3rd International Summer School on Understanding the Russian Economy in the Context of Crisis Starts at HSE

The Faculty of Economics at the HSE campus in Nizhny Novgorod is meeting guests from Europe – Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, and Norway – for its third summer school focused on the Russian economy.

More than 20 international students this year will spend three weeks discussing problems facing Russia’s economy, learning about Russian culture, taking part in excursions, and improving their Russian language skills. Several of the participants shared their expectations and first impressions with the HSE news service.

Philip van Wersch

I’ve come from Germany; I graduated in Economics. I’ve already gone to Minsk for an internship. I liked it a lot there; the people are very friendly. When I learned about the upcoming summer school in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, I decided that it would be good to take a closer look at Russia as well. I like Bolshaya Pokrovskaya, a nice ancient street in the city.

Dimitrios Moschos

I’m from Greece, but I study economics in Berlin. I learned about the school through the DAAD, and I thought it would be interesting and useful for me. The Higher School of Economics has a very good reputation in Germany. My friends told me that I should go. I think that the Greeks and Russians are close in terms of their mentality, so the summer school is a great opportunity to learn whether this is true.

Rosario Van der Kemp

I’m from the Netherlands. Russia has a strange image in Europe. I want to see it myself, to learn about your country’s economics, about how the crisis is affecting the country and what anti-crisis measures have been taken. I hope that I’ll learn a lot of new and useful things at this summer school.

Maria Guseva, volunteer

I’m a first-year Master’s student at the Faculty of Economics. Volunteering is a great opportunity for me to practice foreign languages, to find new friends, and to learn a lot about other nations’ mentalities. I’ll attend the lectures together with the international students, which I think will be useful for me.

Maria Shtefan, Dean of the Faculty of Economics, HSE Campus in Nizhny Novgorod saya: 'Each year the Faculty of Economics holds a Summer School that attracts students from various countries. This year, together with guests from Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Norway, and Russia, we’ll discuss the problems facing the Russian economy and politics. We are very hopeful that all the participants will like the curriculum. In addition, we have some exciting excursions planned to Semenov, Shelkovsky Khutor, and along the Volga River. We are happy with international students’ growing interest in Russia’s economy and culture, and we hope to develop similar programmes in the future.'