First Enrollment in 2014: Talented and Highly Motivated Students
Starting from this year, 30 Russian and foreign students are learning the fundamentals of governance in the sphere of science, technology and innovation on a new Master’s programme “Governance of Science, Technology and Innovation” organised by the HSE ISSEK. The admission selection was pretty tough with more than three candidates per a state-funded place. Almost all candidates presented high-quality portfolios and showed themselves in the best possible light in the interview which was held in English. The examination committee faced a really hard choice.
Academic director of the programme Dirk Meissner commented on the first admission procedure:
“We received 47 applications, in addition to the Olympiad which took place at HSE in March and guaranteed state-funded places to its six winners. The admission selection finished at the end of July and was done in two steps: portfolio assessment and an interview in English. This form of selection certainly takes considerable time and efforts but also allows the candidates to be assessed carefully and objectively. In their motivation letters, the applicants expressed their high interest in the programme which was proved during the interview session. The interviews were conducted over three days, mostly in the form of free discussions on relevant issues, problems and tendencies in science, technology and innovation. Besides, we were interested in students’ expectations of the course and their suggestions for its development”.
To sum up the above mentioned comments, 15 students have been enrolled on state-funded places as the result of the admission selection, 3 students — on self-funded places, and 6 students — via a competition as the HSE Olympiad winners. Additionally, 6 foreign students were enrolled in the programme according to a special quota scheme (with no tuition fee).
The admission score was 68 points (out of 100) for a state-funded place and 60 points for a self-funded place, which is considered to be relatively high compared to other HSE Master’s programmes in the field of Management.
Nearly two-thirds of successful applicants are graduates of Moscow and regional higher education institutions and are aged between 21 and 24. Almost half of them have diplomas of HSE or MSU (Moscow State University). The rest come from other cities across Russia including St. Petersburg, Kazan, Stavropol, Tomsk, Novosibirsk, Ulyanovsk, Chelyabinsk, Ulan-Ude and Vladikavkaz.
40% of the candidates have diplomas in the field of management and economics, about 15% are experts in the field of chemistry or physics. In addition, there are sociologists, linguists, physicians and even graduates with music education. This isn’t surprising, as the programme was initially announced as interdisciplinary and aimed at professionals with different educational backgrounds.
All candidates showed a high motivation to study at the programme, although they named different reasons for this, such as the desire to broaden their knowledge beyond common science, to learn the fundamentals of innovations and to get a diploma in a new field of study. For more mature candidates aged 25 to 30 years old, the reason for applying was mainly the development of new competences and professional growth. Many candidates were also attracted by the opportunity to get the most advanced knowledge from renowned foreign and Russian lecturers and specialists in this field.
One of the programme’s main advantages is the opportunity for taking internships in the leading Russian and international companies and institutions and obtaining double degree diplomas in the nearest future. A students’ exchange agreement has already been signed with Seoul National University, and a number of agreements on students’ exchange and double degree programmes are being negotiated with well-known European universities.
Studying on the programme can be combined with full-time work, as classes take place during evening hours. Some students have already expressed their willingness to participate in ISSEK research projects in their free time while in parallel studying on the programme.
Foreign students are highly interested and motivated in learning Russian language and culture (despite the fact that the programme is entirely in English). In order to help them to adapt quickly to the new environment, the university has developed a ‘buddy’ movement which provides every foreign student with a local volunteer who is willing to help them solve any organisational issues.
By Anna Rodionova