Polina Nesterenko, who completed Year 10 at the HSE Lyceum this year, took part in the 2026 High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), the United Nations’ main annual forum for monitoring progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. Held at UN Headquarters in New York, the forum brings together representatives of states, UN agencies, international organisations, civil society, business, and academia each year to discuss the global sustainable development agenda.

Umarkhon Isaev, from Tashkent, Uzbekistan, graduated from the International Bachelor's Programme in Finance and Economics 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.

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.

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.

The HSE Centre for Studies of Civil Society and the Nonprofit Sector, together with the World Peoples Assembly, organised the roundtable ‘NGOs in African Countries. The Invisible Force of Change.’ The event took place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, as part of the World Public Summit: Africa. Experts discussed the role of the non-profit sector in the development of African countries, as well as contemporary approaches to assessing its contribution to social development.

From July 13 to 16, 2026, the Faculty of Computer Science hosted the Russian–Sino Research Seminar on Machine Learning Applications, organised by the HSE Laboratory for Cloud and Mobile Technologies in partnership with the Harbin Institute of Technology (China). A delegation comprising seven students and three university representatives travelled to Moscow to take part in an intensive four-day programme.

Bakhtier Mirzoev, who graduated from the HSE Lyceum this year, won a bronze medal at the 2026 International Economics Olympiad (IEO 2026) in China. The annual competition features five-person teams selected from the winners and prizewinners of national olympiads. In this interview, Bakhtier talks about his preparations for the olympiad, the highlights of his trip, and his future plans (spoilers: he’s applying to HSE University).

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.

The Class of 2026 has become the largest in the history of HSE University’s online campus, with more than twice as many graduates as last year. A total of 2,023 students completed their studies across 28 online master’s programmes, covering disciplines ranging from psychology and law to cybersecurity and digital urban studies. For 10 of these programmes, this was the first cohort of graduates.