Research & Expertise News at HSE University

Researchers from the International Laboratory of Intangible-driven Economy (Perm) and the HSE Laboratory of Sports Studies, together with mathematician and science populariser Alexey Savvateev, organised a game theory tournament entitled ‘The Election Race.’ Participants competed both against one another and against artificial intelligence. For now, humans have managed to gain the upper hand and propose more effective strategies.

The International Laboratory of Quantum Optoelectronics at HSE University–St Petersburg develops semiconductor microlasers. The components and systems created by the laboratory also enable high-speed data transmission and processing. Natalia Kryzhanovskaya, Head of the Laboratory and Doctor of Sciences in Physics and Mathematics, spoke with the HSE News Service about the laboratory’s research areas and future prospects.

Scientists from the HSE University and the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay) will carry out joint research in the storage, transmission, and processing of data in space systems. A second major project will be a laboratory for superconducting spintronics—a promising field in modern nanoelectronics.

Marina Sheshukova chose research in mathematical statistics and probability theory over a career in music. In this interview with the HSE Young Scientists project, she discusses Markov chains, multi-armed bandits, and her dog named after the mathematician Camille Jordan.

The Sino-Russian Association of Fundamental Sciences has officially begun its work in China. It brings together research centres in mathematics, physics, chemistry, life sciences, and Earth sciences, with participation from HSE University scholars. During the launch conference, the Sino-Russian Mathematics Series project was also presented; it envisages the publication of 100 textbooks and monographs over the next ten years. HSE University representatives Ivan Arzhantsev and Sergei Lando have joined the project’s editorial board.

Valeria Vinogradova, a researcher at HSE University, together with British colleagues, studied how language proficiency affects cognitive processing in deaf adults. The study showed that higher language proficiency—regardless of whether the language is signed or spoken—is associated with higher activity and stronger functional connectivity within the brain network responsible for cognitive task performance. The findings have been published in Cerebral Cortex.

In late January 2026, HSE University hosted a discussion titled ‘Development and Urban Planning: Which Specialists Is the Market Waiting For?’ The event marked the launch of a new Bachelor’s programme in Development and Urban Planning created by the HSE Faculty of Urban and Regional Development in partnership with a consortium of developers, whose key members include MR and A101 Group.

In the 1970s–80s, the Soviet Union made an unexpected discovery: in a society built on collectivist ideals, loneliness had become a significant social problem. In his study, Mikhail Kulagin, a postgraduate researcher at the HSE Faculty of Humanities, shows that the state not only acknowledged this paradox but also attempted to solve it through special ‘social technologies’ —including dating clubs, newspaper personal advertisements, and even early computer matchmaking systems. The study was published in the social research journal Laboratorium.