Early-Career Researchers Discuss Cooperation between Russia and Arab States
.jpeg "Early-Career Researchers Discuss Cooperation between Russia and Arab States")
HSE University has hosted a conference entitled ‘Russia—The Arab World: Digital Future and Youth Cooperation,’ organised by the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs (WEIA). The meeting took place in the run-up to the first Russian–Arab summit, due to be held in Moscow on October 15, 2025.
Anastasia Likhacheva
‘I am very pleased that the conference brings together both Russian students studying Arabic and students from Arab countries who are interested in developing cooperation in Russia and across the Arab world. Communicate, make connections, debate, ask questions. After all, in five, ten, or fifteen years it will be you who have to answer them,’ said Anastasia Likhacheva, Dean of WEIA, addressing the audience. She expressed the hope that the most interesting ideas and proposals would be communicated to the official representatives of the countries.
Dmitry Efremenko, Head of the School of International Regional Studies at WEIA, stressed the importance of the event, describing it as unprecedented. Firstly, this was the first conference of early-career Arabists to be held in the Arabic language. This, he noted, creates a more trusting atmosphere that helps consolidate the research community.
Dmitry Efremenko
‘The second distinctive feature of the event is that it coincides with the forthcoming Russia–Arab summit, which I believe will raise cooperation between our countries to a fundamentally new and higher level, opening up fresh prospects for political engagement, economic cooperation, collaboration in technology, and many other fields,’ he said.
According to Dmitry Efremenko, the conference is taking place at a difficult moment both for Russia and for the Arab world. ‘Very complex and contradictory events are unfolding, the consequences of which will, of course, become fully apparent only later. That is all the more reason why, in such circumstances, it is crucial to maintain dialogue and to sustain it on a regular basis across a wide range of channels—from heads of state to the work of early-career researchers. This will make it possible in the future to reach a new level of expert support for political decision-making and for economic cooperation between our countries,’ he observed.
In his view, it is particularly important to discuss such issues as cybersecurity and standards in the digital sphere. Concluding his speech, Dmitry Efremenko expressed the hope that the conference would mark the beginning of a strong and sustainable research community.
New technologies are radically transforming both the world economy and world politics, agreed Moscow State University professor Igor Yaminsky. ‘Digital technologies are advancing at an incredible and rapid pace, one that only the younger generation, with their 96 billion neurons, will be able to keep up with,’ he said.
All countries, including those of the Arab world, are now focused on the development of digital technologies, observed Igor Yaminsky. For instance, Saudi Arabia is creating the city of the future, Neom, where digital technologies will play a leading role. The UAE has a Minister of Artificial Intelligence, while Bahrain, Kuwait, and Egypt are already launching small satellites built utilising digital technologies, he noted. Russia, too, is rapidly advancing in new technologies.
In recent years, relations between Russia and the Arab world have seen positive growth, as evidenced by a whole series of agreements reached in various fields—from the intensification of political, economic and trade cooperation to cultural, educational, scientific and technical, humanitarian and tourism exchanges, noted Walid Hamed Shiltagh, Ambassador of the Arab League to Russia. He expects this positive dynamic to gain fresh momentum thanks to the first Russia–Arab summit. At the same time, cooperation in education has traditionally played an important role in building bridges of communication, Walid Hamed Shiltagh stressed.
Andrey Baklanov
Student and youth cooperation plays a significant role in international politics—indeed, in some countries such movements are regarded with concern, remarked Prof. Andrey Baklanov, Head of the Middle East and North Africa Studies Section at HSE University. He is confident that the scale and significance of such cooperation will only continue to grow.
The conference was attended by students from HSE and other Russian universities. In their presentations, they spoke about youth diplomacy and student collaboration between Russia and Arab states.
See also:
HSE and Karakalpak State University Agree on Cooperation
HSE University and Berdakh Karakalpak State University have signed a cooperation agreement to strengthen collaboration in research, education, and innovation. Through the expertise of its Сentre of Digital Technologies for Nature-Based Solutions of the Carbon Measurement Supersites Programme, HSE University will work with colleagues from Uzbekistan to assess climate risks and evaluate opportunities for implementing nature-based climate projects in the region. The partners also plan to develop joint research and educational programmes.
‘We Are Always Open to Collaboration, and China Is One of Our Most Important Partners’
From July 20 to 27, 2026, the HSE Faculty of Urban and Regional Development (FURD) is hosting a summer school for students from Tianjin University dedicated to the preservation of cultural heritage. Throughout the week, participants have attended lectures, practical workshops, and field visits to some of Moscow’s most iconic heritage sites. The summer school is the faculty’s first international programme of this kind and forms part of the expanding educational cooperation between Russia and China.
Physicists at HSE University and FIAN Discover Way to 'Photograph' Sound for Testing Materials Used in 6G Communications
Researchers at HSE University, in collaboration with colleagues from the Lebedev Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (FIAN), have developed a method for rapidly determining how firmly a film is bonded to a substrate. This is important for the creation of ultrahigh-frequency acoustic filters, which are key components of next-generation 5G and 6G communications. For the first time, researchers have succeeded in measuring the lateral rigidity of the bond between a two-dimensional material film and a substrate in this way. The study results have been published in Applied Physics Letters.
HSE University and Peking University Expand Their Partnership
Peking University President Gao Song paid his first visit to HSE University as part of his first overseas trip since taking office in May 2026. The main purpose of the talks was to consolidate existing areas of cooperation and expand joint projects between HSE University and Peking University within the framework of the Cross Years of Russia–China Cooperation in Education (2026–2027).
Biologists Discover Unique Properties of MiR-93-5p MicroRNA in Prostate Cancer
Researchers at the International Laboratory of Microphysiological Systems of the HSE Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology investigated how different isoforms of the same microRNA influence gene function in prostate adenocarcinoma. The study found that in some cases, microRNAs can reinforce each other’s effects by targeting and suppressing the same genes. This finding offers a fresh perspective on the molecular mechanisms underlying tumour development and on the search for disease biomarkers. The results have been published in PeerJ.
Researchers Discover How Spelling Errors Slow Down Reading in Russian
Psycholinguists from the Centre for Language and Brain at HSE University–St Petersburg have shown that words that are frequently misspelled are processed more slowly by readers, even when presented with the correct spelling. The researchers confirmed this effect for the first time using Russian-language materials and found that response speed is most strongly linked to how confidently individuals can distinguish the correct spelling of a word from an incorrect one. The study has been published in The Mental Lexicon.
HSE Economists Reveal How the Wage Gap Emerges Among Vocational School Graduates
HSE researchers examined the careers of 600,000 graduates of Russian secondary vocational education programmes and found that at the start of their careers, the gender wage gap reaches 23%, doubling after three years. This disparity is largely due to male and female students choosing different occupations when enrolling in vocational schools. These were the findings made by Sergey Roshchin, Natalya Yemelina, and Ksenia Rozhkova from of the HSE Faculty of Economic Sciences. The article has been published in Educational Studies.
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.
Education in a Changing World: Russian–Chinese Dialogue in Beijing
How are universities, vocational education systems, and researcher training programmes evolving in response to new challenges? These questions were at the heart of the international forum ‘Reconfiguring Education in a Changing World: Russia–China Dialogues on Higher Education, Skills, and Research Training’, held in China in mid-June. The event was jointly organised by the HSE Institute of Education and the Graduate School of Education of Peking University, which hosted the forum on its campus.
HSE University and Unicamp Develop Partnership Projects
At the end of May, HSE University in Moscow received a delegation from the State University of Campinas (Unicamp, Brazil), which has held a strong, long-standing partnership with HSE. The meeting in Moscow took place as part of the International Partner Week, which was held from May 19 to 22 by HSE University–St Petersburg. The event was attended by Unicamp representatives: Rafael Dias, Director of International Affairs, and Milena Serafim, Associate Director of the Faculty of Applied Sciences.