HSE University-St Petersburg International Activity Results for 2023
As an international hub, HSE University-St Petersburg is committed to actively engaging with the global academic community. Internationalisation remains a top priority and core value at our campus. To this end, HSE University-St Petersburg strives to develop existing international partnerships and establish new ones in various parts of the world. This focus allows the university to provide students with an international environment and educational programmes that meet global standards. Such active work in the sphere of international relations opens up numerous opportunities for HSE students, from academic mobility and double-degree programmes to daily communication with professors and other students from all over the world. The HSE University-St Petersburg International Office reports on the results of international activity in 2023.
Director of the Centre for International Education
I believe that it was a very fruitful year for the Centre for International Education. Firstly, we accomplished our main task—we have reached the target figures for admission to bachelor's and master's programmes and even increased them in comparison to last year. Under the current conditions, it is a very significant achievement for us, which proves the existing interest in education in Russia. At the same time, we maintain certain enrolment standards.
After a long break, we successfully held the International HSE St Petersburg Summer School, which gathered students from different parts of the world. In addition, we organised the short-term programme 'Russian Language and Culture' for our partner Thammasat University. During the two-month programme, Thai students immersed themselves in the language environment and explored St Petersburg and Russia. Both the school and the programme received good feedback from the participants. Therefore, for the next year, we are planning to increase the range of short-term programmes and courses.
Head of the International Student Academic Mobility Unit
Every year, international activities develop in their own special way. This year was marked by the opening of Chinese borders after the pandemic. More and more of our students discover this amazing country as a direction for outgoing mobility. This year, apart from China, the following countries were quite popular: Italy, France, Turkey, South Korea, Japan, CIS countries, Vietnam, UAE, Mexico and Hungary. I would like to highlight that our students successfully won grants from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation. Over this year, our students have not only participated in semester mobility programmes, but also in winter and summer schools and a media expedition to India. We hope that there will be even more projects like this.
Talking about international students, there is still an interest in studying at our campus. For instance, a whole family came to HSE University-St Petersburg on a mobility programme. Summing up, I would like to express huge gratitude to my colleagues for the great work we did and their love for what they do.
Director of the Centre for International Cooperation
2023 was successful for HSE University-St Petersburg in terms of international cooperation and positioning in the international educational market.
HSE University-St Petersburg has actively developed its partnerships with universities in the Asia-Pacific region and strengthened its positions in Asian countries in general. University representatives took part in several large educational conferences and exhibitions. We are developing cooperation with several Indian universities in various directions. Our university has also signed agreements with leading universities in Malaysia and Indonesia. As for further plans, we are going to enter the educational markets in Latin-American countries and work even more intensively with the partners we already have.
Manager of the International Student and Alumni Centre
This year, our students had a very rich cultural programme. Our centre held and supported many adaptation, cultural, entertainment and sports events. Among them were a walking tour around Dostoevskiy's St Petersburg, Maslenitsa, a trip to Tsarskoye Selo, a sports competition for international students, a meeting with the St Petersburg Youth Parliament, and many others.
In 2023, our centre went through a rebranding, and now we are the International Student and Alumni Centre. From now on, the staff will engage in not only international students’ support and adaptation, but also interaction with foreign nationals who have already graduated from HSE University.
We continue to implement our projects: the Russian Movie Club introduces students to legendary Soviet and Russian films, and the Language Lab Club together with Alevtina Iagodova, a professor at the Department of Foreign Languages, holds meetings of the Russian-speaking club.
We continue to support projects aimed at helping international students: the buddy and tutors programmes. This year, more than 60 students turned to buddies for help, and tutors of educational programmes took care of 220 international first-year students.
Head of the International Office
We always have big plans, so naturally, our team is getting bigger as well. The international office is a team of motivated professionals and this is clearly reflected in the results of our work in 2023.
This year, HSE University-St Petersburg opened a representative office at Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS) in Surabaya, Indonesia. This will be a permanently operating centre for promoting not only HSE University, but also education in Russia in general. We are happy to partner with such a respected university as ITS and believe that this cooperation will strengthen both of our countries.
Developing cooperation with top-tier universities in the Asia-Pacific region, we have launched a mirror laboratory with the University of Technology Malaysia (UTM) in social entrepreneurship. This step is truly important for us, as it took the project to a new level: the mirror lab with UTM is our first in an international format. It allows joint research to develop very rapidly. We plan to launch more international mirror laboratories with our partners from this region—for instance, we are working on opening a joint lab with the National University of Uzbekistan for the study of topical economic issues.
Moreover, HSE University has turned to new regions. In 2023, a delegation from HSE University-St Petersburg went on a massive academic mission to Latin America, during which we visited five countries (Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Chile and Brazil). The university's representatives established new partnerships with high-ranking universities in the region and held meetings with 14 higher education institutions.
This year was very prosperous for us in all aspects. I am sure that the next one will bring us even more great discoveries and achievements.
Vice President of HSE University-St Petersburg
HSE's internationalisation strategies involved a set of progressive initiatives in 2023. This has allowed the university to provide its students and faculty members with opportunities to gain global perspectives and intercultural skills. The mission was simple—‘Go global’. Therefore, we strived to embrace new matching and top-tier institutions both nationally and internationally for collaboration with HSE University-St Petersburg.
This focus has helped HSE University-St Petersburg to be a Russian University of Enterprise. Our diverse culture of vivid innovation is built around global and national links to academic, research and industry partners. Our graduates are new urban professionals, global citizens who are ready to create and respond to world changes. We are taking on the challenges of tomorrow by finding solutions through our excellent research today to help build a vibrant and successful society.
As a futuristic mission, we are determined to educate and prepare global learners from all backgrounds and instil professional skills and knowledge for life-long learning. For this, HSE has developed a comprehensive plan for its international presence and activities. The university provides its students with new opportunities to explore the world with its global partners. We encourage faculty to get involved in meaningful research on topics of global importance and regional requirements. In addition, HSE University is working to open multiple micro-hubs and representative offices to promote effective and enduring bilateral collaborations.
In this drive of excellence to make the world a better place to live through continually improving the quality of education and research methods, we welcome all like-minded institutions and bodies globally to join hands with HSE University and create a united future for everyone.
The International Office team wishes you a Happy New Year!
May your year be prosperous and bright!
