‘I Have Found My Second Family Here’: Waiz Siddiqui on His Studies at HSE University–St Petersburg
Waiz Siddiqui is a second-year student of the Master's programme 'Data Analytics for Business and Economics.' Having completed a bachelor's degree in business management in Pakistan, he decided to continue his studies abroad. He opted for HSE University–St Petersburg, and the Open Doors international scholarship programme helped him to carry out his plans. Read on to find out more about his adaptation to HSE University–St Petersburg and studying the Russian language.
Ringing in the New Term
On September 1, campuses across Russia ring in the new academic year with the traditional ‘first bell’—flowers for teachers and welcomes for first‑years—while international students at HSE University share how studies begin in their home countries, from Ghana’s Akwaba week to China’s student club fair, the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s blue-and-white uniforms, and India’s Teachers’ Day.
‘At HSE You Will Experience Many Bright Moments, Events, and Impressions’
On August 26–27, orientation sessions for international students took place at the HSE Cultural Centre. In 2025, a total of 1,260 applicants from abroad were recommended for admission: 644 to bachelor’s programmes and 616 to master’s programmes. Specially for them, the event included tours of the Pokrovka campus and Moscow landmarks.
HSE Scientists: Social Cues in News Interfaces Build Online Trust
Researchers from the HSE Laboratory for Cognitive Psychology of Digital Interface Users have discovered how social cues in the design of news websites—such as reader comments, the number of reposts, or the author’s name—can help build user trust. An experiment with 137 volunteers showed that such interface elements make a website appear more trustworthy and persuasive to users, with the strongest cue being links to the media’s social networks. The study's findings have been published in Human-Computer Interaction.
HSE University–St Petersburg International Summer Programmes Come to an End
This year, Chinese, Thai, Korean, and other languages were spoken in the classrooms of HSE University–St Petersburg. Forty students from sixteen countries came to St Petersburg to study political science, the Russian language, history, and economics. The international summer programmes united academic knowledge and vivid cultural exchange.
HSE University and University of Campinas Join Forces to Build Alternative Financial System
HSE University and the University of Campinas (UNICAMP, Brazil) have announced the launch of a major joint research project to develop new approaches to an alternative international financial system. The initiative, which brings together leading experts in global economics and finance, seeks to analyse the current state of international financial architecture and explore ways of transforming it in the context of a changing geopolitical landscape.
HSE University Co-Organises International Dictation on Financial Security
The International Dictation on Financial Security will be held on September 1–30. The large-scale online project is designed to raise awareness in people of all ages about problems in the field of economic stability. This year's dictation will be dedicated to new technologies in financial security: from personal protection to state sovereignty. HSE University was one of the event organisers of the new season.
‘My Goal Is to Shed Light on How Deaf Children Develop in Russia’
Having completed her PhD in the UK, Valeria Vinogradova dreams of applying her knowledge and experience to create an interdisciplinary centre for deafness studies in Russia. In an interview for the Young Scientists of HSE University project, she spoke about Russian Sign Language, her love of modern jazz, and much more.
Updated Facts and Figures and Dashboards Now Available on HSE Website
The HSE Office of Analytics and Data Management, together with the Visual Communications Unit, has developed a new Facts and Figures about HSE University page on the HSE website. In addition, all university staff now have access to a dashboard with the updated indicators of the Priority 2030 programme.
Immune System Error: How Antibodies in Multiple Sclerosis Mistake Their Targets
Researchers at HSE University and the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IBCh RAS) have studied how the immune system functions in multiple sclerosis (MS), a disease in which the body's own antibodies attack its nerve fibres. By comparing blood samples from MS patients and healthy individuals, scientists have discovered that the immune system in MS patients can mistake viral proteins for those of nerve cells. Several key proteins have also been identified that could serve as new biomarkers for the disease and aid in its diagnosis. The study has been published in Frontiers in Immunology. The research was conducted with support from the Russian Science Foundation.