HSE SPb Research Day: results and impressions
Research day is a multidisciplinary conference for HSE SPb students’ researches. It is an opportunity to share ideas with fellow students and experts, discuss the perspectives, and get an evaluation of the work.
Due to the pandemic restrictions, the conference was postponed from April to November and adopted for the online format. This yaer 27 students participated in the Conference in three tracks: posters session, fundamental research, and applied research.
Several students of St. Petersburg school of social science and area studies faculty took leading positions in each category. The 2nd place in the poster session was shared by Anastasia Petrova (master’s programme «Modern social analysis») and Linara Belorukova (bachelor’s programme «Sociology and social informatics»). Daria Maltseva (bachelor’s programme «Sociology and social informatics») won in the fundamental research session, while the 2nd place was given to Borna-Kashvad Ardehi (bachelor’s programme «Political science and world politics»). Adelina Ahmedova and Sofia Litvinova (bachelor’s programme «Sociology and social informatics») took 1st place in the session for applied research and Varvara Novozhilova (bachelor’s programme «Public policy and analytics») won 2nd place in the same block.
Despite severe changes in dates and formats, the new conference’s conditions seemed to improve participants’ level of preparation and general experience.
Borna Ardehi, 3rd-year student «Political Science and World Politics»:
«When the conference was announced last year, I was very excited to know that I’ll be a part of it. I knew it was a wonderful opportunity to not only discuss findings of researches but to also find inspiration in starting new ones and learn more about other people’s research methodologies and experiences. I was very anxious when the conference was postponed due to COVID restrictions — but honestly, the organisers did a wonderful job with adopting the online set-up. It was convenient, safe, and the online stream provided an opportunity for my friends abroad to also watch the conference. I’m confident I’ll participate again next year; this was a great educational opportunity!»
Daria Maltseva, 4th-year student «Sociology and social informatics»:
«I was anxious at first but the pandemic and the change of the conference date helped me to improve my research and presentation even more. And I guess the internet connection made my shaking voice less noticeable. I am not that great at oral presentations but winning helped me to believe that with the proper efforts I can be successful in presenting my works and deepen my research in the field of urban studies. I enjoy this sphere very much and look for any opportunities to develop my knowledge. So getting a grant for the Summer School as a prize was just in time. Research Day also helped me to ensure that my course paper and thesis for the diploma are not as bad as I thought. The jury was very helpful with their comments and questions. Currently, I am continuing my research and ready to participate in other conferences or publish in some journals. And I strongly advise everyone to participate next year.»
Elizaveta Potapova - a graduate of Political Science HSE SPb programme in 2015, and a current course teacher on the Political Science and World Politics programme - shared her impressions from the conference. She had an opportunity to evaluate all three sessions as a jury member. Elizaveta pointed out that students from sociology programmes participated in all tracks of the conference and were successful in each of them. Especially considering that the jury for the fundamental research session consisted of social sciences’ and humanities areas’ experts, while the block of applied research was evaluated by professors from the HSE SPb School of economics and management. And she hopes that Research Day will continue to develop in the way to become more exclusive and truly international to ensure the possibilities for participation for non-Russian speaking students.