Rufino Haroldo Locon, from Guatemala, graduated from the Master's in System Programming at the Faculty of Computer Science in 2024, and now he is a first-year PhD student at MIEM. In his interview with the HSE News Service, he spoke on high-performance computing, the role literature plays in his life, and his plans after graduation.

Why simulate an auction? How do experiments in economics differ from those in psychology? Assistant Professor Alexander Usvitskiy, Head of the Laboratory for Experimental Economics and Finance, discusses the laboratory's activities and research approaches.

Scientists at HSE University have identified a molecular mechanism underlying aggressive breast cancer. They found that the signals supporting tumour growth originate not from the tumour itself but from its microenvironment. The researchers also demonstrated that reduced levels of the IGFBP6 protein in the tumour microenvironment lead to the accumulation of macrophages—immune cells associated with a higher risk of cancer recurrence. These findings already make it possible to assess patient risk more accurately and may, in the future, enable the development of drugs that target cells of the tumour microenvironment. The study has been published in Current Drug Therapy.

Muhammad Abdullah Tariq, 25, from Pakistan, has a bachelor’s in Government and Public Policy from the National Defence University (Islamabad) and is now a student of the Master’s in Science, Technology and Innovation Management and Policy at HSE University–Moscow. In his interview with the HSE News Service, he spoke on the importance of science diplomacy, the challenges of the Russian language, and why research intensity is a good thing.

Modern supercomputers can perform more than a trillion calculations per second. This immense capacity enables researchers to address problems that were previously intractable. At the XXVI April International Academic Conference, Ilias Kotsireas, a professor at Wilfrid Laurier University, spoke about the potential of high-performance computing in fields such as weather and climate modelling, astrophysics, and medicine. 

Researchers at HSE MIEM, in collaboration with colleagues from the Moscow Technical University of Communications and Informatics (MTUCI), have implemented a novel approach to designing microwave filters—generative synthesis using machine learning tools. The proposed method reduces the filter development cycle from several days to just a few minutes and in the future could be applied to the design of other microwave electronic devices. The results were presented at the IEEE International Conference '2026 Systems of Signals Generating and Processing in the Field of on Board Communications.'

As part of the project ‘Economic Behaviour of Households in Russia’ (EBHR), HSE University is opening access to nationally representative primary datasets. This data makes it possible to explore various aspects of well-being and the economic behaviour of Russian households across different income groups in contemporary economic conditions.

Building an effective workforce training system requires not only appropriate institutions, but also well-developed intermediary organisations capable of translating policy into practice and connecting different groups of stakeholders, said Dr Po Yang, Professor at Peking University. She was an invited speaker at the XXVI April International Academic Conference named after Evgeny Yasin.

Renewable energy and labour productivity do not always contribute to environmental sustainability. Technological innovation is the only factor that consistently has a positive effect. This is the conclusion reached by an international team of researchers, including Natalia Veselitskaya, Leading Research Fellow at the HSE ISSEK Foresight Centre. The study has been published in Sustainable Development.