News

The HSE Faculty of Computer Science has summarised the results of the first admissions campaign for its new bachelor’s degree programme in Design of Intelligent Robotic Systems (DIRS). A total of 53 students were admitted to the first year. We spoke to some of the first-year students to find out why they decided to build their future careers in this field, what their first few weeks of study have been like, and what projects they are already working on.

HSE University has announced the results of its International Academic Cooperation (IAC) competition for joint fundamental research projects. Five projects have received full funding, while six more have been awarded partial funding. The research teams include scholars from Brazil, South Africa, China, India, and Oman. Alexander Balyshev, HSE University Vice President, shared details of the 2026 IAC competition winners.

The Faculty of Urban and Regional Development (FURD) at HSE University and the municipal government of Kunshan, China, have agreed to develop expert and educational cooperation between Russian and Chinese cities. The partnership will involve exchanging professional expertise and specialists, designing and implementing professional development programmes, and jointly studying urban development practices. FURD is also expected to contribute its expertise to Kunshan’s efforts in territorial planning and the development of new industrial zones.

HSE University hosted the first international conference on vibe coding, VIBE CODING RUSSIA 2026. More than 450 participants and speakers from universities, banks, the telecommunications and cybersecurity sectors, and the vibe-coding community discussed how AI is shortening the path from research findings to products and who is responsible for code written by an algorithm.

The International N5 Symposium ‘Neural Networks and Nonlinearity in Nizhny Novgorod’ was held at the Nizhny Novgorod House of Scientists from September 23 to 26. The event was organised by HSE University–Nizhny Novgorod and the Nizhny Novgorod House of Scientists, with the participation of Sberbank and the Institute of Physics Belgrade. The symposium was held for the second time: the first conference took place in 2025 and attracted considerable interest from the academic community.

In late September, HSE University hosted a roundtable discussion titled Civil Society in African Countries and Youth Participation in Public Diplomacy. Representatives of non-governmental organisations from Ghana, Ethiopia, and Russia, along with students from HSE University’s Bachelor’s Programme in Public Administration, discussed how young people without official diplomatic status can influence relations between countries and how the nonprofit sector can remain sustainable amid declining grant funding.

The Moscow Institute of Electronics and Mathematics (HSE MIEM) hosted a talk by Prof. Ana María Cetto titled ‘The First Hundred Quantum Years. What Next?’ The prominent theoretical physicist and contributor to two Nobel Peace Prizes addressed the fundamental problem of the lack of a unified interpretation of quantum theory and the incomplete understanding of its physical foundations. Eduardo Villegas Mejías, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United Mexican States to the Russian Federation, attended the event.

Researchers from HSE University’s Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience have synthesised the findings of their previous studies on brain development in children with obstetric brachial plexus palsy and arthrogryposis. Their analysis shows that impaired motor function in early childhood not only limits children’s motor experience but also affects memory, categorical thinking, and information processing. The study has been published in Frontiers in Psychology.

Russian universities, with the participation of HSE University, Sber, and Z-union, have developed a neural network that can simultaneously assess the risk of 15 types of pathology from retinal photographs, including not only eye diseases but also cardiovascular conditions. The AI system can help clinicians detect potentially concerning changes at an early stage, identify signs reflecting the condition of retinal blood vessels, and determine whether a patient may need further examination. The paper has been published in Frontiers in Medicine.

The International Laboratory for Supercomputer Atomistic Modelling and Multi-Scale Analysis at HSE University held a major conference on molecular dynamics. Participants had the opportunity to attend all the presentations, while speakers were given as much time as they needed to answer questions. The HSE News Service interviewed Grigory Smirnov, Head of the Laboratory, and Genri Norman, Chief Research Fellow, about the conference preparations and the discussions it generated.