HSE Represented at EAIE Conference in Glasgow

Photo by 5-100/Sociocenter

From September 15 to 18, 2015, a delegation from HSE took part in The Annual EAIE Conference for the second time. This year international experts in higher education gathered in Glasgow.

Topics such as the development of educational politics in various regions and best practices of organizing international activities were discussed during the conference. The conference was held alongside the exhibition where more than 1,500 participants represented their universities. This year, Russia’s top 15 universities gathered at a booth devoted to the Russian Academic Excellence Project 5-100. This booth became a meeting place with existing and new international partners. In addition, 5-100 Project Office held a major party at the Riverside Museum. Several representatives of HSE took part in the event, including Vice-Rectors Maria Yudkevich and Sergei Erofeev, Head of the Office of Internationalization Yulia Grinkevich, Olga Khachaturyan from International Cooperation Office, Oksana Chernenko, Head of the Department for Educational Innovations and Short International Programmes, and others. HSE Saint Petersburg was represented by Olga Okulova, Director of the Centre for International Cooperation, and Christopher Gerry, Chair of Internationalisation Steering Group, Academic Director of the School of Social Sciences and Humanities. Conference participants attended several seminars and Maria Yudkevich chaired the session 'The global academic rankings game: implications for internationalization'.

The European Association of International Education (EAIE) was founded in 1989. The aims of EAIE include internationalization of higher education, development of international scientific-educational projects and brining together professionals who are working in the field of higher education. The association has member universities from over 85 countries. This year’s theme, ‘Wealth of Nations’, highlights the importance of global cooperation in the development of nations and regions.

As one of Russia’s leading universities, HSE has a vested interest in promoting itself internationally through participation in educational fairs, conferences and other events. So, in addition to EAIE, in 2016 HSE will be represented at Asian-Pacific Association for International Education Conference in Australia and NAFSA conference in USA. ‘For many years, Russian universities were barely represented at these conferences (which can draw 9000+ participants from 100+ countries) so there’s great interest in HSE and the other Russian universities that are there,’ says Sergei Erofeev. ‘These conferences bring together international administrators from universities all around the world, and they are a great opportunity to make contacts at other universities, check in with partners, learn what’s happening in other areas, as well as share exciting developments at HSE.’

Besides higher education conferences, the International Recruitment also participates in a number of education fairs in countries where HSE is especially interested in attracting students. HSE’s goals vary depending on the event. For a major conference like EAIE, the main goals are to meet with current partners to discuss joint programmes (double-degree, exchange, etc.), get together with potential partners to explore areas for collaboration, and broadly to make HSE’s presence known within the community of international higher education administrators. For education fairs, the focus is on meeting with potential students and introducing them to HSE’s study programmes and generally what life is like at the university.