Educational Policy: Skills for Innovative Economy & Science

HSE University is pursuing a set of measures to cultivate the knowledge and skills of its students, thereby contributing to the growth of both human and intellectual capital applied in the socio-economic and academic endeavours.

Attracting talent:

Devising and holding new intellectual competitions, e.g., case-based championships, data analysis hackathons, etc.
Developing an online environment for independent Olympiad preparation, active communications and virtual stages of intellectual competitions.
Launching special projects to attract international students.
Developing the HSE Lyceum to train skillful and motivated enrollees; e.g., developing practice-oriented instruction in physics, mathematics, computer and natural sciences; digitalising educational processes.
Developing the ‘Distributed HSE Lyceum’ programme by creating specialised classes with our secondary schools partners with focus on individualisation of educational tracks and training skillful and motivated enrollees for HSE University.

Individualisation & Universalisation:

Creating individual adaptive educational trajectories for students in regards to their learning outcomes, along with a system for independent assessments of key learning outcomes.
Independent assessment of key universal skills, e.g., digital skills, economics, legal literacy, foreign languages, etc.
Digitalisation of education and developing digital skills.
Academic and practice-oriented tracks for Master’s degree programmes: by 2030, 30% of doctoral students will come from the Master’s-PhD track.
Implementing a supplementary qualification model (‘microdegree’).
Two key types of Master’s degrees: programmes offering core subject competencies for Bachelor’s graduates interested in changing the focus of their studies (Master of Arts equivalent), and programmes offering advanced subject-specific competencies (Master of Science equivalent).

Practice-based learning:

'Seamless' integration of research activities into educational processes: by 2030, all students will be involved in R&D projects, with 30% involved in R&D with external clients.
Broader involvement of doctoral students in large-scale research projects.
Launching special projects to attract international students.
Developing of a set of tools for interdisciplinary student projects.

Lifelong Learning (LLL):

Developing LLL as one of the key areas of HSE University’s operations.
Developing the Graduate School of Business as national-scale centre of business education using an intercampus model; launching LLL and MBA programmes based on educational marketplace principles.
Consolidating LLL and business education within large subdivisions capable of implementing large-scale programmes for the corporate sector.
Launching a digital platform of continuing education for adults, based on the principle of the educational marketplace.

New Practice: Master’s-PhD Educational Track

HSE University is actively engaged in the individualisation of educational tracks, coupled with the development of its doctoral programmes. The University has launched combined Master’s-PhD track, designed for graduate students wishing to develop their academic careers (36 students were admitted into HSE doctoral schools in 2022).

The key features of the track are:

An individual curriculum at the Master’s level with courses aimed at developing academic skills, preparatory courses for PhD qualification exams, and participation in research projects.
Master’s theses as a foundation for a subsequent PhD research papers, supervised by leading academics and approved by the academic council of a respective doctoral school.
Master's level courses and projects, allowing to create highly competitive portfolio for successful admission to doctoral school.
Focus on writing of articles and participating in the research activities of academic divisions.
Enhanced scholarships and wide range of job opportunities in University’s academic divisions.

HSE Voices

We believe that the combined-track approach we’ve taken is effective, and we’re working to refine some of the smaller points. For instance, more attention should be paid to the right combination of studies and research when developing individual curricula

Sergey Roshchin
HSE University Vice Rector responsible for coordinating the creation, licensing, accreditation and implementation of degree and doctoral programmes

The combined-track study format was very appealing to me. First, it makes it easier to enrol in a doctoral programme. Second, it is an opportunity to study some relevant courses for doctoral students while you are still a master’s student. Last but not least, the combined-track programme offers a bigger scholarship, which, like any financing, is an effective incentive to work even harder on your research

Anastasia Kromina
student of the master’s programme ‘Cognitive Sciences and Technologies: From Neuron to Cognition’