Research & Expertise News at HSE University

Our perception of time depends on heart rate—this is the conclusion reached by neuroscientists at HSE University. In their experiment, volunteers watched short videos designed to evoke specific emotions and estimated each video's duration, while researchers recorded their heart activity using ECG. The study found that the slower a participant's heart rate, the shorter they perceived the video to be—especially when watching unpleasant content. The study has been published in Frontiers in Psychology.

Participation in high-level international events is crucial for the professional development of researchers starting their career in science. It provides an opportunity to exchange ideas, create promising teams, and make important connections. This summer, Denis Ryapolov and Askar Tsyganov, students of the Applied Mathematics and Computer Science programme and staff of the AI and Digital Sciences Institute at the Faculty of Computer Science of HSE University, attended the prestigious international Conference on Learning Theory, COLT 2025, which was held in Lyon, France. In an interview, they shared their experiences and impressions from the trip.

In Schola’s latest instalment showcasing the winners of the International Academic Cooperation of HSE University competition, Aleksei Sorbale speaks about the project ‘Regional and Inter-Regional Associations in Norm-Building and Norm-Control in the Area of Environmental Regulation in Russia and India,’ carried out jointly with a research team from India’s University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES).

In September 2025, young people in Nepal took to the streets, armed not with party slogans but with online chats. Researchers at HSE analysed a million messages on a Discord server to understand the mechanics of youth protest. Experts discussed why the protesters identified themselves as Generation Z and what lessons can be drawn from this experience.

On September 23, the HSE University–St Petersburg Rope Shop Building hosted the Second Russian–Chinese Forum 'Culture of Education' and the annual meeting of the Russian–Chinese Association of Applied Research Institutes. More than 100 participants from leading non-government Chinese universities and representatives of 15 Russian universities discussed the integration of artificial intelligence in education and industry.

Economists from HSE University and the Southern Federal University have found that personality traits such as conscientiousness and open-mindedness help schoolchildren improve their academic performance. The study, conducted across seven countries, was the first large-scale international analysis of the impact of character traits on the academic achievement of 10 and 15-year-olds. The findings have been published in the International Journal of Educational Research.

World Deaf Day is traditionally celebrated on the last Sunday of September. This year, the HSE Faculty of Social Sciences joined the celebration and, together with the Moscow branch of the All-Russian Society of the Deaf (VOG Moscow), launched a study of the needs of hearing-impaired Moscow residents in terms of social services and accessible environments.

The HSE Centre for African Studies has marked its fifth anniversary. It was established to support Russian companies and government bodies in their engagement with countries across the continent and, over the years, has proved its effectiveness and uniqueness. A ceremonial event to mark the centre’s anniversary was held at HSE’s Cultural Centre.