How Neural Networks Detect and Interpret Wordplay: New Insights from HSE Researchers
An international team including researchers from the HSE Faculty of Computer Science has presented KoWit-24, an annotated dataset of 2,700 Russian-language Kommersant news headlines containing wordplay. The dataset enables an assessment of how artificial intelligence detects and interprets wordplay. Experiments with five large language models show that even advanced systems still make mistakes, and that interpreting wordplay is more challenging for them than detecting it. The results were presented at the RANLP conference; the paper is available on Arxiv.org, and the dataset and the code for reproducing the experiments are available on GitHub.
HSE President Alexander Shokhin Re-elected as President of Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs
Alexander Shokhin, President of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP), has been re-elected to lead the organisation for another four-year term. The decision was taken at an RSPP congress session held at the Russia National Centre. Since 1995, Alexander Shokhin has also served as President of HSE University. In addition, he heads HSE’s Department of Theory and Practice of Business–Government Interaction.
HSE Ranked First in 13 Graduate Employment Rankings
HSE University has become the leading Russian educational institution by the number of first-place positions in national graduate employment rankings. The rankings are compiled separately for each field of study, taking into account the share of graduates who find employment and their salary levels. The university ranked first in areas such as Mathematics and Mechanics (Master’s level), Computers Science and Engineering (Bachelor’s level), Information Security (Bachelor’s level), Asian and African Studies (Master’s level), Economics and Management (Bachelor’s level), among others.
Celebrating Nowruz at HSE University–St Petersburg: Spring Festival Unites Cultures
On March 20, HSE University–St Petersburg hosted a vibrant event dedicated to the ancient Eastern holiday of Nowruz. Uniting the traditions of many peoples, this holiday symbolises the start of the new year and the renewal of nature.
School Students from 34 Countries Take Part in the First International Software Engineering Olympiad PROD
The award ceremony for the winners and runners-up of the first International Software Engineering Olympiad PROD took place in Moscow. It was attended by over 4,000 high school students from all Russian regions and 33 other countries, including Armenia, Brazil, Germany, Georgia, Denmark, Israel, Indonesia, China, Congo, Laos, Liberia, the USA, South Korea, and Japan.
HSE Economists Find That Auction Prices Depend on Artist’s Life Story
Researchers from the Centre for Big Data in Economics and Finance at the HSE Faculty of Economic Sciences have found that facts from an artist’s life are statistically significant in pricing a painting, alongside such traditional characteristics as the material, the size of the canvas, or the presence of the artist’s signature. This conclusion is based on an analysis of prices for 15,000 works by 158 artists sold since 1999 by the major auction houses Sotheby’s and Christie’s. The article has been published in the journal Empirical Studies of the Arts.
Researchers from HSE and Iran University of Science and Technology Study Intellectual Resources
In February 2026, the International Laboratory of Intangible-Driven Economy (IDLab) and Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST) held a joint seminar as part of the project ‘Internationalisation of Companies from Developing Countries: The Role of Intellectual Resources in Response to Exogenous Shocks.’ The project has been implemented as part of the ‘International Academic Cooperation of HSE University’ initiative.
HSE MIEM and Ozon Launch Joint Workshop on AI Systems Security
The Machine Learning in Information Security workshop is being launched as part of a strategic cooperation agreement between the HSE Tikhonov Moscow Institute of Electronics and Mathematics (HSE MIEM) and Ozon. The programme will train specialists capable of ensuring the security of artificial intelligence systems. Students will study methods for protecting large language models and develop tools aimed at improving the resilience of AI systems to attacks.
‘Entrepreneurship Aligned with Human Dignity’: HSE University–St Petersburg to Open New Master’s Programme
In 2026, HSE University–St Petersburg is launching a new English-taught Master’s in Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation. In this interview, Magdalena Gaete, scientific supervisor of the programme, shares why social entrepreneurship is crucial in the modern world and what skills students will gain during their studies.
HSE Physicists Propose Unified Theory for Describing Electric Double Layer
To develop more efficient batteries and catalysts, it is essential to understand the processes occurring at the metal–solution interface in the electric double layer (EDL). Physicists at HSE MIEM have proposed a unified theoretical model of the EDL that simultaneously accounts for selective adsorption of ions on the surface and partial charge transfer between ions and the metal—phenomena that had previously been described separately. The model’s predictions are consistent with experimental data. In the future, it may be used in the development of batteries, supercapacitors, and catalysts. The study has been published in Electrochimica Acta.