‘Russia Is Different Than I Expected — It’s a Lot Nicer’

The fourth Summer University for international students has kicked off at HSE. The number of Summer University students has almost doubled this year to more than 150, with over a third of them coming independently. Student groups have come from HSE’s partner universities in the United States, South Korea, China, and European countries.

Traditionally, the Summer University programme includes courses in political science, economics, Russian culture and history, as well as computer science. This year’s innovation is the Research Experience for Undergraduates in Mathematics programme, which offers students an opportunity to carry out research supervised by HSE scholars. The Russian language course remains popular among Summer University students. Programme participants will also be able to spend a week in St. Petersburg, to attend the Critical Perspectives on International Business course.

According to Oksana Chernenko, Director for Innovations in Education and head of the Summer University, ‘The Summer University is developing fast, and we are happy to see that ever more students choose our summer programme, thanks in part to feedback from our former participants. We are also expanding cooperation with partner universities, as well as DAAD, which allocated more stipends for German students this year. As was the case last year, we have large groups from Seoul National University and SeoulTech. American students from the University of South Alabama who arrived earlier to study Russian will also be taking some of our courses. Besides, this is the first time we have had a group of students from the University of York (UK). They will be dividing their time between Moscow and St. Petersburg campuses. What's important, starting this year, Summer University participants can get a discount when they apply for our graduate and undergraduate programmes.'

Grigorios Katsaros (Lancaster University)

I’m from Greece. I study in Lancaster and came here for the summer programme. We had three choices from our university: Paris, Copenhagen, and Russia. I’ve been everywhere except Russia, that’s why I chose it. I don’t speak any Russian, only English. I’ve been here for one week, and I’ve already visited the key historical places in Moscow. I still have to explore the night clubs and the local bars.

I chose courses in economics and politics, in gas and the petroleum industry, contemporary issues related to Russia-EU relations, food security, and doing business in Russia, because I’m planning to start a new business in Greece. So far, everything has been great. We had our first lecture today about food security, and it was good. The lecturer spoke English well, and we had an interesting discussion about food security. My expectations are to learn more about Russia, how people think, and about doing business here.

Margarida Sà (Lancaster University)

I’m from Portugal but I’m taking my MA degree in the UK, at Lancaster University. We had three options for our first project: to do a normal dissertation, an internship at a company, or a summer school with a smaller dissertation. I thought summer school is the best option because it offers an opportunity to travel and get to know another culture. It’s my first time in Russia, and I know that you have beautiful metro stations in Moscow, so I’m looking forward to visiting it. 

I’ve chosen the following courses at HSE: Doing Business in Russia; Russia and Global Food Security; Challenges to EU–Russia Economic Links; as well as three weeks of Russian language. All the courses I’ve chosen are about Russia, since I want to learn more about this country. I won’t be an expert on it, but I will have some insights into it that other people don’t have.

Sebastian Clegg (University of York)

I study History at the University of York. And it’s history that has gotten me to come here. I’ve been learning a lot about Russia in my studies, so it’s very interesting to come here and see everything in real life. I’ve been to the Space Museum, and it was very interesting to see the Russian perceptions of cosmonautics, since it is not very well documented in Western academia. Not many people have even heard of Yury Gagarin.

People have been talking about Russia, and I wanted to see if what they say is true and get my own perspective on it. It’s a lot different than I expected, it’s a lot nicer, and people are friendlier. The country is a lot more modern and cosmopolitan.