HSE University Leads the AI Alliance Ranking
The AI Alliance Russia has released a new ranking of Russian universities based on the quality of education in the field of AI. Similar to last year, HSE University has joined the leaders in A+ group alongside MIPT and ITMO. A total of 207 universities from 69 Russian regions participated in the ranking. In 2024, over 35,000 students were enrolled in AI-related programmes at these universities.
This second edition of the ranking focuses on the development of AI expertise among regional universities, highlighting individual examples of leading institutions by the end of the year. The key criteria for evaluating universities was the salary of prospective specialists within a year of completing their studies. At the top universities of the ranking, graduates' average salaries exceed 200,000 roubles.
The university ranking was created by the AI Alliance Russia and was first published last year. It was based on both open and specially collected data about the quality of education at universities. This year the AI Alliance conducted three studies: an extended survey of employers (more than 170 companies from 12 different industries), a survey of students, and a survey of universities. Only universities with bachelor's and/or specialist programmes in the field of AI were considered for the ranking.
The AI Alliance unites technology companies in Russia that are focused on developing artificial intelligence and helping the country lead the global market in this area. Members of the alliance include SBER, Gazprom Neft, Yandex, VK, Russian Direct Investment Fund, Sibur, Uralchem, Rusagro, Severstal, and Samolet.
Alexey Masyutin, Director of the AI and Digital Science Institute, HSE University
‘Speaking about various factors that are taken into account in the ranking, I would like to emphasize the importance of A* publications of university lecturers, as well as the number of joint educational programmes with companies. The first indicator is extremely important. If there are no leading researchers among the programme teachers, students will inevitably lack the skills to apply and develop technologies. And without the involvement of companies, it will be difficult to create products and services based on those technologies. HSE University pays great attention to both of these factors.’
Alexander Vedyakhin, First Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board of Sberbank
‘Together with our partners at the AI Alliance, we published a new university ranking on the quality of AI specialist training, which includes 207 universities. This ranking serves as a tool for the government for assessing the current situation in the field of AI training.’
Alexander Krainov, Director of AI Technologies development, Yandex
‘This year, the ranking underwent several modifications. The number of scientific publications considered has increased, and we started analysing which universities students are applying for the best master’s programmes in AI. Next year, we plan to continue developing and improving the ranking.’
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