Campus news at HSE University

In 2025, HSE University-St Petersburg opened the Centre for Russian Language and Culture at the School of Arts and Humanities. The centre offers various courses for international applicants, the largest of which is the 'Pre-University Programme', a Russian preparatory course for those intending to enrol in full-time bachelor's and master's programmes. Read on to find out more about the centre's activities, courses, and study conditions.

On February 20–22, the HSE Art and Design School will take part in ARTDOM 2025, an exhibition of furniture, interiors, and art held at the Crocus Expo International Exhibition Centre.

A team of students from the Bachelor’s programme ’Asian and African Studies’ at the HSE Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs—the only team from Russia—has won first prize at the European Universities Arabic Debating Championship (EUADC) (a QatarDebate regional championship), beating other teams from non-Arabic-speaking countries.

As part of the FonCode 2024 contest, the Russian Competitive Programming Federation (CPF) held its first award ceremony. Fedor Romashov, a student of the HSE Faculty of Computer Science, won the best competitive programmer award, and Mikhail Gustokashin, Director of the FCS Centre of Student Competitions, was named the best coach.

In January 2025, HSE University entered into a cooperation agreement with the Southwestern University of Finance and Economics (SWUFE) to implement a double master’s that joins ICEF’s Financial Economics programme with SWUFE’s Master's in Finance. Combining the best of China and Russia’s academic frameworks, this new degree offers a unique study-abroad experience. In this collaboration, HSE ICEF is partnering with the Research Institute of Economics and Management (RIEM), which was established at SWUFE in 2006 to facilitate top-level, international research and training in economics and finance.

The HSE building on Kantemirovskaya Street hosted the first meeting of the project 'Mexican Traditions—Why Are Mexicans Always Happy?' Students and professors learnt about national festivals, customs, and traditions in Latin America, as well as opportunities for academic mobility.

On February 1, 2025, the HSE Cultural Centre hosted its annual celebration of the Lunar New Year. This large-scale event brought together students and teachers with an interest in the cultures of East Asian countries. The celebration was organised by the School of Asian Studies at the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs, the Department of Internationalisation, the HSE Chinese Club, as well as other university clubs—the Musubi Japanese Club and the Hanryang Korean Club.

Thousands of participants, top-tier speakers, reunions with friends, and a dance party—all of this came together to make the traditional HSE festival hosted by the university's oldest and largest student organisation, Ingroup CtC.STUDENT NIGHT took place on January 24–25, 2025 at the Pokrovka campus, where thrilling contests were followed by extracurricular lectures, and master classes alternated with stand-up performances and dance battles. Special guests included stand-up comedian Nurlan Saburov, indie rock band Sirotkin, and Olympic champions.