Campus news at HSE University

At the end of February, the HSE University Cultural Centre hosted the DotaFest esports festival organised by the CyberHSE society. The event was a chance for students of HSE and other Russian universities to immerse themselves in the world of popular video games and dress up as their favourite characters. There was also a round table on the development prospects of esports in Russia and the role of university societies in this effort.

In February, HSE University welcomed Kypros Giorgallis, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Cyprus to the Russian Federation. The Ambassador met with HSE University Vice Rector Victoria Panova to discuss ways of establishing academic links between HSE University and universities in Cyprus.

On February 22, the HSE University Faculty of Humanities held a Maslenitsa celebration at the building on Staraya Basmannaya. At the event, which was aimed at helping international students settle in, students learned about the meaning of Maslenitsa (or Pancake Week), enjoyed festive games and attractions, and feasted on pancakes with condensed milk. HSE students from various diasporas also showcased their own traditions for seeing off winter and offered a taste of their national dishes.

India is playing a special role on the international stage this year. Apart from chairing the G20, in October the country is hosting the VIII BRICS Competition Conference, which is held every two years. The HSE International BRICS Competition Law and Policy Centre is involved in developing the programme and organising the conference. Alexey Ivanov, Director of the Centre, recently became a member of the International Advisory Board of India's Centre for Competition, Investment and Economic Regulation—CUTS.

On February 16, the sixth Mediacosm conference was held. The event traditionally dedicated to discursive and non-discursive ways of presenting the cosmos through media, fashion and music was organised by the HSE Faculty of Creative Industries.

On February 5, the finals and award ceremony of the VK Cup ‘22/23 IT championship took place. The competition comprised two qualifying stages and one final stage. There were more than 5,000 applications for the qualifying stages, with a total of 80 participants making it to the finals.

On 13–14 February, former Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl will give a course on the history of the oil market for HSE University students. In mid-December, she talked at HSE University on 'Energy Is the Name of the Game: Geopolitics and Economics of the Energy Markets from 1911 to 2023' and spoke to the HSE News Service. In her interview, she discussed European energy policies, the problems of neutrality, the crisis of trust, and her personal experiences as a public figure in global politics. She also announced her book Requiem for Europe, which is planned to be published with HSE.

The HSE University Pokrovka Building is hosting a Safety Fair on February 6–8 and February 13. The event features master classes and seminars where students can find out what to do in emergencies: how to provide first aid to people in distress, what to do in the event of a fire, and how to stay calm in emergencies.