Research & Expertise news at HSE University

End-of-term exams have just finished in many universities operating on the modular system. Some students passed because they worked hard while others passed by cheating. Why do some students cheat by looking over someone's shoulder, furtively searching for test answers on the internet, using cheat sheets during exams or paying others to complete their coursework? A study conducted by the HSE Centre for Sociology of Higher Education offers some answers.

Openness, friendliness, tenacity, motivation, risk-taking, self-control and other non-cognitive components of human capital can be important determinants of earnings. And parental investment in their children’s non-cognitive skills affects their future academic and career success. This is set out in the work of HSE University’s Centre for Labour Market Studies (CLMS).

A university in the modern world cannot remain an ‘isolated entity’ that focuses on education and scientific activity. Through public projects and initiatives, it has a significant impact on the development of both the country as a whole and its regions. This activity, which includes volunteering, charity, social support for students, and the transmission of knowledge to engaged citizens, has become known as the ‘third mission’.Yaroslav Kuzminov, Rector of HSE University, has published an opinion piece about the University’s ‘third mission’ in the VTimes.

Upward and especially downward income mobility in Russia is higher than in developed countries, making it difficult to form a fully-fledged middle class. And the likelihood of being trapped in long-term poverty turns out to be greater than the transition to stable affluence. This is the conclusion reached by HSE University experts.

The Institute for Oriental and Classical Studies (IOCS) at HSE University is developing an electronic database of Chinese mythological characters and motifs. Because nothing like it has ever been compiled, it meets an enormous demand. Project originators Elizaveta Volchkova, Olga Mazo, Aglaya Starostina and Alevtina Solovyova told IQ what they are attempting to accomplish and why Chinese mythology is both complicated and fascinating.

At the twelfth BRICS summit held on November 17, Russian President Vladimir Putin and President of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping spoke via videoconference about the importance of the BRICS Energy Research Cooperation Platform. Researchers from HSE Institute for Statistical Studies and Economics of Knowledge and the Institute for Economics and Regulation of Natural Monopolies are involved in the work of the Platform.

One of the biggest headlines of recent days has been the announcement made by Pfizer, a U.S.-based company, and BioNTech, Germany, that BNT162b2, a COVID-19 vaccine they are developing, has proved to be 90% effective in its Phase 3 clinical trial. The news was met with big excitement all over the world. However, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is based on a new platform, which is still understudied. According to protocol, its trial will be complete only in 2022. IQ talked to Larisa Popovich, Director of the HSE Institute for Health Economics, about the differences between the U.S.-German and the Russian Sputnik V vaccines, and about the chances of beating COVID-19 with massive immunization in the upcoming months.

Experts at HSE University and other universities discussed what constitutes a university virtue and whether it is possible to assess scientific and scholarly accomplishments based solely on quantitative criteria. At the conference ‘University HR Policies: Managing Staff Involvement’, Aleksei Pleshkov, Director of the Poletaev Institute for Theoretical and Historical Studies in the Humanities at HSE University, gave a talk entitled ‘In Search of Academic Ethics: Goodness, Virtues and Happiness’.