HSE Launches Training for Future BRICS Experts
From August 20–23, 2025, the Artek International Children’s Centre (Crimea, Russia) hosted an off-site session of HSE University’s educational and outreach project BRICS International School: New Generation. The school was the first event to take place under the cooperation agreement signed this year between HSE University and Artek.
For HSE, this project is not only a contribution to the development of the educational and scientific dimensions of BRICS, but also an opportunity to nurture future researchers from an early age.
Over the course of four days, 160 school students aged 12 to 17 from various regions of Russia and abroad explored the history and culture of the BRICS countries. The programme featured lectures, educational games and quizzes, creative workshops, and role-play negotiations. On the very first day, participants tried their hand at an intellectual game, took part in an interactive BRICS quiz on the geography, languages, and traditions of the member states, and made friendship bracelets in a workshop, symbolising unity among peoples.
A special highlight of the programme was the BRICS Model business game. Divided into teams, Artek students reproduced the workflow of a BRICS summit, including negotiations, compromise-seeking and drafting a joint declaration. The outcome was the Gurzuf Declaration, addressed to the leaders of the BRICS countries. In this message, the future BRICSologists call for equal access to quality education for children around the world.
According to Victoria Panova, HSE Vice Rector and Head of the BRICS Expert Council–Russia, the BRICS International School: New Generation is not just an educational project but also a platform for building a community of young leaders.
Victoria Panova
‘The BRICS International School: New Generation is one of the most successful and promising youth formats. This year we held the school for children and teenagers under 18 for the first time in partnership with the Artek International Children’s Centre, which is celebrating its centenary in 2024! This is symbolic, since BRICS is future-oriented, and we strive to ensure that our children grow up and develop in a stable and safe world based on shared values,’ said Victoria Panova.
Participants noted that the school was not only an introduction to the theme of BRICS but also an opportunity to learn more about HSE University. Many expressed an interest in applying to HSE and in the opportunities it offers in the field of international studies.
‘This school was a wonderful experience. We learnt a lot of new things about the BRICS countries, joined intellectual games, and discussed serious issues that matter to the whole world. The friendship bracelet workshop was especially memorable—it showed that despite our differences, we have something that unites us. We also received gifts and souvenirs from HSE. Now I have HSE symbols, and I feel like I have become part of a major project,’ said Anna, one of the participants.
‘For me, this school was a real revelation. I realised how important it is to learn to negotiate and to see the world through the eyes of other countries. Finding out that the BRICS Expert Council–Russia is based at HSE, and that the university runs such projects, made me even more determined to study there. I want to connect my future with international research and become part of this movement,’ added Demyan, another participant.
The BRICS International School: New Generation is a flagship educational and outreach project of the BRICS Expert Council–Russia operating at HSE University. This autumn, the university’s Moscow campus will host the main programme of the BRICS International School: New Generation, which will bring together 100 young leaders aged 18 to 35 around the world.