Urban Studies Experts from HSE Discuss Cooperation Prospects with Chinese Partners
The team of the HSE Faculty of Urban and Regional Development (FURD) has held a series of meetings with partners in China as part of its working visit focused on advancing cooperation. The agenda included urban and agglomeration ranking research, the development of unique educational programmes in urban studies, and other key topics.
Dean of FURD Evgeny Mikhaylenko, Deputy Dean for International Affairs Victoria Khomich, and Head of the Vysokovsky Graduate School of Urbanism Ruslan Goncharov met with partners in Guangzhou and Shenyang. Notably, they held talks with the leadership of the Guangdong–CIS International Technological Cooperation Union—one of the faculty’s key partners in China. Discussions centred around joint projects such as urban and agglomeration ranking studies, academic exchanges with Chinese universities, and FURD’s planned participation in the Global Mayors’ Forum in Guangzhou in 2025.
Evgeny Mikhaylenko
‘Joint Russian–Chinese research in the field of urbanism will help tackle complex governance challenges in both major metropolitan areas and smaller towns, as well as identify development prospects. We are continuing to expand our collaboration in scientific research and plan to launch a joint educational project in the future,’ said Dean of the HSE Faculty of Urban and Regional Development Evgeny Mikhaylenko.
Guo Fengzhi
Guo Fengzhi, Secretary General of the Guangdong–CIS International Technological Cooperation Union, expressed gratitude to the FURD delegation for their friendly visit to China. ‘We held effective negotiations on a number of key areas concerning scientific and technological innovation, educational collaboration, experience exchange, and project cooperation,’ said Guo Fengzhi. ‘The faculty has long been our partner and works successfully with many regions of China. I believe the meetings in Guangzhou and Shenyang will contribute significantly to the development of Russian–Chinese relations, and we look forward to strengthening our longstanding cooperation.’
During a meeting at South China University of Technology in Guangzhou—a long-time partner of FURD—the parties discussed the joint development and implementation of innovative international programmes in urban studies. Following the talks, Russian and Chinese scholars agreed to begin designing an academic programme that will combine the unique expertise of both sides and aims to be a cutting-edge international educational product.
At Guangdong University of Finance and Economics (GUFE), which the FURD delegation visited in return following a Chinese visit to HSE in April, discussions focused on expanding academic exchange opportunities, organising summer schools, and conducting joint research within BRICS urban contexts. Moreover, GUFE’s urban studies team is planning a return visit to FURD in July 2025 to finalise cooperation plans and sign a partnership agreement.
In northern China, in Shenyang, the FURD team was received by representatives of the Shenfu Reform and Innovation Demonstration Zone Management Committee, headed by Deputy Director Liu Jia, who visited FURD in 2024. During their working meeting, both sides agreed to establish a joint mechanism for academic exchanges between HSE and Shenyang universities, as well as plans for joint international events within the BRICS framework.
Victoria Khomich
‘FURD is one of Russia’s most recognisable centres of urban expertise—from the north to the south of China. Our collaboration with educational institutions, municipalities, and urban development committees in special economic zones continues to open up new opportunities for experience exchange and integration of the faculty’s potential into the international space,’ said Victoria Khomich. ‘Joint international projects like the Urban and Innovation Environment Index and the Dynamic Urbanistics initiative—winner of HSE’s International Academic Cooperation competition in partnership with Tianjin University—demonstrate how collaborative efforts with international colleagues yield truly unique results. Our next ambitious goal is to launch an international educational programme.’
Ruslan Goncharov
‘The Vysokovsky Graduate School of Urbanism has always welcomed international cooperation. Our ambition is to become a recognised expert centre in urban development across BRICS countries—and we are steadily moving in that direction. At present, our team is studying best practices in the development of small towns in several BRICS countries, including China, and assessing how applicable they are to the Russian context. We will present interim results of this research at the Vysokovsky Forum on June 5, 2025, and I take this opportunity to invite everyone to attend. We have excellent relations with our Chinese colleagues, and we are grateful for the warm welcome and active support of our research initiatives. We eagerly look forward to putting all our plans into action,’ concluded Ruslan Goncharov.
See also:
‘It Is a Great Honour for Us to Be Partners’
In late March 2026, an official meeting took place between a delegation from HSE University and delegations from Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU); the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam; and the Embassy of Vietnam in the Russian Federation. The participants discussed key areas of cooperation that will help strengthen ties not only between the universities, but also between the two countries.
How the Brain Processes a Word: HSE Researchers Compare Reading Routes in Adults and Children
Researchers from the HSE Center for Language and Brain used magnetoencephalography to study how the brains of adults and children respond to words during reading. They showed that in children the brain takes longer to process words that are frequently used in everyday speech, while rare words and pseudowords are processed in the same way—slowly and in parts. With age, the system is reorganised: high-frequency words shift to a fast route, whereas new letter combinations are still analysed slowly. The study was published in the journal Psychophysiology.
How Neural Networks Detect and Interpret Wordplay: New Insights from HSE Researchers
An international team including researchers from the HSE Faculty of Computer Science has presented KoWit-24, an annotated dataset of 2,700 Russian-language Kommersant news headlines containing wordplay. The dataset enables an assessment of how artificial intelligence detects and interprets wordplay. Experiments with five large language models show that even advanced systems still make mistakes, and that interpreting wordplay is more challenging for them than detecting it. The results were presented at the RANLP conference; the paper is available on Arxiv.org, and the dataset and the code for reproducing the experiments are available on GitHub.
HSE Holds Exams, Quizzes, and Selection Rounds for School Students in Tashkent and Bishkek
More than 3,000 international school students took part in the INTO HSE International Olympiad, whose award ceremonies were held in Tashkent and Bishkek in March 2026. The university’s outreach events also included final examinations, presentations of academic programmes, and on-site selection tests for prospective applicants. In Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, nearly 200 participants received diplomas as winners and prize-winners. The best of them will be eligible to apply for state-funded places at HSE.
BRICS International School Held in Delhi
The results of the BRICS International School: New Generation, which was held in Delhi, proved that young people have become key participants in the global dialogue. The event brought together 200 young leaders from leading universities and expert centres in India. The programme was organised by the BRICS Expert Council–Russia, based at HSE University, together with the Russian House in New Delhi with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.
HSE Researchers Experimentally Demonstrate Positive Effects of Urban Parks on the Brain
Scientists at HSE University have investigated the effect of parks on the cognitive and emotional resources of city dwellers. The researchers compared brain electrical activity in 30 participants while they watched videos of walks through parks and along busy highways. The results showed that green urban environments with trees produce a consistent effect across individuals, helping the brain calm down and relax. By contrast, walks along busy streets were found to be distracting. The findings have been published in Scientific Reports.
HSE to Launch Laboratories in Space Research and Nanoelectronics with One of India’s Top Universities
Scientists from the HSE University and the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay) will carry out joint research in the storage, transmission, and processing of data in space systems. A second major project will be a laboratory for superconducting spintronics—a promising field in modern nanoelectronics.
Scientists Show That Peer Influence Can Be as Effective as Expert Advice
Eating habits can be shaped not only by the authority of medical experts but also through ordinary conversations among friends. Researchers at HSE University have shown that advice from peers to reduce sugar consumption is just as effective as advice from experts. The study's findings have been published in Frontiers in Nutrition.
HSE University to Host Second ‘Genetics and the Heart’ Congress
HSE University, the National Research League of Cardiac Genetics, and the Central State Medical Academy of the Administrative Directorate of the President will hold the Second ‘Genetics and the Heart’ Congress with international participation. The event will take place on February 7–8, 2026, at the HSE University Cultural Centre.
HSE University Develops Tool for Assessing Text Complexity in Low-Resource Languages
Researchers at the HSE Centre for Language and Brain have developed a tool for assessing text complexity in low-resource languages. The first version supports several of Russia’s minority languages, including Adyghe, Bashkir, Buryat, Tatar, Ossetian, and Udmurt. This is the first tool of its kind designed specifically for these languages, taking into account their unique morphological and lexical features.