TOP-5 Must-Have Apps For HSE Students
After the launch of new iOS 12 with a “Screen Time” feature it became even easier to monitor how much time does one spend on his/her phone. According to the survey conducted at Ohio University, in which respondents were asked to report the metric, university students spend an average of around 4 hours and 25 minutes on their phones, which is approximately 50 minutes more than the national average.
(Check out the full article: http://projects.thepostathens.com/SpecialProjects/behind-the-screens-time-spent-on-phone/index.html)
So which apps would HSE students be using during these hours? You are about to find out.
HSE app
Log into the system with your corporate e-mail and enjoy all of the extremely useful functions of the app that include: your timetable (with detailed information on subject, professor teaching it, campus address and number of auditorium; even special events such as HSE Career day are displayed there!), search engine that allows you to search for other students, groups and professors (and check their timetable), and check which auditoriums are currently not occupied. Another useful feature of the service can be found in the section “Deadlines” – set particular deadlines for yourself or create deadlines for a whole group and share them with others!
This app was, in fact, created and designed by HSE students themselves to make lives of other students better. Developers, therefore, have a clear understanding of what HSE students need and keep working on the app to make it even better. If you have any suggestions, don’t forget to leave them on one of the discussion boards.
- For Android users: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.chichkanov.hseapp&hl=ru
- For iOS users: https://apps.apple.com/ru/app/hse-app/id1286305049
- VK page: https://vk.com/hseapp
Microsoft Outlook
Getting a corporate mail is a kind of a rite of passage here at HSE. All the assignments, all the notifications and reminders about deadlines and group project tasks, all the important informative messages from the studying office – all of it you will be getting by e-mail. All professors and other students are already there, in the system, so it makes it a lot easier to search for a person you want to send a letter to. As time goes by, there will be more and more e-mails for you to keep an eye on: e-mail for your group, e-mail for your minor, e-mail for your elective courses… And, of course, your personal e-mails too. Even though it might seem almost impossible to keep on track and not to miss anything, this app will definitely help you with that. Add all of the accounts you are currently using and switch between them when you need to. Everything that you need is now stored in one place!
- For Android users: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.microsoft.office.outlook&hl=en
- For iOS users: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/microsoft-outlook/id951937596
VK
Probably the most widely used application not only among HSE students, but among all Russian students in general. While VK can be seen as a Russian equivalent FaceBook and be mainly used as a messenger, communities are also extremely important here. Here are some of them that you should definitely check out!
- Department of physical education (HSE SPb) where you can check how many more classes do you need to attend out of those 40 (academic hours) and get updated on all sport competitions and other events taking place at HSE: https://vk.com/fiz_vo_hse_spb
- Official HSE SPb group in VK where you can always find answers to all of your questions and also learn something new: https://vk.com/hse_spb
- HSE International Exchange community where all the latest news about academic mobility programs can be found: https://vk.com/club95032451
- HSE’s merch: https://vk.com/xceshop
Don’t forget to search for a group of your studying program’s studying office to get notified when a timetable for a new semester is published or any other changes occur.
- For Android users: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vkontakte.android&hl=en
- For iOS users: https://apps.apple.com/ru/app/vk-общение-музыка-и-видео/id564177498
Microsoft office (Word, PowerPoint, Excel…)
We have some good news for you! By using your corporate e-mail, you can download Office365 for free if you follow these simple guidelines: https://www.hse.ru/data/2018/01/24/1163180977/Активация%20подписки%20MS%20Office365.pdf
We advise you to download those apps not only to your laptop, but also, additionally, to your phone or tablet so you can still use them even if you left your laptop at home but suddenly realized that you have to make some changes to your presentation or a written assignment.
Google docs, Google sheets etc.
Even though Office365 is perfect for individual assignments, when it comes to group projects HSE students usually prefer various Google applications that can be used, shared and edited online by multiple users at the same time. It might seem easier to just add links to these services to your bookmarks and don’t spend time and effort downloading the apps themselves, but we would suggest doing both – you never know which of these two options would suit you better.
If you are the one creating a shared document, don’t forget to pin a link to it at the top of the VK chat where you are discussing it with your teammates. It saves a lot of time you would spend looking for a particular document in your directory.
These are, of course, only the most basic apps HSE students cannot live without and there is a lot more to it. Never stop exploring! Search for apps that would develop your time-management skills of make it easier to work on group projects, create apps by yourself or participate in the creation of them, figure out for yourself if there are any apps that help you reduce the time you spent on your phone and help you focus on projects you need to do. If there is something that can make your studying at HSE more comfortable – you should definitely use it and make it a part of your daily routine.
Text by
Nadezhda Bykova