‘The Programme You Graduated from Is Absolutely Innovative’

© HSE University

In April 2022, HSE University’s 'Master of Data Science’  Programme held their first online graduation ceremony in English.  17 out of the 48 students completed their studies with distinction.

In 2020, HSE University launched its first master’s programme implemented entirely online using the Coursera platform. According to Vice Rector Sergey Roshchin, they had been thinking about launching this online programme in 2017-2018, but the organisers were worried about whether this format would be in demand.

‘We knew that there were enthusiastic people at our university, including the Faculty of Computer Science. But we didn't know if there were others who shared our belief that this would be a high-quality programme, and whether curious, or if you like, adventurous people from different countries would come to a Russian university for a data science programme. However, you came,’ said Sergey Roshchin to the programme graduates. He also noted that this inaugaral graduation ceremony of HSE’s first online master's programme is an important milestone both for the university and for him personally.

‘A university represents an intellectual corporation which brings together people who like to gain knowledge and share it. HSE University is one of these higher education institutions,’ notes the HSE Vice Rector. ‘The programme you graduated from was absolutely innovative in all aspects for us: this is the first fully online programme of the university in the 30 years of its existence, moreover, it is taught entirely in English and positioned in the global educational space.’

Dean of HSE Faculty of Computer Science, Ivan Arzhantsev, congratulated graduates and teachers. He said that, in his experience, the first graduates of a new programme are always particularly special, and mentioned the FCS bachelor’s programmes: ‘This faculty was established in 2014, and four years later, in 2018, the first graduation ceremony was held. Despite the difficulties that sometimes arose, both we and they were satisfied as a result. I hope that everything has worked out with you now. This has been a great occasion for everyone, both students and teachers. We will definitely continue to develop this programme.’ Ivan Arzhantsev also singled out for praise the 17 students who graduated from the programme with distinction.

Evgeny Sokolov, Deputy Head of the Big Data and Information Retrieval School, also wished the graduates success and good luck: ‘Congratulations! You actively gave us feedback during the process, you nutured our programme, thank you very much for that.’

Vladimir Podolsky, Academic Supervisor of the programme, noted that the students have been working very hard for the past two years: ‘Of course, there were some difficulties during your studies, and we tried to create comfortable atmosphere for you. It was very gratifying to see your progress. We are very proud of the programme’s first graduates.’

Programme graduates also thanked their teachers.

Niyazi Garagashli

‘I want to thank all our teachers and programme representatives. I think it was quite difficult to do everything for us to make our studies so comfortable. Thank you for always considering our questions and problems. This programme provides real fundamental knowledge in Data Science, and that’s precisely what I wanted from it.’

Alen Rafagudinov

‘It’s a great programme! And it’s exactly what I needed! It gave me so many rewarding experiences. I chose this programme because I realized that if I didn't understand something, I would always be able to ask questions and get help from my teachers. Many of them truly turned out to be incredible.’