Students
ICEF Students
ICEF has a vibrant community of ambitious and passionate students, from all over Russia and the entire world.
As a student at ICEF, you will be based in a buzzing metropolis with an amazing variety of things to see and do. Major cultural attractions such as the Bolshoi Theatre, Red Square, the Kremlin, and the Cathedral of Christ the Savior are right on your doorstep. See Living in Moscow>>
Over its more than 25-year history, ICEF has remained a leader in education, demonstrating a balanced synthesis of a structured Russian and Western approach to learning. The Institute is proud of the community of alumni and students that has formed during this time.
More than 250 applicants enter ICEF every year. These are the winners and prize-winners of the Olympiads in Economics and Mathematics. These are the winners of case championships, leaders in state exams scores, activists of school movements, creative and versatile personalities in various fields, from sports to theater.
Help for freshmen
Supporting the academic values of the Higher School of Economics, our students are open to new opportunities and are happy to find ways to realize their potential and creative self-expression. In order to navigate the variety of student organizations, sports sections, elective courses, electives and to understand how everything works at the university, ICEF has a freshman adaptation program (tutoring) and an Academic Student Council (ACC).
Tutors are active students of 2-4 courses with a high level of empathy, responsibility and different life and career experiences. The movement originated back in 2010 as a student initiative, and 11 years later, the community of tutors has become an integral part of working with students. More than a hundred applications are submitted annually. Students are selected in several stages, including an interview with the administration, then they are united in groups of three and assigned to one academic group for the 1st year. If you want to get acquainted with the composition of tutors for the 2021-2022 academic year, then go to the special section.
The Academic Student Council (ACC) is a form of self-government that also originated from the student movement and has grown into an official body with elections, debates, committees and large projects. The ACC consists of two elected representatives from each course. The main goal is to help in the development of the academic life of ICEF, to conduct a productive dialogue with teachers and the management of the institute.
Academic resources
The HSE library - the largest department of the HSE library is in the building at Pokrovka (Pokrovsky Bulvar, 11). ICEF has its own library on the 1st floor in the campus. Here you can find almost all books recommended for obligatory and additional reading for any ICEF course.
On-line library - you can access the on-line library from any HSE building. It boasts a huge amount of resources, including scientific journals, textbooks, books, press archives, databases, dictionaries and thesauruses. See a full list of the available sources. You can also remotely access the HSE library from any part of the world by registering and receiving a login and a password. See information about remote access
The ICEF information system (icef-info.hse.ru) is an online resource where all ICEF study materials (home assignments, lecture notes, various articles, etc.) are posted. You can pick up your login and password from ICEF Student Services when you arrive at ICEF. Website of ICEF students http://www.icef.ru/
IT rooms – all HSE buildings have well-equipped IT rooms with high speed internet and any programs you could need. ICEF has its own IT rooms in S712 and S722., They are open from 9am till 8pm. As a student of ICEF you will be provided each semester with a free printing allowance.
Achievements of students
HSE ICEF students annually receive prizes and letters of commendation from the University of London for achievements in academic work and the highest results in the world in the subjects of the international program. See more here
ICEF students annually participate not only in research projects of the HSE laboratories, but also in competitions of scientific works. As a result, the best ICEF students are always among the winners of HSE student research competitions and interuniversity competitions, and their work is published in journals and annual collections.
Opportunities for students
ICEF Academia is an integrated academic training program for students. The best academic researchers work with students in this program individually, leading the scientific work and involving students in it. The program is optional for students successfully completing the ICEF main program and aiming at a research career, including admission to PhD programs at the world's leading universities.
ICEF highly appreciates and helps to develop the personal qualities of students that are necessary for every person in the modern world: the ability to work in a team, leadership qualities, organization, the ability to think independently and set tasks, to express your thoughts logically and convincingly in written and oral forms. The own Career Center helps to acquire these qualities, the purpose of which is to increase the competitiveness of students in the global labor market and further education.
Not only the Career Center develops soft skills, but also numerous student organizations. ICEF students are people with an active life position, various hobbies and interests: all this makes them comprehensively developed people who invariably achieve success. Student organizations that ICEF students are affiliated with:
- Keystone
- NoSilence
- SobaLove
- ICEF has a charitable organization called ICEF Outreach (that has recently grown to HSE Outreach). In Russia, a great number of disabled people, orphans, and senior citizens do not receive sufficient support from government or private funds. Volunteers of ICEF Outreach collect things like clothes, books, toys, and money for those in need. Once a month, ICEF Outreach visits a school for orphans located 200 kilometres outside Moscow. ICEF Outreach has also started the tradition of holding monthly bake sales for charity. SobaLove is the similar project where our students help pet shelters.
- ICEFCrew. At ICEF there is a well-established system of student self-government. The ICEF Crew regularly organizes induction events for welcoming new students, ICEF anniversary celebrations, New Year’s parties and much more.
- Mini-Guide for first-year students
ICEF students are actively involved in sports. ICEF national teams have repeatedly become HSE champions in football, swimming, basketball, Russian bench press, athletics and volleyball. The ICEF national football team is the only faculty team that is annually invited to the football tournament between HSE departments.
See the full information about the accommodation provided by HSE here.