'Eventful, Bright and Fun': What HSE SPB Day 2024 Is Like
HSE University-St Petersburg will remember September 13 as the loudest and happiest day as this Friday, we had the most heartwarming autumn festival—HSE SPB Day. Students, professors, partners and friends of the university met at 'Sevkabel Port' as a big HSE family to celebrate the start of the new academic year with energetic music, have fun with student clubs and welcome the main characters of the evening—first-years. Find out which impressions this emotional day left in this article.
HSE University-St Petersburg offers so many amazing opportunities that even four years of a bachelor's degree are not enough to explore all of them. However, one can get to know the university and feel its atmosphere in just one day—HSE SPB Day.
Before going on a tour around the university, the main characters of the Day—first-years—went through the ceremony of initiation to students and received congratulations on this significant occasion from those with whom they will go a long way at the university.
Anna Tyshetskaya, the Director of HSE University-St Petersburg
In St Petersburg and Leningrad region, there are around 400 000 students and more than 100 universities. But HSE University stays unique: we contribute to this world and are not afraid to declare it. We offer unconventional ideas, achieve breakthrough results, stay in demand and keep up with the times.
We are united by one important quality: personal involvement. We care about what is happening around us. We help those who need it, develop science, unite like-minded people and implement the most ambitious projects. Our partners are market leaders who support the bravest plans and ideas, and in our turn, we prepare innovative solutions and qualified specialists for them. Dear HSE students, congratulations on our day! Happy HSE SPB Day!
The guests were also warmly greeted by the representatives of large companies—'Rostelecom', SetlGroup and 'First Furniture Factory' which are members of the HSE University-St Petersburg Board of Trustees. They wished the students interesting projects and collaborations, easy studies and great workplaces in the future.
The guests found out how to take the maximum from the student years at the stalls of student clubs, the Career Centre, the Alumni Community, the School of Art and Design and other units of HSE University-St Petersburg. They prepared plenty of exciting activities which helped to diversify the leisure time and explore one's interests.
Svetlana Khvostova, 1st-year student of the Bachelor's programme 'Sociology and Social Informatics'
HSE SPB Day is a sea of emotions, thoughts and impressions! Today, we not only experienced the spirit of HSE University but also felt like a part of a huge community of people—united, strong, passionate and energetic. I like that HSE University-St Petersburg is not only about studies but also about networking, fun and amazing opportunities, and we saw it with our own eyes! I remember the tent of Art and Design School where everyone could create their own poster. I also got to know a lot of student clubs: the students organise balls, create plays and engage in volunteering. I don't even know what to start with: I want to sign up for each! For now, I decided to opt for HSE Case Club because I like solving analytical tasks.
The tent of the drama club 'Neverland' became a real director's laboratory where everyone could feel like the main person in the theatre and together with like-minded people create their own mini-play. Not less creative tasks for the guests were prepared by the student organisation SHSGNIDUV. They managed to recreate the atmosphere of everyone's favourite events which await the first-years shortly: 'At-Home Concert', 'Game Night' and others.
Sergey Zakharov, 1st-year student of the Bachelor's programme 'Applied Mathematics and Information Science'
When entering the university, I didn't expect that the student initiation ceremony could be so bright and fun. My groupmates and I teamed up and became even closer. I like that HSE students do so many valuable and interesting things beyond the curriculum. I personally took an interest in the music club 'HSE Music'—people there play and sing so greatly! I cannot play any musical instruments but one day, I will definitely go to 'At-home Concert' to feel the warm atmosphere. My attention also got the students from the media-musical studio 'Kinda Session'—there, you can try your hand at music and content creation, it's very interesting.
How could the festival by the Gulf of Finland go without the sailing club 'Hermes'? Especially for the guests, the club members created unusual souvenirs—sea knot bracelets. Students who were more advanced in sailing could try their hand at a quiz on professional slang. Those who could barely distinguish tack from staysail had a chance to dive into the details of the yacht structure right on the spot. For this, there was a model of a yacht mX700 as close to its prototype as possible, on which members of 'Hermes' practise.
Elvira Beliaeva, 2nd-year student of the Master's programme 'Russian Literature in Cross-cultural and Intermedial Perspective', Head of the sailing club 'Hermes'
I joined 'Hermes' in my second bachelor's year, and my development in the club was gradual. I integrated into the club life so much that I wanted to be with these people all the time. Of course, yachts themselves give energy but without the right people, they seem to lose their souls. I was lucky with people. The crew of 'Hermes' are people with whom I am ready to spend time even without water, yachts, and competitions. As our founder likes saying: 'We are always about yachts but not always on them'. When we go sailing together, this feeling is incomparable. It is a special spirit created by the members of 'Hermes' that makes me stay.
HSE SPB Day didn't go without new acquaintances. It was ensured by the students from 'HSE MediaLAB'. For the pleasant networking, they recreated a living room in the style of the USSR which brought back warm memories to each guest. In this cosy atmosphere, anyone could participate in a podcast recording: communicate with students of other programmes and find friends with the same interests.
Kirill Timofeev, 3rd-year student of the programme 'International Bachelor’s in Business and Economics', Head of 'HSE MediaLAB'
MediaLAB is a young student organisation where we engage in everything related to media production. This year, we want to change the strategy a little and move towards creativity. Yes, now, you can shoot your own films and entertainment shows with us! HSE SPB Day is a great reason to tell about it because this festival is associated with innovations and communication. If we compare it to previous years, the number of student clubs has been growing, and they become only better. All these things show how cool, emotional and open to the new HSE University is!
Science at HSE University is no less exciting and multifaceted. Anyone could make sure of it in the open lecture hall located in 'Volt'. The stage features speeches by professors of HSE University-St Petersburg as well as the invited speaker from the Presidential Library named after Boris Yeltsin. What the dear buildings look like for HSE students, what 'Leningrad style' is and which museums became our leisure—these are only some topics which our researchers explore. That is why it is never boring to do science at HSE University-St Petersburg!
Evgeniia Platonova, Junior Research Fellow of the Laboratory for Visual History
My lecture was about the history of Soviet fashion in Leningrad. It seems to me that this topic is interesting even to those who are far from historical science because fashion is a part of our daily life, the daily life of our mothers and grandmothers.
I attended the lecture of the Centre for Youth Studies on zines about HSE buildings. It was truly exciting! I also was an HSE student, so I noticed certain parallels and succession of impressions as well as generation gaps. I think such a lecture hall helps to reduce the distance between academic research and a wide audience. It debunks myths and stereotypes about science in general and shows that science at HSE University-St Petersburg is diverse, unusual and not boring at all.
The first-years heard congratulations from already familiar faces. Faculty deans, with whom the students have already got to know at the welcome meetings, addressed the HSE students again with important advice and spent the time greatly with their students.
Tatiana Lezina, Dean of the School of Economics and Management
I really appreciate HSE SPB Day for the special atmosphere where everyone can feel like a part of our ecosystem. I hope today, the first-years are experiencing similar emotions. I am sure that over the studies, the School of Economics and Management will become home for the majority of students. First-years immediately fall into the hands of senior students—curators. Now, we have a lot of young professors—our graduates who return to share their experience, knowledge and business cases. It is very important to us.
Of course, no festival can go without gifts, and HSE SPB Day is not an exception. For participation in the activities from student clubs, first-years got the merchandise of HSE University-St Petersburg. The more activities a student completed, the more valuable gift they got! Friends of HSE University-St Petersburg did not leave guests without pleasant surprises as well. The FC 'Zenit' raffled among the HSE students an exclusive thing—a golden T-shirt with the autographs of football players from the St Petersburg club from the championship match 'Zenit'—'Rostov'.
HSE SPB Day finished with energetic dances until the sunset. The headliners of the evening—an official cover band of Sergey Zhukov 'Ruki Vverh Band'—entertained the guests with legendary hits and covers of everyone's favourite songs. The students partied till they dropped, and 'Sevkabel Port' was filled with happy smiles and warm hugs.
Veronika Denisova, 1st-year student of the Bachelor's programme 'Media Communications'.
I will remember HSE SPB Day as eventful, bright and fun. I liked absolutely everything—from the activities, which the student organisations have prepared for us, to energetic dances and the general atmosphere. I spent time with amazing people around—friendly, open and fun. We are like a big HSE family!