HSE Summer University: from Mathematics to Russian Language

One hundred and sixty people from more than 20 countries came to Higher School of Economics for a short summer programme in 2017.

The student body was drawn from universities of China, South Korea, Great Britain, the United States, France, Egypt etc. Classes were held on the Moscow campus and at HSE St Petersburg. Students could choose one or more courses in economics, political science, history, culture, computer science, business, Russian language and mathematics. HSE Faculty of Mathematics launched a short research programme for the first time.

Russian language was quite popular with foreigners, as was political science with many students having an interest in current Russian and international politics. A group of students from the Seoul National University did a course in Understanding Modern Russia combining it with a course in Russian language. British students (from the University of York) chose international business management and found time to explore HSE campuses in Moscow and St Petersburg.

Extracurricular activities included sightseeing tours of Moscow and St Petersburg. International students were accompanied by volunteers from HSE student organisation. Farewell parties were arranged for each group after completion of studies; on one such occasion, Russian language learners performed ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ in Russian. 

Students liked the summer programme; many of them plan to return to HSE to continue their education expecting a discount on tuition fees for bachelor’s and master’s programmes.