'Back in School, I Decided That I Would No Longer Suppress My Feelings'
Polina Makarova initially planned to pursue a career in programming but soon shifted her focus to theoretical linguistics. In this interview with the HSE Young Scientists project, she discusses her research on grammatical agreement in the names of professions, the importance of emotional intelligence, and the benefits of keeping an eublepharid, or leopard gecko, as a pet.
‘Embrace Every Opportunity That Comes Your Way at HSE’
Hannah Kanu, from Freetown in Sierra Leone, is a second-year student of the Master’s in Law of International Trade and Dispute Resolution at the HSE University Faculty of Law. With 2024 coming to an end, the HSE News Service has asked students to reflect on the year gone by and their time at the university in general. In this instalment, Hannah talks about discovering Russia and the rewards and challenges of studying in Moscow—including the Russian word she finds the most difficult.
‘From the Day I Arrived, I Felt That Moscow Is the Place to Be’
Ikenna Mbata, from Owerri, Nigeria, is a student of the Master’s in Science, Technology and Innovation Management and Policy at ISSEK in Moscow. As part of a series of articles in which HSE students reflect over the past year and look to the future, Ikenna told the HSE News Service about the admissions process that led to him winning a full-tuition scholarship, how his courses are relevant to current events, and why learning Russian is not for the faint-hearted.
'I Would Ask Mendeleev if It's True that He Invented Vodka'
Andrey Manin's research focuses on membranes, but he has not yet decided whether to dedicate his PhD thesis to those used in water desalination or those involved in new types of electricity generation. In this interview with the HSE Young Scientists project, he recalls how he once disliked organic chemistry, enjoys watching retro films at Illusion Cinema, and was fascinated by Red Square as a child.
‘Everyone Here Is Eager to Connect and Collaborate’
Syed Zeeshan Raza Zaidi is a 23-year-old international student from Karachi, Pakistan. He is currently a first-year master’s student in Cognitive Neuroscience at HSE University in Moscow seeking to explore the complexities of human behaviour and cognition from a multidisciplinary perspective. Syed spoke to the HSE News Service about why HSE is the best place to realise his potential, what makes Moscow and Karachi so similar, and why he misses home-cooked food most of all.
A Dance Studio as a ‘Power Place’ for an International Student in Moscow
Liu Minglin, 22, from China, chose to study at ICEF in Moscow for two reasons: his Russian friends’ recommendations and the contents of the programme curriculum on the website. Now in his final year of the International Bachelor’s Programme in Economics and Finance at ICEF, Liu Minglin shares his impressions of living in Russia and studying at HSE University.
‘Getting a PhD Is Just the Beginning’
In autumn 2024, Yea Rem Choi, from South Korea, Junior Research Fellow at the International Laboratory for Supercomputer Atomistic Modelling and Multi-scale Analysis and assistant at the HSE MIEM School of Applied Mathematics, defended his doctoral dissertation on applied mathematics at HSE University. Yea Rem Choi talked to the HSE News Service about the soft skills that helped him in his research, how he is building a career, and why he chose HSE University for his doctoral studies.
‘One of My Goals Is to Encourage the Exchange between Russian and Mexican Philosophies’
Jorge Luis Méndez-Martínez, Research Fellow at the International Laboratory for Logic, Linguistics and Formal Philosophy, was named the winner of a competition of the National Council for Sciences, Technology and Humanities of Mexico. He was selected from hundreds of applicants for the position of Researcher for Mexico and will be working on a project on the philosophy of sound and auditory perception and the history of science in Mexico, Russia, and the Soviet Union. The HSE News Service talked to Mr Méndez-Martínez about the competition, his projects,and how playing the guitar helps him conduct research.
‘My Thesis Defence Was a Lively Discussion’
Han Zhang, from China, has worked at the International Laboratory for Evaluation of Practices and Innovations in Education at HSE University-Moscow since 2023. In October 2024, she successfully defended her PhD thesis on the relationship between collaborative peer editing and the quality of academic writing in a second language. She spoke with the HSE News Service about why she chose to join HSE University and how her research can be used to improve student writing performance.
‘It Is Hard to Imagine High-Level Interpretation Being Entrusted to a Machine’
In 2024, Russia chairs BRICS, an international organisation comprising nine countries. Throughout the year, dozens of forums, working group meetings, and BRICS sessions took place across various Russian cities. As an interpreter, Ksenia Prosyukova, Associate Professor at the HSE School of Foreign Languages and Candidate of Science (PhD) in Pedagogy, participated in several BRICS events. In an interview, she discussed the personal responsibility of working at high-level events, the challenges and prospects of her profession, and how HSE University trains in-demand translators.