HSE Welcomes Students to International Summer University 2019

On June 24, HSE University held an opening ceremony for its International Summer University. Newly arrived students from 32 countries around the globe including Germany, the US, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, and others were welcomed by First Vice Rector Vadim Radaev and Vice Rector Ivan Prostakov.

Successful Project

Held from June-August every summer since 2014, the HSE Summer University (SU) hosts students from HSE partner universities as well as free movers. The Summer University is designed to provide students, Ph.D. candidates, post-docs and professionals from around the world with unique opportunities and intensive coursework in fields such as international relations, history, political science, Russian language, and more. All courses are taught in English.

In his welcome address, First Vice Rector Vadim Radaev told the students about the history of HSE University, from its founding 26 years ago, which served as one of the final signals of ‘the establishment of a real liberal government in Russia’ to its rapid expansion over the last few decades to four campuses and a large number of disciplines beyond its starting point of economics.

The SU has likewise enjoyed a trajectory of growth and success. ‘The Summer University was established six years ago, and it immediately became a successful project. This year we have almost 200 participants from more than 30 countries,’ said Professor Radaev. ‘We have individual participants and we have groups, teams, coming from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Seoul National University (South Korea), Northeastern University (Boston, USA), York University (UK), and for the first time we will have a group of students from Far East University, which is a Russian university from the most distant part of this country.’

In addition to these university partners, the SU will have a strong representation of German universities. This year the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) awarded 9 scholarships to students enrolled in German universities to participate in the programme. This is an increase from the 8 that were awarded last year.

Vice Rector Ivan Prostakov emphasized that internationalization is an important part of the HSE mission, and that the Summer University plays an important role in this. ‘While you are here, I’m sure you will meet many of our Russian students (who are currently finishing up exams), and this will be an important meeting for you in order to understand your Russian colleagues, and maybe, your future Russian friends. We firmly believe that interactions like these are necessary for all of us—especially for your future career and for your future choices,’ he said.

Summer University Director Oksana Chernenko encouraged students to not just take advantage of the rich curriculum of the programme, but the social and cultural opportunities it presents as well. For example, the school maintains a Facebook group page for updates and communication and offers city excursions.

What’s New at the Summer University This Year?

This summer brings a lot of new developments to the Summer University programme, from expansions in the curriculum to excursions and more.

 New Course

This year, the school will offer a new course on Human Rights Law, which will be taught by Dr. Maria Sole Continiello Neri, a Research Fellow at HSE’s Faculty of Law.

 New Scenery

In addition, some students will spend a week in St Petersburg, where they will take courses on the History of the Arctic:  Science, Politics, Cultural and Natural Heritage and Critical Perspectives on International Business.

 New Activities

Students will also be pleased to learn that the school will now feature a weekly ‘crash hour’ where they can learn common conversational phrases in Russian. The weekly meetings will be facilitated by students of the Bachelor’s programme in Foreign Languages and Intercultural Communication (FLIC).

Thanks to FLIC Professor Ekaterina Kolesnikova, FLIC students will not only be leading ‘crash hours’, but other activities as well. They will run orientation sessions for newly arriving students, which will be held weekly to accommodate the different arrival dates of the students.

Finally, FLIC students will also be conducting city tours around Moscow for small groups of students to show them different parts of Moscow.

New Faces

In previous years international students expressed interest in more opportunities to interact with Russian students. This year, a group of advanced students from Far East University (Vladivostok, Russia) will be studying alongside the international participants in the programme. For many of these Russian students, this is their first visit to Moscow, so there will be plenty for the international and Russian students alike to explore to together.

But Don’t Forget About the Old SU Favorites

In addition to the new features, the SU will be offering its long-popular courses. These include:
Russian language;

 Fake News, Post-Truth and Digital Media;

 Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) in Mathematics;

 Introduction to Artificial Intelligence;

 EU-Russia Relations and the Future of Europe;

 Challenges to EU-Russia Economic Links;

 Russia’s Soft Power;

A Glimpse of Russian History.

Among the above listed courses, the REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates) in Mathematics is worth particular mention for majors in mathematics and other related fields. The programme is part of the HSE Summer University and is designed for undergraduate students majoring in Mathematics or related areas. Participants will work on research projects under supervision of distinguished mathematicians. Guaranteed are at least 8 hours of consultations by assigned advisors and their assistants. A written report is expected as a result of the project; it will be reviewed and evaluated by the advisor. The program takes three weeks during the period from June 20 till August 20, 2019. The exact time span of the program is to be chosen by the participant and confirmed by the advisor.

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