‘We Will Develop the Sports That Staff and Students Are Fond of’
The HSE Corporate Academy has established the Sports Community Support Centre, headed by Olympic rowing champion Sergey Fedorovtsev. He spoke with the HSE News Service about his career, university sports, and the centre’s work.
— How did you become an athlete? Why did you choose rowing?
— I was born in Rostov-on-Don, and I was an active child. I tried out many sports, showing good results and the potential to become a talented athlete, but my professional career started in rowing. First, I wanted to be the best in the group, then the best in city competitions, and then in 1996 I decided that I wanted to become a professional athlete and go to the Olympics.
Academic rowing is a unique sport—the only one in which you move with your back towards the finish line. It can be either an individual or team effort, and rowers use all muscle groups. Competitions are held on the water and outdoors, and the locations are constantly changing.
— How did your sports career develop?
— I became a champion in young men’s competitions, and then the adult champion of Russia. In the spring of 2000, together with senior athletes, we assembled a great team to go to a qualification regatta, and then to the Olympic Games. But I fell ill unexpectedly and was diagnosed with a complicated condition. The doctor advised me to change my sport, but I decided not to. This was followed by the most difficult period of physical training in my life, including an unbearable workload and endless workouts. In 2001 I won silver in the Russian championship and returned to the national team. In 2003 I qualified at the World Championships, then in 2004 I won the Olympic Games in Athens. I was the youngest in the team, and I was assigned the leading role in the rowing crew.
Our victory in the Olympics came as a surprise to many people, but we prepared very intensely both physically and psychologically. Although there were other victories after the Olympics, that one remained the most important for me.
— You came to work at HSE University in 2022 at the Department of Physical Training. How did that happen?
— Quite by accident. An HSE student called me and said he would like to train with me. I didn't know this student, but he somehow managed to persuade me to join the training. There were two teams there, a men's and a women's team. Now we train all year round, both on the water and on rowing machines in winter, and the teams show good results.
— How did you come up with the idea of creating the Sports Community Support Centre?
— During a Sunday jog with HSE Rector Nikita Anisimov, we discussed possible trajectories for developing sports at the university.
There are a lot of fans of various sports among the students and staff of HSE University. There is a Running Club—a community of running enthusiasts headed by Anna Kozyreva, Head of the Promotions and Communications Unit of the Faculty of Computer Science. I am very glad that she agreed to work part-time at our centre.
— Who else among your colleagues is actively involved in sports?
— It’s well known that HSE University Rector Nikita Anisimov is fond of sports: he constantly participates in runs, setting an example for others. Vice Rector Shamil Akhmetov is fond of football, Dmitry Zemtsov does fencing, and Alexey Koshel plays chess (we once played a couple of games, and I lost both). I hope that other colleagues will find an opportunity to join university communities in their sports.
The HSE Department of Physical Training headed by Oleg Bulykin, a great leader and former successful athlete, has also contributed to the development of sports communities at HSE University.
— Does the Sports Community Support Centre have a plan for the next five years? How many employees and students do you aim to involve in sports?
— Two years ago, at the Russia–Country of Sports international forum, President Vladimir Putin said that 70% of Russian citizens should be regularly involved in sports by 2030. I think our university can also focus on this indicator. We will develop the sports that staff and students are fond of.
The Sports Community Support Centre aims to create a favourable environment for the development of sports and physical education and strengthen ties between various teams. Sports and active recreation are a good way to overcome stress, achieve psychological and emotional relief, and maintain and strengthen health—and everyone has the opportunity to try it.
Today, for many people, HSE has become a university that not only provides high-quality education, but also pays great attention to sports. We will strengthen and develop this image.
See also:
HSE Researchers Make Aldehydes Perform Dual Function
Chemists from HSE University have discovered a way to carry out a reductive addition reaction without using an external reducing agent. Instead, the required 'resource' is supplied by the aldehyde itself, one of the reaction participants. This approach helps prevent unwanted side reactions, reduces toxicity, and simplifies the production and synthesis of organic molecules, including those used in the manufacture of medicines. The study has been published in Journal of Catalysis.
HSE Scientists Develop Method to Compress Large Language Models Without Losing Quality
Researchers from the AI and Digital Science Institute at the HSE Faculty of Computer Science have developed a new compression method for large language models such as GPT and LLaMA that reduces their size by 25–36% without additional training or significant loss of accuracy. This is the first approach to use mathematical transformations—specifically, rotations of model weights—to make models more amenable to compression with structured matrices. The study results have been published in ACL Findings 2025. The code is available on GitHub.
Machine Learning Models Can Help Reduce Volatility and Boost Stock Market Returns
The use of machine learning models makes it possible to achieve greater accuracy in predicting risks in the Russian stock market compared to classical econometric approaches. The predictive power of these models increases by 23%, while the average investor’s return can reach up to 13% per annum. These conclusions were drawn by Nikita Lysenok from the Department of Financial Market Infrastructure at the HSE Faculty of Economic Sciences. The paper has been published in Fundamental and Applied Mathematics.
HSE Study Reveals Imbalance in the Generative AI Market
Researchers at HSE University analysed how effectively the global generative artificial intelligence market converts investment into real revenue, concluding that AI is currently developing faster than it is paying off. The results have been published in the journal Foresight and STI Governance.
Teaching a Machine to Read the Past: HSE Develops Neural Network to Decipher Manuscripts
Diaries and letters are an invaluable resource for humanities scholars. But what can be done when the text is impossible to read? At the HSE Faculty of Humanities, this challenge has been translated into the language of mathematics: a team of philologists, historians, and machine learning specialists has created an information system that not only recognises illegible handwriting but also helps analyse archival content.
Scientists Develop Algorithm for Accurate Financial Time Series Forecasting
Researchers at the HSE Faculty of Computer Science benchmarked more than 200,000 model configurations for predicting financial asset prices and realised volatility, showing that performance can be improved by filtering out noise at specific frequencies in advance. This technique increased accuracy in 65% of cases. The authors also developed their own algorithm, which achieves accuracy comparable to that of the best models while requiring less computational power. The study has been published in Applied Soft Computing.
HSE and Nazarbayev University: Scientific and Educational Cooperation
In April 2026, HSE University welcomed an official delegation from Nazarbayev University. The visit primarily focused on establishing cooperation between the two universities, expanding partnership ties, and developing joint projects in support of strengthening bilateral relations between Russia and Kazakhstan.
‘Meet Professors, Gain Experience’: Uzbek Lyceum Students Undertake Placement at HSE
The fourth off-site school organised under the Lyceum Classes project has taken place with the support of HSE University and implemented by the HSE Department of Internationalisation. This year, 79 students from International House Tashkent and Interhouse Lyceum came to HSE. The programme includes an introduction to the university, the opportunity to attend classes, and tours around Moscow.
HSE and Yandex Propose Method to Speed Up Neural Networks for Image Generation
A team of scientists at HSE FCS and Yandex Research has proposed a method that reduces computational costs and accelerates text-to-image generation in diffusion models without compromising quality. These models currently set the standard for text-to-image generation, but their use is limited by high computational loads, the company said in a statement.
Mathematical Physics at HSE University Goes International
The HSE University International Laboratory for Mirror Symmetry and Automorphic Forms and the Beijing Institute of Mathematical Sciences and Applications (BIMSA) held a joint online conference on mathematical physics. The results of the laboratory research presented at the event will be published in leading academic journals.