This autumn, 55 early-career researchers will start working at HSE University's campuses in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, and Perm. All of them have undergone a rigorous selection process and aim to make significant progress in both science and personal development during their participation in the Russian Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme. This year, in addition to PhDs who are Russian citizens, HSE University welcomes their colleagues from Poland, Kazakhstan, and India who have earned their academic degrees from Russian universities. On September 17-18, orientation events were held for them at HSE University.

Researchers at HSE ISSEK have released the third ranking of megacities based on their innovation attractiveness—HSE Global Cities Innovation Index 2024 (HSE GCII 2024). Moscow ranks ninth, while London, New York, and Tokyo lead the ranking. The top ten also include Beijing, San Francisco, Paris, Shanghai, Los Angeles, and Seoul. In addition to Moscow, 25 other Russian cities are among the top 1,000, including St. Petersburg (73), Novosibirsk (183), and others.

An ESG strategy—Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance—not only helps preserve the environment but can also generate tangible income. Thus, the use of renewable energy sources (RES) and green technologies in the energy sector enhances return on investment and profitability. In contrast, higher CO₂ emissions result in lower financial performance. This has been demonstrated in a collaborative study by the HSE Faculty of Economic Sciences and the European University at St. Petersburg. Their findings have been published in Frontiers in Environmental Science.

On June 26 and 27, HSE University at Pokrovka hosted a discussion of potential partnerships between the university's research teams and strategic projects under the Priority 2030 programme. During the two-day session, the heads of strategic projects presented the main areas of their ongoing research, highlighted some of the key results achieved, and shared their vision for involving new researchers in the projects.

HSE scientists have developed an algorithm to protect digital images, significantly enhancing the security of multimedia data on the internet. The algorithm embeds watermarks into images; these watermarks are invisible to the human eye and capable of resisting various attacks. The results of the study have been published in Computers and Electrical Engineering.

A meeting of the BRICS Coordination Committee on Antimonopoly Policy was held in Geneva as part of Russia's BRICS Chairship in 2024. The meeting participants supported a project to launch a BRICS Interstate Platform on Fair Competition, developed by the International BRICS Competition Law and Policy Centre of HSE University and presented by the FAS of Russia as an initiative of the Russian Chairship.

How are digital platforms contributing to sustainable development? How is international cooperation progressing in Eurasia? How should the Russia-India business dialogue proceed? HSE University's scientists presented their answers during expert discussions at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum.

HSE University, in collaboration with Sber, have conducted a foresight study on artificial intelligence (AI). Its early results were discussed by the participants of a strategic foresight session on exploratory research in AI, held at the Coordination Centre of the Russian Government, headed by Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko. The results from the foresight study will inform the Unified Research and Development Programme in the Field of AI.