Mathematicians at HSE University–Nizhny Novgorod, in collaboration with colleagues from Tongji University in Shanghai, are investigating the fundamental causes of structural stability in systems and the mechanisms underlying its disruption. In this interview with the HSE News Service, Prof. Olga Pochinka, Head of the International Laboratory of Dynamical Systems and Applications at HSE University–Nizhny Novgorod and leader of the project ‘Qualitative Theory of Systems of Ordinary and Partial Differential Equations,’ discusses the project, which is being implemented as part of HSE University's International Academic Cooperation programme.