Research & Expertise news at HSE University

The Baltic Federal University (Kaliningrad) recently hosted an International Congress entitled ‘The World Concept of Philosophy’ in honour of the 300th anniversary of the birth of the philosopher and thinker Immanuel Kant. The event brought together about 500 scientists and experts from 23 countries. HSE Rector Nikita Anisimov took part in the opening plenary session of the congress titled ‘Critique of Artificial Intelligence: Being and Cognition in the Context of Artificial Intelligence Development.’

A mathematical model has helped describe the course of infection caused by two variants of coronavirus: Omicron and Delta, and explain the differences between them. It appears that the cell entry rate is lower for Omicron, allowing infected cells ample time to alert neighbouring cells of the threat and trigger the activation of their innate immune response. In the future, the developed model could be employed to investigate any other variant of COVID-19, potentially leading to effective strategies for combating new hazardous strains, such as Pirola and JN.1. The findings from the study conducted with the participation of HSE researchers have been published in PeerJ.

On April 15, 2024 HSE University hosted a roundtable discussion ‘Africa and BRICS: Reflections and Prospects.’ The event featured leading experts from the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) Steven Gruzd and Gustavo de Carvalho and was moderated by HSE Vice Rector and Head of the BRICS Expert Council–Russia Victoria Panova.

An international team of researchers including Professor Galina Shirokova, Director of the Strategic Entrepreneurship Centre at HSE University in St Petersburg, and her students Nailya Galieva and Diana Doktorova, examined the impact of narcissism on young entrepreneurs' success. The authors have demonstrated that a company founder's workaholism can amplify the influence of narcissism on a new venture's performance. 

At the end of April, six students of HSE University-St Petersburg will go on an expedition to the Himalayas, jointly organised with the University of Delhi. They will be collecting data about the anthropogenic impact on the ecosystem of this region, as well as its natural resources and environmental sustainability. 

On April 10th, 2024, a strategic session on monetary and financial cooperation among the majority of world countries was held at HSE University. The event was organised by the BRICS Expert Council–Russia. The main expert at the session was Ali Benouari, formerly holding positions as Algeria's Minister of Treasury and an expert at the Committee on Public Debt, now an advisor to Algeria's Ministers of Finance and Economy.

HSE University has announced the results of the first Competition of Joint Basic Research Projects 'International Academic Cooperation' held from December 11, 2023, to April 8, 2024. Highly successful research teams at HSE University, having extensive experience in collaborating with international partners, took part in the competition. A total of 25 applications were submitted from departments across HSE University's campuses.

Chaired by Dmitri Bondarenko, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Deputy Director of the RAS Institute of Africa, and Director of theInternational Centre of Anthropology at the HSEFaculty of Humanities, the Dissertation Council comprises prominent Russian Orientalists and Africanists from HSE University and other leading institutions.