Changing Majors

In the text by Arina Farahova, Ksenia Buzovkina shares her experience in changing the major from law to journalism.

Many pupils nowadays face the problem when they cannot decide what their future job will be and feel scared and lost due to this. Ksenia will share her experience and prove that it is okay to change majors while studying, even when your relatives think otherwise. So do not be afraid that your life is defined since you have made a career decision once. Everything is possible.

It was not my thing
Initially, I had been studying law for a year and a half before I changed the major. I didn’t come to the decision of what I would like to do in the future when I was finishing school, so I opted for this field as my parents really respected this kind of job and gave me the advice to make a choice in favour of it. I was not worried that I might not like it. Unfortunately, it turned out that it was not my thing and I needed to find another sphere, so I gave journalism a chance.

The problems never go away
I always enjoyed meeting new people, creating, and I even wrote articles about art for the school magazine, but I did not take it all into account when applying for the university. Moreover, I had prejudices that studying journalism in Russia was quite problematic as it seems uncertain and thus terrifying. I thought law was really stable and prestigious. Then I realised that any field cannot go without obstacles, so it is useless to try to find the easiest way.

Read more on HSE Illuminated

Winter Trip to Suzdal and Nizhniy Novgorod

Watch a travel video by Hsu Chu Ling about visiting two Kremlins, Museum of Wooden Architecture, Cable-Way over Volga, churches and fairs.

If you think about skiing in Moscow this winter enjoy two texts by Anastasia Kochukhova and Pham Minh Nghia:
1) It's Time for the Speed and Wind! - the list of spots for snowboarding and skiing in Moscow and the Moscow region.
2) 5 Parks in Moscow with Free Ski Classes - on classes for groups conducted by professional instructors who are trained to work with both adults and children.

Lyubov Pak on Being an International Student in HSE

Being an international student is quite difficult, especially when it is the first experience of living somewhere away from hometown.
It goes without saying, that there may occur some assumptions and fears. However, having overcome them, you may broaden your horizons and experience a lot of new things.

Read the story of Lyubov on HSE Illuminated

A Thai Student in Russia
Pat Mameesuk, a Master's student at HSE, talks about his life, study, travels, and expressions in Russia.
Text by Margarita Mayorova

Russia is a mysterious country for many foreigners. And when they come here as tourists or students, each of them sees it in his own unique way. This vision often depends on their native country, language, familiar culture, and weather.

Earlier we talked about what Thailand is like through the eyes of a student from Russia, in the article «A Russian HSE Student in Thailand». Now we are talking about what Russia is like through the eyes of a student from Thailand! And also about how Thai students can enroll in Russian universities, why they should choose HSE, Russian frosts, language, people, and much more.

Read on HSE Illuminated

11 Skills Needed to Study Abroad
A guide by Thao Pham.

Studying abroad means going to another country to study a certain program or course, and one must be prepared at least a few months in advance with the necessary and sufficient skills. I hope that my advice can help you study abroad so that you can be best prepared for your important future plans.

Read on HSE Illuminated

2 Years After: The Story of Trang Ly
Anastasiia Shepeleva talks to Trang Ly, a student from Vietnam, about her thoughts about Russia and studying at HSE.

Read on HSE Illuminated

Be creative!
Selbi Durdyyeva, a student from Turkmenistan, shares her experience of moving to Russia and adjusting to the new way of life while studying at the HSE. Interview by Arina Farahova.

Read on HSE Illuminated

Majazztic Places (and Events)
A guide by Anastasia Kochukhova.

When the workday is over, I suggest listening to jazz. Here are some ideas about where you can listen to jazz in Moscow.

Read on HSE Illuminated

Studying at HSE: A Story of Liu Jingyi
Liu Jingyi, an exchange student from China, shares her experience of studying at HSE in an interview for Thi Thuong Cao.

Read on HSE Illuminated

The Skill of Public Speaking for Study and Life
Why public speaking is so important in our lives and how to prepare for it.
Text by Kseniia Demidova.

If you ask most people, they will probably say they don't like public speaking. They may even admit to being afraid of them, as the fear of public speaking is very common. Or they may just be shy or withdrawn. For these reasons, many people avoid public speaking if they can. If you are one of those people who avoids public speaking, you have a lot to lose.
Over the years, public speaking has played an important role in the field of education, management, and business. Words have the power to inform, convince, enlighten, and even entertain. And a word spoken by the right speaker can be even more powerful than a written word...

Read more on HSE illuminated

“Funny Pictures” of Everyday Work

Aleksandra Shanina talked to HSE alumni Nastya Arefeeva, a PR specialist in an IT Company and part-time co-host of the podcast show “Funny Pictures” about contemporary art within a sociological paradigm. Nastya shared her experience and ideas for those who are interested in podcasting and projects combining in general.

Read more on HSE illuminated

A Chinese Girl's First Month in Moscow
Weichen Tang on how she fell in love with the city.

It's my first month in Russia. When I got off the plane and saw how beautiful Moscow was at night, I was curious and excited about my life in Moscow afterward. When I saw the signs in Chinese at the airport, I felt very close and excited by the great friendship between China and Russia.

My university had a Russian partner for me, and she came to greet me on my first day in Moscow. Thanks to her, I was able to get from the airport to my school dormitory without any problems. The dormitory room was very bright and clean. The dormitory staff was very friendly. I was able to complete all the check-in procedures very quickly. I started my real life in Moscow.
The dormitory is very close to the metro station, so it's very convenient for me to get to the university. Moscow's metro is very convenient and well-connected, but it's also very crowded and complicated, and I had a hard time finding the exit at first. However, as I rode the metro more often, I learned the rule of thumb that every line and exit are clearly indicated, so if you read the signs carefully, you will easily adapt.

Read more on HSE Illuminated

Common Mistakes in IELTS Speaking Test and How to Avoid Them

Lyubov Pak, who achieved an overall score of 7.5 in IELTS, shares some tips on how to improve your speaking skills.

Read on HSE Illuminated

Black History Month

The Multicultural club is organizing a "Black History Month", an event to celebrate the Heroes of Black History.

Venue: School of Foreign Languages, Higher School of Economics, Staraya Basmannaya Street 21/4c1.
Date and Time: 22nd February 2023 at 17:30

Black History is a yearly event celebrated every month of February and it is a great opportunity to celebrate African Americans’ many achievements throughout U.S. history and the history of the world at large.

Read more on HSE Illuminated

Came to Make a Difference

Arina Farahova talked to Yesuigen Tsogjavkhlan, a student from Mongolia, about her experience of being a foreign student majoring in Public Policy and Analytics at HSE.
Read Yesuigen's story on HSE Illuminated

Traveling to Korea
Text by Thao Pham.

Korea is indeed an attractive destination that is hard to refuse. If you are tired of the cold atmosphere in Russia or European countries, let's follow me to explore Korea with Seoul and Busan on my last summer trip.

Read on HSE illuminated

Pursuing Your Educational Goals

For every Pakistani girl education comes first. Only a small number of them succeed in getting the chance to pursue higher education abroad.
Azeem Ullah interviews Komal Mahboob on her experience of coming to HSE.

Read on HSE Illuminated

HSE Basketball Universe: More Than Just a League
Text by Margarita Mayorova.

HSE has long been famous not only for the highest quality of education but also for the brightest student life. Among all student communities, one stands out especially strongly. These people make noise at all the HSE student festivals, and regularly hold spectacular Championships, and any international corporation will envy their internal organization.

We have already told you about «Girls with Balls». Now we would like to tell you about the whole universe of HSE basketball. And the CEO of 5x5 League Dima Prokopiev helped us with this. From his interview, you will learn about how the basketball community was born in HSE, what it consists of, training, championships, the First International Tournament, and much more.

The basketball team in HSE appeared back in 1994, and in the same year, it reached the second league of the Moscow University Championship. In 1998, a basketball section was opened for everyone, and since then “amateur” HSE basketball also started to develop.

Read on HSE Illuminated

Breaking Down Cultural Barriers Through Food Sharing in HSE Dorm
Text by Md Naoshad Chowdhury.

At the very beginning of my dorm life in Russia, I was very worried about how I could cope with the new culture, people, and place. The first few days it seemed to me I was fish out of the pond. But after a few weeks, I discovered my days became amazing in this beautiful city surrounded by my splendid friends. And my ice started to melt from our kitchen especially when we started to share our food!

Read on HSE Illuminated