AI and Chinese Culture Day: HSE University Welcomes Students and Postgraduates from Tsinghua University
In July 2025, HSE University hosted a group of young scholars from Tsinghua University. During their visit, they attended a lecture on the latest developments in artificial intelligence at the Faculty of Computer Science and held workshops for HSE students as part of Chinese Culture Day.
The young researchers from Tsinghua’s Department of Automation, led by Associate Professor Shang Chao of the same department, are currently travelling the world as part of the Mobius project, visiting universities, research institutions, and corporations. This summer, their itinerary included Moscow and St Petersburg, where they visited HSE University, Bauman Moscow State Technical University, ITMO University, Sber, Kaspersky Lab, and the Russian branch of Huawei.
Their visit to HSE was organised by the Centre for International Student Mobility and Educational Projects, part of the University’s Department of Internationalisation. Fourteen students representing the Department of Automation, the Academy of Arts and Design, and the School of Economics and Management at Tsinghua University attended a lecture delivered by Daria Kasyanenko, Senior Lecturer at the Big Data and Information Retrieval School and Academic Supervisor of the Data Engineering programme. They learned about the application of AI tools in teaching at the Faculty of Computer Science and within the HSE AI Research Centre.
Tsinghua students also hosted a Chinese Culture Day at HSE, featuring workshops, a traditional tea ceremony, and various refreshments. HSE students attended the event and had the opportunity to try their hand at fan painting, making aromatic sachets, sugar painting, and practising their Mandarin language skills.
Peng Ziyi, team lead, student at the Department of Automation, Tsinghua University
— The presentation on the Faculty of Computer Science and the lecture on the application of AI in education were truly insightful. They gave our team a deeper understanding of how technology is shaping the future of education. The campus tour that followed was another highlight, offering us a glimpse into the dynamic academic environment of HSE. Our team was particularly impressed by the innovative approaches and dedication of both the teachers and students.
On Chinese Culture Day, July 24th, it was a pleasure to see HSE students so enthusiastic and engaged with Chinese culture. We were especially pleased to meet students with a genuine interest, making the event even more meaningful. We are grateful to the Centre for International Student Mobility and Educational Projects for organising the visit and inviting the students. We were inspired by the vibrant academic atmosphere, the warm hospitality, and the keen interest in Chinese culture shown by HSE students. We would love to continue our studies here in the future.
Liu Shuran, postgraduate student at Tsinghua University
— We saw many impressive sights in Moscow and St Petersburg, but the most valuable aspect of our trip was undoubtedly the information we gained from first-hand sources while visiting universities and companies. We attended presentations on the practical applications of AI in various sectors and participated in discussions with experts. Each of us took away something useful for our own research projects.
I would particularly like to highlight the lecture by Daria Kasyanenko from HSE University. I was amazed to learn how significant a role digital literacy plays in the educational process at HSE. Students from all disciplines learn how to effectively use AI, code, and analyse data. I believe this is something Chinese universities should take note of.
Tela Meng, student at the Department of Automation, Tsinghua University
— Moscow offers a fascinating mix of history and modernity, and the metro is like an art museum!
I am glad that during our trip we had the opportunity to introduce local people to Chinese culture. In addition to the Chinese Culture Day at HSE, we also organised an outdoor event on Arbat Street. To our surprise, passers-by showed great interest—everyone wanted to make their own fan or aromatic sachet.
At HSE University, I really enjoyed the international atmosphere, and I was pleasantly surprised by how confidently and correctly the students spoke Chinese. Well done!
Jing Haoda, student at the Department of Automation, Tsinghua University
— I studied Russian for one semester in China, and this trip gave me a chance to test my knowledge in real life, helping my classmates deal with everyday matters in Russia as best I could. While my Russian is still not very strong, this trip has motivated me to continue learning. I also translated signs and labels into Russian for our cultural event. When I return to Russia, and I hope to do so more than once, I want to be able to communicate freely with everyone here.
Of all the organisations we visited, I would especially like to mention Kaspersky Lab. In large Chinese tech companies, it is common to follow the 996 schedule—9 am to 9 pm, six days a week. It was interesting to learn that Kaspersky Lab’s corporate culture allows employees to maintain a healthy work-life balance.
Sofia Tarasova, third-year student on the double degree programme between HSE University and Kyung Hee University ‘Economics and Politics in Asia’
— I attended the Chinese Culture Day event organised by the students from Tsinghua. They were so friendly and cheerful that time seemed to fly by. It was great to practise my Chinese with native speakers in such a natural, relaxed setting, and perhaps even become friends. I really hope there will be more events like this at HSE in the future.
My favourite part was making a fan. I had always wanted one since childhood, but have never had a chance to try. Now I will keep it at home as a memento of the day.
Weidali Senotrusov, Head of the HSE Chinese Club
— We were delighted to welcome the students and postgraduates from Tsinghua University to HSE. It was wonderful to see students come together under one roof—those who had achieved top marks in their Gaokao or Unified State Exam to enter their respective universities—sharing their experiences and exchanging impressions. The Tsinghua students were especially enthusiastic about their visit to VDNH and, in particular, the Museum of Cosmonautics. They really enjoyed Moscow and some even began to seriously consider coming to HSE as academic exchange students.
Moreover, the Tsinghua students unanimously praised the very high level of Chinese among HSE’s Asian Studies students—a clear sign of their strong linguistic training. This is a very good indicator showing the high quality of Chinese language education at HSE.
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.
‘HSE Offers a Lot, Not Just Academically, but Also in Terms of Community and Unexpected Opportunities’
Zhou Jinyu, from China, is a fourth-year student of the Bachelor’s programme ‘Data Science and Business Analytics’ at the HSE University Faculty of Computer Science. On March 5, 2026, Zhou Jinyu delivered the report ‘Exploration of Object-Centric Process Mining Using Object-Centric Sequence Diagrams’ as part of the PAIS Lab seminar. In her interview with the HSE News Service, she spoke on her research topic, how object-centric process mining lets data reflect reality, and her overall experience of studying at HSE University.
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.
‘The Identity of a Political Community Is Not Fixed—It Is Continuously Constructed and Contested’
Wang Yali has been interested in Russian language and politics since her time as an undergraduate at Peking University. After graduating with a degree in Asian and African Languages and Literatures and a second degree in International Relations, she pursued a Master’s in International Relations at the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs at HSE University–Moscow. She is now pursuing a PhD at the Doctoral School of Political Science, examining Russian narratives of ‘East,’ ‘West,’ and its own place among them.
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.
HSE Scholars to Join Sino-Russian Association of Fundamental Sciences
The Sino-Russian Association of Fundamental Sciences has officially begun its work in China. It brings together research centres in mathematics, physics, chemistry, life sciences, and Earth sciences, with participation from HSE University scholars. During the launch conference, the Sino-Russian Mathematics Series project was also presented; it envisages the publication of 100 textbooks and monographs over the next ten years. HSE University representatives Ivan Arzhantsev and Sergei Lando have joined the project’s editorial board.