Virtual Mozart, Venture Capital Bot, and Educational Video Generation: How AI is Used at HSE University
In mid-November, HSE University hosted a meetup where faculty, researchers, and administrators presented their projects and shared experiences with using AI technologies in education and research. The meeting was part of the continuing professional development programme 'Artificial Intelligence in Education and Research.'
The 'Artificial Intelligence in Education and Research' project supports the initiatives of university staff aiming to leverage advanced technologies to enhance the quality of education and scientific research. The project is carried out within the framework of the Priority 2030 Strategic Academic Leadership Programme.
Redesigning a Venture Capital Course Using AI Elements
Alexander Semenov, Associate Professor at the School of Finance, Faculty of Economics Sciences, shared his experience using artificial intelligence to redesign a course in Venture Capital. One of the primary goals of using AI was to enhance students' understanding of the financial investment market and innovative business practices.
Alexander Semenov
For this purpose, a virtual assistant was developed based on the psychologist chatbot Anna that interacts with students, helping them answer challenging questions and become more psychologically prepared to engage with investors. The use of this virtual assistant has enhanced the quality of student training and introduced new tools for discussing the psychological aspects of entrepreneurship.
AI Simulacra for a Figital Art Course
Evgeniya Evpak, Research Assistant at the HSE ISSEK Laboratory for Economics of Innovation and visiting lecturer at the HSE Art and Design School, presented a project centred on integrating AI simulacra into a course on figital art.
Evgeniya Evpak
The project’s main idea was to create virtual avatars of historical figures, such as Plato, Jean Baudrillard, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, to facilitate educational dialogues with students. These avatars were created using the Hedra and GigaChat neural networks, enabling the integration of gamification elements into the educational process and the creation of an interactive environment for studying figital art and its theoretical foundations. This approach will not only save time in creating educational video materials but also make learning more engaging for students.
AI Tools for Teaching Foreign Languages
Natalia Ryapina, Senior Lecturer at the School of Foreign Languages, HSE Campus in Perm, shared her experience using AI to teach foreign languages.
Natalia Ryapina
The main focus was on using multimodal AI tools, such as Gamma and EdrawMind, which help adapt educational materials and contribute to their comprehension by students. Generating content in various formats (video, audio, text) using artificial intelligence caters to students with different learning styles, increasing their engagement in the educational process and helping them immerse themselves more deeply in the material.
Integration of AI in Educational Activities
Ksenia Fimina, Senior Lecturer at the HSE School of Applied Mathematics, demonstrated how artificial intelligence can optimise the creation of educational materials.
Ksenia Fimina
In her work, she uses AI tools like Narakeet and Invideo AI, which reduce the time required to create presentation-quality videos by more than tenfold. AI tools offer teachers a wide range of ready-made templates and ideas for visually presenting lecture material, helping make the educational process more engaging and accessible for students. Ksenia Fimina also uses neural network technologies in developing a digital assistant for medical researchers as part of the Smart Medicine project.
Using AI to Examine the Narrative Structure of a Text
Marharyta Fabrykant, Senior Research Fellow at the Expert Institute's Laboratory for Comparative Studies in Mass Consciousness, presented the results of a study on using AI tools to analyse the emotional tone of a text and examine its narrative structure.
Marharyta Fabrykant
The project employed emotional dynamics analysis using the NLTK library to study the ancient epic of Gilgamesh. The study revealed patterns in the emotional structure of the text, confirming hypotheses about the rise and fall of emotional intensity at key moments of the narrative. Marharyta Fabrykant's project demonstrates the potential of using AI technologies for objective analysis of complex texts, which is highly significant for conducting humanities research.
The ‘Artificial Intelligence in Education and Research’ is a continuing professional development programme implemented by the HSE Faculty of Computer Sciences' Continuing Education Centre and the HSE Centre for Staff Continuing Professional Development.
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Banking Crises Drive Biodiversity Loss
Economists from HSE University, MGIMO University, and Bocconi University have found that financial crises have a significant negative impact on biodiversity and the environment. This relationship appears to be bi-directional: as global biodiversity declines, the likelihood of new crises increases. The study examines the status of populations encompassing thousands of species worldwide over the past 50 years. The article has been published in Economics Letters, an international journal.
Scientists Discover That the Brain Responds to Others’ Actions as if They Were Its Own
When we watch someone move their finger, our brain doesn’t remain passive. Research conducted by scientists from HSE University and Lausanne University Hospital shows that observing movement activates the motor cortex as if we were performing the action ourselves—while simultaneously ‘silencing’ unnecessary muscles. The findings were published in Scientific Reports.
HSE Scientists Reveal What Drives Public Trust in Science
Researchers at HSE ISSEK have analysed the level of trust in scientific knowledge in Russian society and the factors shaping attitudes and perceptions. It was found that trust in science depends more on everyday experience, social expectations, and the perceived promises of science than on objective knowledge. The article has been published in Universe of Russia.
IDLab: Fascinating Research, Tough Deadlines, and Academic Drive
The International Laboratory of Intangible-driven Economy (IDLab) was established at the HSE campus in Perm 11 years ago. Its expertise in data processing and analysis allows researchers to combine fundamental studies with applied projects, including the development of risk and cybersecurity models for Sber. The head of the laboratory, Professor Petr Parshakov, and Senior Research Fellow Professor Mariya Molodchik spoke to the HSE News Service about IDLab’s work.
HSE Lecturers Awarded Yandex ML Prize 2025
The Yandex ML Prize is awarded to lecturers and heads of educational programmes who contribute to the development of artificial intelligence in Russia. This year, 10 laureates were selected from 300 applicants, including three members of the HSE Faculty of Computer Science (FCS). A special Hall of Fame award was also presented for contributions to the establishment of machine learning as an academic field. One of the recipients was Dmitry Vetrov, Research Professor at the HSE FCS.
HSE University and Banking and Finance Academy of Uzbekistan Sign Memorandum on Scientific Cooperation
The partnership aims to foster academic collaboration in the fields of global economics, sustainable development, and Islamic finance. Strengthening academic ties with Uzbekistan represents a promising direction for scientific exchanges and the implementation of international projects in sustainable development.
HSE Scientists Optimise Training of Generative Flow Networks
Researchers at the HSE Faculty of Computer Science have optimised the training method for generative flow neural networks to handle unstructured tasks, which could make the search for new drugs more efficient. The results of their work were presented at ICLR 2025, one of the world’s leading conferences on machine learning. The paper is available at Arxiv.org.
Neural Network Trained to Predict Crises in Russian Stock Market
Economists from HSE University have developed a neural network model that can predict the onset of a short-term stock market crisis with over 83% accuracy, one day in advance. The model performs well even on complex, imbalanced data and incorporates not only economic indicators but also investor sentiment. The paper by Tamara Teplova, Maksim Fayzulin, and Aleksei Kurkin from the Centre for Financial Research and Data Analytics at the HSE Faculty of Economic Sciences has been published in Socio-Economic Planning Sciences.
‘To Help Make the World More Sustainable, Fair, and Humane’
The BRICS International School: New Generation has concluded at HSE University, bringing together more than 100 participants from 38 BRICS and Global South countries. The attendees included early-career researchers, diplomats, entrepreneurs, journalists, and civil society representatives.
Larger Groups of Students Use AI More Effectively in Learning
Researchers at the Institute of Education and the Faculty of Economic Sciences at HSE University have studied what factors determine the success of student group projects when they are completed with the help of artificial intelligence (AI). Their findings suggest that, in addition to the knowledge level of the team members, the size of the group also plays a significant role—the larger it is, the more efficient the process becomes. The study was published in Innovations in Education and Teaching International.