HSE and Vietnam National University to Establish Joint Research Institute

A cooperation agreement has been signed in Moscow between HSE University and Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU). The document was signed during the official visit of a Vietnamese delegation to celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of Victory Day and negotiations involving President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin and General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam Tô Lâm. The agreement was signed by HSE Rector Nikita Anisimov and VNU Rector Le Quan.
The joint research institute will focus on cutting-edge developments, the coordination of bilateral research programmes, academic exchanges, and the enhancement of scientific capacity.
On May 12, a meeting took place at HSE University between the delegation from Vietnam National University, led by Rector Le Quan, and HSE Rector Nikita Anisimov, along with other university representatives. The parties discussed key aspects of launching joint projects and the concrete steps required for their implementation.

During the Vietnamese delegation’s visit, HSE University also signed an agreement with the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST). HSE University and VAST agreed to strengthen scientific and cultural cooperation, joint projects, conferences, and the exchange of scientific knowledge.
These initiatives mark a new phase in the scientific and educational partnership between Russia and Vietnam. The expansion of cooperation and the establishment of a shared research space not only strengthen bilateral ties but also enhance both countries’ contributions to the global scientific community, including the development of an intellectual foundation for the sustainable advancement of BRICS.
HSE University has been developing partnerships with Vietnamese educational and research institutions since 2016. It has cooperation agreements in place, including memoranda of understanding, as well as educational, research and academic mobility agreements, with various Vietnamese partners. These include the University of Engineering and Technology at Vietnam National University, the University of Economics in Ho Chi Minh City (UEH), the National Economics University, and others. Between 2020 and 2023, HSE University, in cooperation with the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences and with the support of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR), conducted the research project ‘Cross-Border Interaction, Socio-Cultural Transformations, and Local Communities in the Sino–Vietnamese Border Region in Government Projects of the PRC and Vietnam.’
See also:
HSE MIEM and MTS Launch Workshop on Innovative Solutions in Communication Networks
The HSE Tikhonov Moscow Institute of Electronics and Mathematics (MIEM) and MTS are launching a joint workshop in which students will work at the intersection of communications network engineering, data analysis, and digital technologies. The project is designed as a practice-oriented learning format, enabling students to tackle real industry challenges alongside company engineers and MIEM specialists. Registration to participate in the workshop is open until April 15, 2026.
HSE Unveils Anthropomorphic Courier Robot
From April 1 to 3, 2026, the Fourth Robotics Festival took place, with the HSE Faculty of Computer Science acting as the main organiser. The event featured the presentation of the anthropomorphic courier robot Arkus. The humanoid was introduced by the Institute for Robotic Systems, established jointly by HSE University and the EFKO Group of Companies.
‘It Is a Great Honour for Us to Be Partners’
In late March 2026, an official meeting took place between a delegation from HSE University and delegations from Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU); the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam; and the Embassy of Vietnam in the Russian Federation. The participants discussed key areas of cooperation that will help strengthen ties not only between the universities, but also between the two countries.
How the Brain Processes a Word: HSE Researchers Compare Reading Routes in Adults and Children
Researchers from the HSE Center for Language and Brain used magnetoencephalography to study how the brains of adults and children respond to words during reading. They showed that in children the brain takes longer to process words that are frequently used in everyday speech, while rare words and pseudowords are processed in the same way—slowly and in parts. With age, the system is reorganised: high-frequency words shift to a fast route, whereas new letter combinations are still analysed slowly. The study was published in the journal Psychophysiology.
How Neural Networks Detect and Interpret Wordplay: New Insights from HSE Researchers
An international team including researchers from the HSE Faculty of Computer Science has presented KoWit-24, an annotated dataset of 2,700 Russian-language Kommersant news headlines containing wordplay. The dataset enables an assessment of how artificial intelligence detects and interprets wordplay. Experiments with five large language models show that even advanced systems still make mistakes, and that interpreting wordplay is more challenging for them than detecting it. The results were presented at the RANLP conference; the paper is available on Arxiv.org, and the dataset and the code for reproducing the experiments are available on GitHub.
HSE Holds Exams, Quizzes, and Selection Rounds for School Students in Tashkent and Bishkek
More than 3,000 international school students took part in the INTO HSE International Olympiad, whose award ceremonies were held in Tashkent and Bishkek in March 2026. The university’s outreach events also included final examinations, presentations of academic programmes, and on-site selection tests for prospective applicants. In Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, nearly 200 participants received diplomas as winners and prize-winners. The best of them will be eligible to apply for state-funded places at HSE.
HSE University–St Petersburg and Vietnamese Universities to Launch Joint Research Projects and International Schools for Students
A delegation from HSE University–St Petersburg has visited partner universities in Vietnam. Read on to discover the opportunities international ties present for scientists and why there is a growing demand for specialists in the economy and culture of Southeast Asia in Russia.
BRICS International School Held in Delhi
The results of the BRICS International School: New Generation, which was held in Delhi, proved that young people have become key participants in the global dialogue. The event brought together 200 young leaders from leading universities and expert centres in India. The programme was organised by the BRICS Expert Council–Russia, based at HSE University, together with the Russian House in New Delhi with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.
HSE Researchers Experimentally Demonstrate Positive Effects of Urban Parks on the Brain
Scientists at HSE University have investigated the effect of parks on the cognitive and emotional resources of city dwellers. The researchers compared brain electrical activity in 30 participants while they watched videos of walks through parks and along busy highways. The results showed that green urban environments with trees produce a consistent effect across individuals, helping the brain calm down and relax. By contrast, walks along busy streets were found to be distracting. The findings have been published in Scientific Reports.
Fourth Robotics Festival to Take Place at HSE University
From April 1 to 3, 2026, the HSE Pokrovka Campus will host the Fourth Robotics Festival—one of the key events organised by the Faculty of Computer Science for anyone interested in robotics, programming, and engineering creativity. The festival will bring together robotics competitions, discussions, educational formats, and demonstrations of technological developments.


