Society news at HSE University

is the average number of litres of water a person living in Russia uses each day. Ten years ago, average daily water consumption was 300-380 liters.

of teachers in schools are currently younger than 30 years of age.

On December 17 the awards ceremony for Startup of the Year 2014 took place at the Technopolis Moscow congress centre. Of the 350 projects entered for this prestigious prize, 7 winners received the coveted statuettes - 6 for the different nominations and one from the audience. Among the winning teams there are HSE students and graduates.

was the factor by which the number of applications from social entrepreneurship projects for the ‘Startup of the Year’ award grew this past year. In total, social entrepreneurs accounted for 36% of nominees for the award.

On 11-12 December the IV Moscow Urban Forum ‘Drivers of City Development’ took place. The forum, an annual event since 2011, is an international conference on urban design, architecture, economics and strategic city planning.

'Success Builder' is a section about what happens with HSE alumni after graduate — how they build their careers, how they gain recognition in their field, how they handle failure. Katya Bermant, HSE graduate, is working to develop the charity industry in Russia by using Western models and adapting them to the Russian context. She gives lectures, teaches specialist classes, conducts educational activities, and invents and implements creative fundraising methods.

Students at the HSE School of Integrated Communications, Faculty of Communications, Media and Design won all the prizes in a public service advertising competition against corruption. The contest is run by the Moscow City department for competition policy. The HSE students’ posters were selected from 175 pieces submitted from different Russian regions and the near abroad. The prize giving ceremony was in a city government building on New Arbat on December 10.

of families do not reject the idea of higher education for their children if they are unsuccessful in enrolling for a tuition-free spot. They either look for another university with less demanding requirements or enroll as tuition-paying students.