'Our Focus Is on Joint Programmes with Universities in Siberia and the Far East'
In recent years, HSE University has focused on launching double-degree bachelor's and master's programmes jointly with other Russian universities. To date, students have enrolled in seven such programmes, and several more will start in the new academic year. Sergey Roshchin, HSE University Vice Rector, explains how university cooperation works, which fields and regions are a priority for the university, and what prospects graduates will have.
By collaborating with other Russian universities, we build a circle of partners with whom we share our research and training standards, empowering them to engage in academic, intellectual and expert discussion beyond our partnership. In the past thirty years, it has become common practice for Russian universities to offer double-degree programmes jointly with international partners. There are many such programmes at HSE University today. However, joint programmes between Russian universities are not yet common, and our experience with making them work may be of interest.
Expanding the Partnership Network of Bachelor's Programmes
HSE first launched a joint programme with another Russian university in 2008, when we partnered with Ural Federal University in offering a double-degree Bachelor's Programme in Economics. The collaboration proved successful, and the programme ran for eight years.
Our next step in 2010 was the HSE-NES Joint Programme in Economics, a programme that continues today. In many aspects, it is one of the strongest programmes in Economics taught in Russia today.
The late 2010s to early 2020s marked a new stage in joint programmes, when HSE University reached out to regional universities in Siberia and the Far East to facilitate a transfer of high-quality education to remote parts of the country. In 2018, we launched a Joint Bachelor's Programme in Economics with FEFU (the Far Eastern Federal University); it has been successful and will have its first graduates this year.
2020 saw the launches of the Joint Bachelor's Programme with Don State Technical University in Media Communications and the Joint Bachelor's Programme in Economics and Data Analysis with Tyumen State University, followed in 2021 by a similar programme with M.K.Ammosov North-Eastern Federal University in Yakutsk. These innovation-driven programmes train economists with a strong emphasis on instrumental knowledge and data analysis. The HSE University Faculty of Economic Sciences and the Faculty of Informatics, Mathematics, and Computer Science have been involved in designing the programmes.
In addition to the five existing joint programmes, four new ones will start enrolment in 2022.
A second joint programme in media communications will be launched with Tyumen State University. Starting this year, Khabarovsk State University of Economics and Law will be offering an International Bachelor's in Business and Economics alongside programmes of the same name at HSE University’s campuses in St Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod and Perm. These interrelated programmes will provide training in both Economics and Management, and graduates can earn degrees in one or both fields by selecting them in the course of their study.
We plan to start enrolment in a Joint Programme in Foreign Regional Studies with Southern Federal University; the new programme will focus on the Greater Caucasus and the Middle East. We are also opening enrolment for a joint Bachelor's Programme in Transport Economics and Engineering with the Russian University of Transport (MIIT). The project features the involvement of two HSE University faculties: the Faculty of Economic Sciences to promote high standards of training in economics, and the Faculty of Urban and Regional Development with its strong research teams focusing on transport development and transport economics.
Three Reasons to Launch Joint Programmes
The first reason to launch joint programmes is to share our academic know-how with other schools, including those in remote regions. This is in line with the university’s mission.
The second reason is the possibility to achieve synergy by joining the efforts of two strong faculties in creating a unique, high-quality programme such as the HSE-NES Joint Programme in Economics.
There is also a third, increasingly compelling reason. HSE University is a very large school, but we are also naturally limited in how much we can expand our campuses. Therefore, we venture beyond these platforms using a variety of formats. Joint programmes hosted by partner universities following HSE standards is one of them.
How It Works
With the sole exception of the HSE-NES Joint Programme in Economics, all other joint programmes are hosted by our partner universities. HSE faculty members travel to other regions to give lectures or teach classes online. Students in regional universities can choose an academic supervisor from HSE University for their term or degree paper.
Advanced continuing training and professional development of teachers from partner universities are an essential part of such collaborations. This allows us to maintain high standards of training and to issue HSE University degrees to graduates of partner universities.
Joint Master’s Programmes: Educational Management and Low Carbon Development
Joint programmes to train administrators of general education appear to be particularly relevant. The first joint Master's Programme in Educational Administration was launched with FEFU in 2020 and will see its first graduates this year. Two similar programmes will start this year at our partner universities: Pacific National University in Khabarovsk and Tyumen State University.
In addition to this, a Joint Programme in Pedagogical Work in Times of Change was launched at Pskov State University in 2021. It trains specialists in new educational methods.
This year also marks the launch of two master's programmes in different fields, both focused on low-carbon development and both implemented in partnerships. HSE University's Faculty of Geography and Geoinformation Technology is leading the enrolment campaign for the programme in Low Carbon Development in the field of Geography, while enrolment for the programme in Biology is handled by Tyumen State University.
In the summer of 2021, Tyumen State University opened the first carbon test site in Russia. A territory with a unique ecosystem, it is designed to develop and field-test measures for controlling greenhouse gas emissions and to facilitate environmental research. The carbon test site also opens up great opportunities for collaboration between our two universities, in particular in building competencies in low-carbon development.
Although master's programmes at HSE and Tyumen State University are different, their content overlaps, and some courses can be taken by students at both universities. The programme design allows students to earn degrees in two fields of study: Geography and Biology, while specialising in low-carbon development and other carbon-related knowledge.
Partnership Priorities
At this stage, an important focus for us is to help universities in Siberia and the Far East to enhance their quality of education, and the geographical factor is of paramount importance in choosing partners. More specifically, our priority locations today include Vladivostok, Khabarovsk, Yakutsk, and partly Tyumen.
Another significant factor is the partner university's ability to attract strong applicants to our joint programme. We set fairly high standards, and prospective students require a certain starting level to meet them.
Career Opportunities
I expect graduates of our joint programmes to find career opportunities in their respective regions: to continue studying and doing research at the university or to find employment as specialists in the local labour market. We hope that the education we deliver will serve their professional development, career success and personal fulfilment and help them make a meaningful contribution to their home regions' economy and prosperity.