HSE Is One of the Top Universities That Offers Programmes in English
HSE Faculty of Computer Science offers eight Master’s programmes, including four programmes taught entirely in English. Samia Nasrin, from Data Science Master’s programme, and Usama Albaghdady, from Master’s in System and Software Engineering, talk about choosing HSE University, admissions process, their studies and future plans.
Samia Nasrin, Bangladesh, second-year student of Master’s of Data Science
I always had a passion to study in a top-ranked university, so I chose HSE based on their QS global ranking and the quality of teaching. My decision to apply to Data Science programme was driven by the course curriculum, research lab facilities, and strong exchange and double-degree agreements. What’s more, I got a full tuition scholarship from the Russian Government.
The entry exam was not too hard to me—I had to submit my portfolio and do an interview. The professor was very friendly and asked me a lot of questions about my research interests and a few academic questions. HSE Admissions team are all very nice and cooperative—they were very helpful throughout the whole process.
I can say that HSE University is very supportive of the international students. It is truly the best university to study at
Initially, studying at HSE was very difficult for me because of tight deadlines for a lot of homework assignments, projects, and exams. However, after the first semester I started to group study with my friends, so things got much smoother. I can also collaborate with the teachers very easily now—previously I felt shy and little bit nervous to ask questions.
We had coursework and an internship in our programme, which is a warm-up for the preparation of the thesis. We were also involved in research, which is really captivating for me. Students of Data Science programme get to apply their knowledge and learn practically by working in a research lab. I had a nice opportunity to work under the supervision of Associate Professor Dmitry Ignatov in the Laboratory for Models and Methods of Computational Pragmatics. I also enjoyed courses taught by professors Sergei Kuznetsov and Quentin Paris.
I would like to become a data analyst and work at a global organization after graduation. I am a Bangladeshi girl who doesn’t want to limit her dreams
Currently, I live in Paris where I am completing my second-year master’s courses and an internship at Gustave Eiffel University as an Erasmus+ exchange student.
Usama Albaghdady, Sirya, second-year student of Master’s in System and Software Engineering
Studying at HSE University is attractive for many reasons. I always wanted to study abroad for my master’s degree and HSE is one of the top universities that offers programmes in English. It is a place that attracts many international students, which means a chance to expand my experiences, get to know people from different backgrounds and cultures, and learn new things. There are also various exchange opportunities—I got to do a semester in Finland at Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology (LUT) university.
It was on my bucket list to study in Europe for at least one semester so having this option at HSE was one of the main factors for me
When I was applying for System and Software Engineering programme, I had a Bachelor’s degree in Artificial intelligence, so I had already learned the basics of software engineering, programming languages, data mining, and so on. So, HSE programme was a great opportunity to get to the next level of understanding and applying this knowledge. On top of that, I was offered a partial scholarship by HSE University.
The entry exams were not that difficult. They are designed to test the student’s knowledge to decide if they are a good match for the programme and whether they can complete it. When I applied to study at HSE I was asked to provide a TOEFL certificate which I didn't have at the time, so I communicated with the admission office asking for some time to do a TOEFL exam and they were cooperative in the matter.
For the most part, it’s not difficult to study either at HSE or LUT—they share many similarities in the teaching procedure. If you love what you’re studying, it can’t be difficult for you. You have to be able to process a lot of information and the number of assignments will keep you busy but, in the end, it is crystal clear what you need to study to get excellent grades.
Every student tends to prefer one or two professors over the others, but at HSE University the professors all have a high level of knowledge and experience in dealing with students
If I had to single someone out, I would choose Associate Professor Konstantin Degtyarev because of the way he links theoretical information with practical life problems, and Associate Professor Hadi Saleh, my research supervisor, because of his deep practical experience.
Coming from Syria, a country that has suffered from war for the past 10 years, I wanted to move to a new country and work in a more developed work environment, which I was able to do after finishing the past semester in Finland. I moved to Germany and started working as a software engineer.
As for my next goals, I want to work at Amazon one day. Starting my own company is one of the things I look forward to in the future. Jeff Bezos is one of my inspiring role models. It’s amazing how a new idea that he believed in, “online sales”, and that at the time no one even thought was possible, is now used by all people. The whole story of starting his business is about “thinking big, starting small” and never letting anyone convince you that you can’t do what you believe in.
HSE University welcomes applicants from all over the world and offers not only different levels of study, but also different formats in English and Russian, online and offline. International applicants can apply for Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programmes in a separate admissions process for foreign applicants and receive scholarships with full or partial tuition fee coverage.
Undergraduate applicants can test their chances of admission now by taking mock tests. Master’s applicants also have the opportunity to get a preliminary assessment of their portfolio and communicate with their programme of choice online.
To learn more about HSE University, its admission process, or life in Moscow, please visit International Admissions website, or contact the Education & Training Advisory Centre. The staff are happy to advise applicants and their parents via e-mail at inter@hse.ru, by phone +7 (495) 531 00 59, or WhatsApp +7 (916) 311 85 21, as well as on social media in Russian and in English: Vkontakte, Facebook, Telegram and Instagram
Konstantin Y. Degtyarev
Associate Professor, School of Software Engineering
Dmitry I. Ignatov
Associate Professor, School of Data Analysis and Artificial Intelligence
Sergei Kuznetsov
Head, School of Data Analysis and Artificial Intelligence
Quentin Paris
Associate Professor, School of Data Analysis and Artificial Intelligence
Hadi Saleh
Associate Professor, School of Software Engineering
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