Research & Expertise news at HSE University

China and the Chinese world, South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Arab countries, Iran, Turkey, Central Asia and Africa are gaining new significance in Russia’s foreign policy. However, we do not know enough about the Eastern countries. It is necessary to change the priorities in education, starting from grammar school. Prospects for the development of domestic Oriental studies in the context of the new stage in the development of the system of international relations were discussed at a round table at HSE University.

Russia has recently launched an organic farming initiative; a new Law on Organic Products came into effect in the early 2020. An important first step in assessing the potential for this subsector has been to identify the most suitable locations for its development. According to researchers of the HSE Institute for Agrarian Studies and the RAS Institute of Agrarian Economics and Rural Development, provinces located in the country’s northern non-black earth areas – in the Northwest and in the Northeast of Russia’s European region – have the best potential. The study is published in Agriculture Digitalization and Organic Production.

Abdul-Raheem Mohammed from Ghana has recently defended a PhD dissertation in cognitive psychology at HSE University via remote procedure. Abdul-Raheem and his academic supervisor, Dmitry Lyusin, talked to the HSE News Service about their cooperation, the advantages and complications of remote PhD defence at HSE University, and the prospects of cognitive science in African countries.

The Federal Brain and Neural Technology Centre at the Federal Medical and Biological Agency is launching the Laboratory of Medical Neural Interfaces and Artificial Intelligence for Clinical Applications, which has been created by employees of HSE University. Read below to find out about the Laboratory and its objectives.

The XXIII Yasin (April) International Academic Conference on Economic and Social Development has come to a close at HSE University. In 2022, more than 3,000 participants took part in the event, including 250 registered foreign representatives—almost 10% more than last year.

Four young scientists competed in the second semi-final of the fifth season of HSE University Science Battles, which was held at HSE Cultural Centre. What tasks lead students to cheat on exams, how babies learn to talk, whether artificial intelligence is subject to copyright, how to deal with false modesty — each researcher presented their work while the audience and the jury chose a winner to compete for the main prize of the season — an academic travel grant.

There is major potential for economic and humanitarian cooperation between Russia and African countries. Particularly, Russian organisations and universities can help transfer competencies and knowledge in the fields of agriculture, energy, industrial production, environmental management, climate change, and public administration. Experts and representatives of African embassies in Russia discussed these issues at the round table ‘Russia-Africa Sharing Knowledge’ hosted by HSE University.

Will new technologies divide or unite people and society? What mechanisms should be used to balance society’s interests and progress so that innovation does not dehumanize humans? How should interaction between humans and AI be structured? Is all technology good for people? TheXXIII Yasin (April) International Academic Conference of HSE University discusses these questions and more.