Students of HSE Faculty of Computer Science Talk about their Studies

While some graduates are preparing for MA enrollment exams, others have already received confirmation from international universities. Graduates from the Faculty of Computer Science tell us about their decision to continue their studies abroad, the enrollment procedure, computer science courses available in international universities, and the role of fundamental math in studying economics.

Lev Otmennikov, Software Engineering graduate, is continuing his studies with an MA at  RWTH Aachen University in Germany. Another graduate, Alexei Markin, has enrolled in Iowa State University (US) in Computer Science. Graduates in Applied Mathematics and Informatics Maxim Maltsev and Alexei Karpov were selected for a Computer Science MA at the University of Bonn (Germany), Evgenia Korneva and Ekaterina Loginova enrolled in a Master of Artificial Intelligence programme at the University of Leuven (Belgium), and Elizaveta Viktorova enrolled in Glasgow University (UK).

Maxim Maltsev will start at the Computer Science faculty at Bonn University this autumn

After completing the BA I decided to continue my studies in Computer Science, as I think that specialists in this area have more and more opportunities each year, and it would be wrong to miss this chance to take part in the dynamic development of this science. In enrolling in one of Germany’s leading universities it was starting to do something that was hard. But on my journey from scrolling through Western Europe on GoogleMaps to enrolling I found that I’d learned enough to keep me from falling on my face. Applied Mathematics and Informatics gave me a fundamental understanding of mathematics and informatics, the skills needed to sit international English language exams, which was really handy when applying to Bonn University. I also think that the fact that my fellow students at HSE all set really high life goals, and studied and worked really hard, also helped. That always motivated me.

Elizaveta Viktorova graduated from the Applied Mathematics and Informatics BA, and is currently studying for her Master of  Research in Economics at Glasgow University

I thought about enrolling in an international university back in the 11^th grade. But decided to stay in Russia. I chose HSE because I wanted to get a good grounding in economics alongside my math studies, and I was not wrong: a good knowledge of math is very important in economics. It is a great deal easier to get to grips with economic disciplines at MA level with a good knowledge of math. I was also influenced by the high level to which English was taught, enough to get you through the IELTS exam. From my second year I worked at the International Laboratory of Decision Choice and Analysis under Professor Fuad Aleskerov and was involved in their research projects for three years.

I chose the Master of Research in Economics MA course because it trains specialists who go on to be involved in academic research in the areas where economics and math coincide. And in the second year you get to choose math disciplines, that include things that interest me like game theory and decision-making theory. Thanks to my high average diploma score I managed to get a grant covering the costs of my education and living expenses.

Lev Otmennikov in September starts his Software Systems Engineering studies at RWTH Aachen University in Germany

I was choosing between continuing my studies at HSE’s System and Software Engineering MA programme and studying on an English-language course in Germany, and as I’ve always wanted to study at an international university I settled on the Software Systems Engineering MA programme at RWTH Aachen University. Getting in meant passing the competitive selection procedure: you had to submit your diploma or transcript with your grades, a language certificate, motivational letter, and two recommendations. They make the decision on whether or not to accept you based on them.  From the overall programme, I’d note that aside from the software engineering disciplines, they offer a greater range of optional courses, from algorithms and artificial intelligence to multimedia, computer vision and virtual reality. I think that the HSE Software Engineering course boasts a balance of research studies with skills and knowledge that are applicable in the workplace. And the university helped me develop my sense of discipline, while the knowledge I gained will definitely help me in the future.

MA graduates also retain this desire to go further, and continue their academic careers in Russian and international universities. From August 1, Kirill Pogorelsky, MA graduate in Applied Mathematics and Informatics (2009), will take up a post as Assistant Professor at the Economics Faculty at Warwick University (UK). This year he graduated from his PhD in Social Sciences at Caltech (US), where he worked on game theory, political economics and lab experiments. ‘I think that significant achievements remain to be made. To date, the theory communication and correlated equilibria in groups have been developed, making it possible to solve the voting (turnout) paradox, and a number of lab experiments have taken place to test this theory.’

Applications for the MA programme in Data Science, Mathematical Methods of Optimization and Stochastics, and System and Software Engineering, are accepted until July 15, and for the Doctoral School of Computer Science through to September 11.