‘Balkan Hospitality Opens Doors’: Studying Dialects on the Verge of Extinction
You cannot study spoken dialects from books. Instead, you need to go to a village, seek out its elders, and earn the trust of local residents before you can record hours of spontaneous stories. This is how Natalia Muravleva, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Humanities, conducts her research. Her internship in Serbia continued her long-standing study of dialects spoken by Macedonian settlers. In this interview, she discusses how diaspora cultural centres help researchers reach informants, why native speakers need to be interviewed only in their own language (otherwise, as she puts it, they may 'break'), and how a single field season helped her finalise her monograph. She also shares warm memories of autumn in Belgrade and of colleagues with whom grammar can be discussed in three languages at once.
‘HSE Gave Me a Space to Listen to People Who Had Built Markets and Soak Up Their Experience’
Ravan Nuraddin ogly Novruzlu was born in Gazakh, Azerbaijan. Later, his family moved to Moscow, the city where he grew up, studied, and finished school. He enrolled at the University of Klagenfurt in Austria, where he studied International Business and Economics from 2021 to 2022. He transferred to the HSE Graduate School of Business (HSE GSB) in 2022 and graduated in 2026. In this interview with the HSE News Service, Ravan talks about what it felt like to get a perfect score in his thesis defence, how the knowledge he gained at HSE helped him grow his listenership to half a million people, and why one should never stop learning.
‘I Dream of Simple Things’
Anastasia Gergenreter specialises in applied statistics and econometrics. In this interview for the Young Scientists of HSE University project, she talked about why she studies addictive substance use, two very different Fishers, and the cherry blossom season at the Main Botanical Garden in Moscow.
‘I Chose HSE Because It Is the Best University in Russia in Economics and Finance’
Gabriele Marchini, from Italy, graduated from the ICEF Bachelor’s Programme in Economics and Finance. In his interview with the HSE News Service, he shares why he chose Moscow to pursue his education and why he looks forward to continuing his academic path at ICEF.
‘I Would Like My Research to Help Make the World a Calmer and Better Place’
Whatever task Saraa Ali, Junior Research Fellow at the Laboratory of Methods for Big Data Analysis (LAMBDA) of the AI and Digital Science Institute (HSE Faculty of Computer Science), is working on, she thinks about how it can benefit people. She told the Young Scientists of HSE University project about her large family, diagnosing three-phase motors, and her dream of building a children’s home in her native country.
‘Beyond Developing a Powerful Skill Set, ICEF Also Helped Build My Resilience’
Umarkhon Isaev, from Tashkent, Uzbekistan, graduated from the International Bachelor's Programme in Economics and Finance at ICEF HSE in 2026. In this interview, Umarkhon talks about what made ICEF the ideal place to pursue his interest in finance, how his programme challenged him in ways he had never experienced before, and why it’s important to find friends who have your back when times are tough.
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‘Fear Isn’t Always a Signal to Stop; Sometimes, It’s a Signal to Begin a New Challenge’
Huh Yun is from South Korea, lived in Kyrgyzstan, and has now moved to Moscow to study on the HSE University and Kyung Hee University Double Degree Programme in Economics and Politics in Asia at the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs. In this interview with the HSE News Service, Yun talks about what makes HSE a forward-thinking university, how students can help each other settle into university life, and why it’s important to keep challenging yourself.
‘I Like Self-Fulfilling Prophecies’
Andrey Vorchik studies happiness, delivers popular science lectures, and believes that science should address social issues as well. In an interview for the Young Scientists of HSE University project, he spoke about how emotions influence decision-making, the Bermuda Triangle formed by the bathroom, refrigerator, and bed, and the ideal formula for education.
‘There’s a Big Practical Component in My Programme—That’s Especially Important in This Field’
Zou Jiaxu moved to Moscow from Heihe, China, at a young age. Having finished high school in Moscow, she decided to enrol in the Bachelor’s in Media Communications at the Institute of Media of the HSE Faculty of Creative Industries. Now in her second year of studies, Zou talked to the HSE News Service about the opportunities for practical experience available to HSE students, her volunteering and extracurricular activities, why learning Russian is a never-ending process, and the importance of making friends wherever you go.
'A Firm Foundation': HSE University–St Petersburg Graduate on His Choice of University and a Career in Big Fintech
In 2026, Kirill Li graduated from the Bachelor's programme 'International Programme in Business and Economics' at HSE University–St Petersburg. During his studies, he undertook an internship in fintech and, as a result, became a digital product manager at Alfa Bank. Read on to find out how to choose your professional sphere and combine studies and work.
Submission deadline: June 29, 2026