
Why Volunteers Keep Coming Back
HSE University researchers together with colleagues from Erasmus University in Rotterdam and the University of Pennsylvania examined the determinants of episodic volunteer satisfaction and its impact on the motivation to continue volunteering.

Academics Started Working Even More During the Pandemic
Academics’ work week became even longer during the pandemic. This is true of researchers from different countries, independently of their gender and specialisation, an international research team with HSE University participation found. Their working time during the pandemic was 51 hours compared to the usual 40. The increased number of working hours per week seems to have become part of the new academic norm. The results of the study were published in the Plos One journal.

Two Russian Regions Cooperate in Migration Studies as Part of Mirror Labs Project
What does Kaliningrad Oblast, an exclave Russian territory, have in common with Perm Krai, a region in the Urals? How do researchers use digital humanities methods to study migration? Sergei Kornienko, Leading Research Fellow at the Group for Historical Research (HSE University-Perm), heads the Mirror Lab project ‘Migration as a factor of social transformation of Soviet regions during the post-war reconstruction period: an analysis through digital humanities’. In this interview for The HSE LooK, he talks about this collaboration.

‘This Achievement Certainly Motivates Me’
The results of the 2022 student vote for Best Teachers of HSE University have been announced. This year, there are more winners among international faculty than ever before. The HSE News Service talked to 2022 winners Cemal Eren Arbatli and Arnab Roy Chowdhury about their attitude to students’ assessment of teachers, their experience of positive and negative feedback, and the challenges of teaching online.

Faculty of Economic Sciences Holds Online Mathematics Camp for Incoming Students
In the last two weeks of summer, the HSE University Faculty of Economic Sciences invites future bachelor’s and master’s students to prepare for their upcoming studies. More than 200 international and Russian applicants have signed up for online classes in mathematics, probability theory, and statistics. The classes also allow first-year students to advance their academic achievements, build a foundation for getting involved in the faculty’s research and project activity, and foster cooperation between Russian and foreign students.

HSE University Collaborates with University in Southern Russia to Compare Values and Identities across Generations and Regions
Is there a system of values that is common to the whole population of Russia? Do values differ across generations? Is it possible to carry out research among refugees? HSE University researchers joined forces with their peers from Kuban State Technological University to study values and intercultural relations across Russian regions as part of a Mirror Labs project. The HSE LooK talked about this cooperation to Nadezhda Lebedeva, Director of the HSE Centre for Sociocultural Research, who heads up the Mirror Lab project, and project participant Victoria Galyapina, Leading Research Fellow at the same Centre.

The TikTok Tour: HSE University Students Popularise Finno-Ugric Culture
In early August, 30 students from all HSE University campuses set off on a journey as part of the Student Project Contest. Their project was called ‘T-T-T: A TikTok Tour of the Finno-Ugric Republics by Bus’. On their travels, the students learned about the local culture and made short educational and entertaining videos.

‘Sustainability in an Unstable Environment is Not a Paradox, but the Norm’
The application deadline for the English-language Master of Business Analytics programme has been extended until September 20th. Irina Ivashkovskaya, Professor at the Faculty of Economic Sciences, Head of the School of Finance and Programme Academic Supervisor of the online Master of Business Analytics programme, spoke about why we should study current concepts and methods of business analysis in this era of new economic normality.

'Canonisation' of Fanfiction: How Fan Creations Are Reshaping Cultural Canons
Harry Potter becomes a scientist, 'Hermione has changed a lot over the summer', and the Bennet sisters from Pride and Prejudice are fighting against zombies. A game, an unwillingness to part with one’s favourite characters, an attempt to correct the author's 'mistakes' — all of this is fanfiction. Fan creations, on one hand, draw on cultural canons, and on the other hand, challenge them and offer an alternative vision. High art can no longer ignore fan practices — both as its own mirror reflections and as a space for new opportunities. A paper by HSE researcher Ksenia Romanenko helps us delve deeper into the culture of fanfiction and examine its relationship to the cultural canon.

‘Students Have Broadened Their Horizons and Made the First Steps in Financial Mathematics’
Cedric Bernardin from Université Côte d’Azur collaborated with HSE University as a Digital Professor in the second semester of the 2021/2022 academic year. He taught a course on MDP theory with finance applications at the Faculty of Mathematics. Prof. Bernardin shared his impressions of this experience with the HSE News Service.