar rate and world’s economy as a whole. Covering these and many other essential topics, this course offers students a thorough overview of financial risk management in terms of identifying, analyzing and managing a business entity's financial risks.

Whom does it suit?

Economics and finance students, recent graduates, young researchers, everyone who wants to build their career in consulting, finance, corporate risk management

When does it occur?

5 – 16 August.

Learn more

RUSSIAN LANGUAGE

Modern Russia. Language and Culture

What is this course about?

The Russian language is a hard egg to crack. Cases, verbs of motion and prefixes that can do 180 on the meaning of a word, aspects of the verbs, and other grammar and linguistic peculiarities make it so difficult for non-native speakers. This course, full of language practice and cultural immersion, will be useful for students of different levels – from beginner to advanced.

Whom does it suit?

Liberal arts students, Russia explorers, adventurers.

When does it occur?

1 – 12 July

15 – 26 July

29 July – 9 August

Learn more

Intensive Russian Language and Culture Programme

What is this course about?

This six-week programme is for those who are eager to understand what it is like to be a Russian. Be ready for intensive classes on different aspects of the Russian language and literature, as well as guided sight-seeing, city tours and excursions. The curriculum of the programme, augmented with lectures on politics, economy and business, religion and culture in modern Russia. There is no chance for participants to stay put!

Whom does it suit?

Liberal Arts students, Russia explorers, adventurers.

When does it occur?

8 July – 16 August.

Learn more

HISTORY

Soviet History: Russia in the Age of Transformations

What is this course about?

You can say goodbye to Lenin, but you cannot say goodbye to the Soviet heritage that had been accumulated over 70 years. The course begins in 1917 in Petrograd, and continues through decades of socio-political changes, shedding light on the planned economy, culture, ideology, science and technology. Finally, it ends present days, in modern Saint Petersburg, that still cherishes its past.

Whom does it suit?

Explorers of the world’s empires, history students, everyone who is interested in interdisciplinary research.

When does it occur?

1 – 12 July.

Learn more

Cold War Cultures

What is this course about?

As W. Churchill proclaimed the Iron Curtain from dividing Europe ‘from Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic’, the world became a battlefield between two superpowers, the USSR and the US, that conflicted ideologically clashed in proxy-wars. Art and media, as an essential weapon of the struggle, influenced the hearts and minds of people with films, literature, television and others. The course engages students to discuss the famous and unheralded pieces of art of the Cold War. 

Whom does it suit?

Political science and history students; ‘Call of Duty’ nerds, and everyone who adores Stanley Kubrick’s films.

 When does it occur

1 – 12 July.

Learn more

Topography of Imperial Power: Political and Cultural Space of Saint Petersburg

What is this course about?

What first comes to your mind when you hear of Saint Petersburg? The city built by the first Russian emperor Peter the Great? The city of a great cultural heritage? You are familiar with the city's nickname ‘North Venice’, aren't you? The city is famous for its imperial architecture – splendid palaces and castles (as former residence of monarchs and gentlefolk), exuberant churches and cathedrals (that had been having a significant role in an Orthodox country). All these buildings, which have become an integral part of the city space, are the subject matter of this course.

When does it occur?

3 – 24 September.

Whom does it suit?

Explorers of Russia, liberal arts and humanities students, museum goers.

Learn more

DATA ANALYSIS

R for Social Science

What is this course about?

What software package do you prefer to use for qualitative research? Excel, or even SPSS and Stata? Each and every of them is a great starting point for hitting the road of an astonishing world of data analysis. Alternative solution for handling common research tasks, such as wrangle, compute and visualize data, is R. Mastering of this programming language will allow young researchers in the field of social sciences to abandon the perception of data analysis as a ‘black box’, or difficult and unknowable process.

Whom does it suit?

Social and political science students, as and students from other academic fields eager to boost their data analysis skills.

When does it occur?

1 – 12 July.

Learn more

Python for Social Science

What is this course about?

As free as a bird, as powerful as a bear, as fast as a cheetah, and as friendly as a dog. It’s all about Python, one of the most popular programming tool. In fact, Python helps to solve problems that go beyond data analysis and visualization. The efforts you make while learning Python will be rewarded with a wide range of opportunities to deal with different tasks – from data analysis to web-programming and machine learning.

Whom does it suit?

Humanities and social science students, newbie data analysts

When does it occur?

15 – 26 July.

Learn more

SOCIAL AND POLITICAL SCIENCES

EU-Russia Relations Today

What is this course about?

The European Union and Russia and like stepbrother and stepsister. One day they get along, another day they point fingers at each other. Variety of regional conflicts, gas diplomacy, bilateral sanctions and all that jazz are the key topics of the course. If you would like to learn how EU-Russia relations have been developing during past decades and what political forces lay behind one or another decision on both sides this course is definitely for you.

Whom does it suit?

Political science students, journalism students, everyone who is interested in current EU-Russia affairs or career in policy analysis.

When does it occur? 

1 – 12 July.

Lean more

Contemporary Russian Politics

What is this course about?

Russian politics might seem a riddle for many observers. Fortunately, the apparatus of political science allows us to investigate the causes and consequences of certain events. Different aspects of Russian politics will be discussed in this course: post-soviet reforms, separation of powers, political regime, opposition, civil society, resource curse, show of muscle in the international field and many other.

Whom does it suit

Political science and journalism students, everyone who is interested in current Russian politics and policy. 

When does it occur?

1 – 12 July.

Learn more

Annual IPSA-HSE Summer School in Concepts, Methods and Techniques in Political Science

What is this course about?

Joint IPSA-HSE programme in political science is a place where theory meets practice. Get ready to master the most hardcore of research methods, both quantitative and qualitative, diving deep into the courses in Bayesian statistics, regression analysis, game theory, text mining, grounded theory, Q-methodology, and R programming.

Whom does it suit?

Political science graduate and postragradate students.

When does it occur?

8 – 18 August.

Learn more

DESIGN

Creative Corporate Identity and Visual Language

What is this course about?

Are you familiar with a good old joke? Q: What did the 0 say to the 8? A: Nice belt. Just try to imagine this. It shows the essence of communicative design to some extent. Upon completion of this course participants will obtain a super-ability of seeing unseeable and conveying a sense in an intuitive and elegant way.

Whom does it suit?

Newbie graphic designers, illustrators, photographers, marketing specialists.

When does it occur?

5 – 16 August.

Learn more

Proof and Print

What is this course about?

Printmaking is one of the earliest art forms. Intaglio, relief and flat printing and other traditional printmaking processes serve to create original textured masterpieces. This course is a natural choice for those who, on one hand, keen on handcrafting, and, on the other hand, would like to learn how to deal with printing equipment. At the end of the course, participants will have an opportunity to do what all real artists do – exhibit their works.

Whom does it suit?

Newbie graphic designers, knights of the brush, illustrators.

When does it occur?

5 – 16 August.

Learn more

COMPUTER SCIENCE

Functional Programming

What is this course about?

If the concept of lambda calculus is something that rings a bell with you, then you probably want to go further and learn one of pivotal programming paradigms – functional programming. Participants will master the basics of Haskell, one of the hottest examples of functional programming language. This course is for those who have prior experience in mathematics or computer science, even if they have never coded before.

When does it occur

29 July – 9 August. 

Whom does it suit

Computer Science and Math senior students.

Learn more

Modern Machine Learning

What is this course about?

When you get a notice from you bank about a suspiciously large purchase made on your credit card at an unusual place and a strange time, it is very likely that a machine has been taught to distinguish these kinds of activities as criminal. Machine learning is not just another buzzword, it is the present and the future. More and more industries and companies have been paying attention to machine learning opportunities, which means that such competencies allow you to be more competitive in the labour market. Indeed, before applying for the course, please make sure you are familiar with Python, because basic skills are required.

When does it occur?

12 – 16 August.

Whom does it suit?

Computer Science students, junior programmers, as well as other people who are already good at Python.

Learn more

If you would like to learn more about St Petersburg HSE Summer School, please join a special webinar on April 10.