Media Institute's STUDY TOUR Gives Future Students a Taste of University Life

On April, 17 and 24, prospective students got to experience life at HSE University during the Study tour for the «Journalism» and «Media Communications» programmes.

© Vladimir Volkov for the HSE Media Institute

With the academic year winding down, graduates are actively considering their university options. To introduce applicants to the educational process at HSE, the Media Institute has traditionally organized a Study tour for  the students ranging from Grade 9 to Grade 11.

The first day kicked off with a welcome speech by Ivan Knyazev, Academic Supervisor of the «Journalism» programme, walking applicants through the specifics of studying and enrolling at the HSE, the curriculum of future journalists, elective courses, specializations and creative workshops. Pupils learned about new additions to the programme, including such courses for four-year-students as «HSE Multimedia» and «Media Design» – proof that the Media Institute constantly updates its methods to stay ahead of industry trends.

Ivan Knyazev also highlighted an increasingly crucial aspect of modern journalism education: working with AI. 

Ivan А. Knyazev
Academic Supervisor of the Journalism Education Programme

«We explore how neural networks function as digital tools, how they can generate and refine content. Several courses in our programme directly engage with AI, while others integrate it into the learning process. For instance, in “Practical Stylistics of the Russian Language”, students experiment with AI’s ability to transform academic text into conversational speech».

Ivan Knyazev

A key highlight was the introduction of specialization tracks in the second year, allowing students to tailor their studies to their interests:

• TV & Radio Journalism (led by Ivan Knyazev): Students dive into audiovisual and text content production from the very first workshops. They’re filming reports, conducting interviews, writing articles, and even hosting radio shows during the course.

• Business Journalism (supervised by Mikhail Zelentsov, an associate professor at the HSE Media Institute and former head of the news service of the TASS digital unit): The track focuses on economic analysis and data-driven reporting, with collaborations from TASS and «Rossiya Segodnya».

• New Media (led by Vasily Maksimenko, creator of the «Smotrim» platform): The track explores digital formats like online publishing, blogging, and podcasting, constantly evolving to reflect the fast-changing media information field.

• International Journalism (supervised by Alexander Khristenko, a political observer at VGTRK): It combines traditional journalism with political science, cultural studies, and additional language options besides English (Arabic, French, Spanish, or Chinese).

The presentation also showcased creative workshops led by industry professionals, including Vadim Takmenev’s «Central TV Workshop», Ivan Kudryavtsev’s «Film & Journalism Workshop», «Workshop of scientific-popule journalism» by Sergey Malozemov, «Acting Workshop» by Igor Petrenko, workshops by «Rossiyskaya Gazeta», «Vedomosti», and «VK’s Creative Lab». The Academic Supervisor of the «Journalism» programme noted that the Media Institute partners with over 80 organizations for internships, ensuring that, therefore, creative and hardworking students gain real-world experience at the HSE. After the talk with Ivan Knyazev, the applicants got a taste of professional journalists. On the first day of the Study tour, the applicants worked with the prompter, covering the news of the economy and the capital, got acquainted with the «Higher School of News» project, read news from the life of HSE in the Big Tone Studio, and also walked through the media center of the Media Institute, where they recorded podcasts on topics of interest to them.

On April 24, the «Media Communications programme» took the spotlight at HSE’s Pokrovka campus. Creative Director Yulia Apollonova opened the session, followed by second-year students Yulia Shtrak, Alexandra Klimenko, Anna Solovyova, and Elizaveta Shcherbakova, who led a lecture on «Visual Content in the Digital Age» that was chosen taking into account the wishes of applicants.

During the event prospective students analyzed brand logos, discussed audience engagement, and even pitched their own startup concepts, complete with PR strategies and logo sketches, mimicking real-world client briefs. The workshop mirrored actual seminar dynamics, sparking networking among future media professionals. The Study Tour wrapped up with a campus walkthrough and a photoshoot in the Central Atrium.

Kira Gorkova, 10th grade, Dedovskaya Secondary School No. 1:

«I am glad that I was lucky enough to be on the Study Tour. We worked with a prompter, came up with brand concepts, listened to lecturers’ comments, and met many interesting HSE students. It's great that the Higher School of Economics holds events of this scale for children in grades 9-11, because this unique opportunity is very important to us».

Denis Dotsenko, 10th grade, MBOU Secondary school No. 10:

«I liked how loyal and kind the teachers were to us. It's cool that they want to show the HSE in all its glory, give us new knowledge, dispel myths and doubts. I was very glad that I got on the Study tour, because this is my first experience in such practices. In addition, during these two days I met wonderful people. Certainly, I didn't have time to talk to all the applicants, but I am very pleased that at such events you are already finding your community, with whom you may be able to interact even more closely later».

Sofya Kukarina, 2nd year in Journalism, Editor-in-Chief of the «Higher School of News – Radio»:

«I represented the “Higher School of News – Radio”, where I work as an editor-in-chief. As part of the Study Tour, I showed the pupils our large tone studio, where we recorded a trial news release. The applicants read the text at the microphone and in headphones, like real radio hosts. In addition, I talked about the principles of our editorial office and how to use the equipment in the radio room. It's great that the applicants have bright eyes and are interested in the media sphere. Our institute allows you to get acquainted with the learning process in different areas from all angles, and this immediately increases the degree of trust for high school students».

Author: Danila Laptev, a second-year student of Bachelor's programme «Media Communications» 

Translation: Ekaterina Erokhova, a second-year student of Bachelor's programme «Media Communications»