Institute of Mediа Bachelor Programs Open Day

The supervisors of the «Journalism» and «Media Communications» programmes at the HSE Institute of Media told the applicants about the curriculum, extracurricular activities and future job perspectives. The meeting was led by the Institute of Media Director, Ernest Matskyavichuys.

© Vladimir Volkov

He first reminded the guests of the First All-Russian scientific and practical conference «Contemporary Media: notional strategies and personnel training», which was organized by HSE Institute of Media. It was a massive event visited by the leaders in the media sphere: journalism professors, heads of media corporations and representatives of legislative and executive power - those who train, hire and make laws for journalists. Speakers included some of the high-ranked Russian officials and media managers: Dmitry Peskov, Olga Lyubimova, Maria Zakharova, Pyotr Tolstoy, Andrey Kondrashov, Alexander Khinshtein, Alexey Goreslavsky, Alexey Zemsky, Alexander Akopov, Igor Shestakov. According to the head of the Institute of Media, evaluations, opinions, suggestions and predictions voiced during the conference will be examined carefully and form the basis for methodological developments.

Ernest Matskyavichuys noted that in the last 3 years, the approach to the training of new media specialists has changed. According to the speaker, such innovative methods are linked to the rapid changes in the media industry.

Ernest G. Matskyavichyus
Director of the Institute Media

«It is crucial for us that professors are not devoid of practice so that theory and practice go hand in hand. 60% of our professors are practising specialists. And practice is what we begin with in the beginning of the learning process. Students delve into the profession, we “carbonate” the student in it. It is vital that future employee perceives the job applicant as a trained professional».

 

Ernest Matskyavichuys

As theoretical knowledge is important to the media studies, the hours for Russian and Literature were increased in comparison to the last year. 

Ernest Matskyavichuys introduced the Creative workshops, which are curated by the leading media professionals. Not only do these workshops give practical knowledge, but also provide possible employment and useful connections.

«Central television» workshop by Vadim Takmenev teaches students to work in various TV genres. As part of the course, the students temporarily replaced «Central television»’s team and created their own news report, a part of which was shown to the guests of the Institute of Media’s Bachelor Programs Open Day.

In «Cinema and journalism» workshops led by Ivan Kudryavtsev students work at sets and festivals, converse with masters of Russian cinema and go live with their materials on «Russia 24» within the framework of curator’s program named «The Cinema Industry».

Students of Sergey Malozyomov’s «Popular science journalism» workshop are taught to talk about complex concepts in a simple manner. They also learn the basics of popular science journalism.

The business newspaper «Vedomosti» workshop under the command of Maxim Ivanov immerses students in both publication of the newspaper and business sphere in general. As a result of the workshop, two colored attachments to «Vedomosti» were created: «Innovations and technologies» and «Tourism».

«VK Creative laboratory» workshop exemplifies how to competently work in social networks. The exact questions are how to devise effective SMM strategies, how to interact with the audience and how to create multidimensional content.

«The Rossiyskaya Gazeta» workshop led by Elena Berezina teaches students to express thought and write business texts correctly and clearly. Writing and copywriting skills are in demand in a variety of spheres: from media to large corporations and banks.

Igor Petrenko’s «Acting skills» workshop helps students with public speaking, interacting with the audience and self-expression.

Ernest Matskyavichuys told the guests about «The Top of the Month», a student media club. The students of the faculty of journalism of HSE, MSU and The Plekhanov’s Academy of Media get the opportunity to meet and pose questions to the leaders of Russian media within the framework of the project. 

The speaker has also mentioned other extracurricular activities: a historical literature club led by Grigoriy Prutskov, «Exlibris» theatre studio of Zhanna Moskvina and the philosophical club led by Yulia Appolonova. 

«Letuchka» student club was introduced by its head, Alena Muchnik. Within the framework of the project, students meet news anchors and get familiar with the work basics of editorial offices. 

HSE students have their own media - «Higher School of News», which is led by Tatiana Remezova. Students work under the command of Pavel Melnikov, Andrey Matiukhin and Valeria Kurgan.

The applicants were greeted by Mikhail Guberniev - a news anchor at «Match TV» and a part-time Master’s student in the Institute of Media. According to him, what he values ​​about studying at HSE is not only the useful knowledge from practicing specialists, but also the opportunity to sincerely talk and spend time with media leaders.

«Media Communications» program was introduced by their academic and creative heads, Irina Kumanieva and Yulia Appolonova. They elaborated on the curriculum, highlighting the variability of it. The program comprises 4 specialisations. The students of each told the guests of their studies here. 

The Media Studies track intersects with all existing media and even other tracks. Media Production and Management, among other things, gives the skill of improvisation and quick adaptation. The Storytelling track prepares a good academic base and teaches how to tell stories in any format. Students of the Media Technologies specialization study digital media and even acquire IT skills.

«Media Communications” graduates can work in various spheres, such as editorial business, advertising and public relations, event production.

At the end of the presentation, the speakers shared some useful links, including a chat bot for the applicants, a Telegram channel and an entrance guide for 2025. 

Ivan Knyazev, the academic director of the «Journalism» program, spoke about it. He noted that there is no such set of disciplines as in this program in any university in the country. Particular emphasis is placed on applied skills and creating your own projects: practical classes begin already in the first year. In addition, artificial intelligence is actively introduced into the educational process, and students successfully apply it for academic purposes.

The floor was given to Marina Koroleva, the Professor of the Institute of Media, one of the leading professors of the program and the author of bestsellers about the Russian language «Exclusively in Russian» and «Russian is OK». She worked in the media sphere for a long time, on television and radio, and now she has been teaching students how to write and edit texts for 10 years. 

Ivan Knyazev also mentioned the 4 specializations of the educational program. The «TV and Radio Journalism» track introduces students to the main genres of media, teaching directing and news layout. «Business Journalism" provides an in-depth study of economics and statistics and interaction with financial markets. «New Media Journalism» explains how to create content for new media platforms, create visuals and apply neural networks. Students in the «International Journalism» track not only acquire the necessary journalistic skills, but also study a second language, international law and the intricacies of world politics.

Ivan Knyazev has also shared the links to a chat bot for the applicants, a Telegram channel and an entrance guide for 2025. Apart from that, he has reminded the guests of olympiads and additional entrance test workshops.

The meeting turned out to be very useful and informative for applicants.

Amalya, Year 11: «I discovered a lot of new things, It amazed me the most that there are students that combine studies and work. It made me happy that not only will I cram for the exams, but also develop my skills in the spheres I like. I’m also pleasantly surprised by the extracurricular activities in HSE. Today I made sure I will apply for «Media Communications» program»

Zhenya, Year 10: «I’m under the impression. I decided to opt for HSE not so long ago, and after today’s Open Day I’m determined to study there. It was interesting to hear about the majors and specialisations of the Institute of Media. I will visit the Open Day once again right before applying next year. I’m currently convinced that I made the right choice of committing to HSE».

 

Anastasiya Zhaliy, fourth-year student of the «Journalism»

Translated by Egor Eroshin, first-year student of the «Urban Planning»