News

A university degree may level one playing field, but it does not necessarily make graduates’ first steps into the labour market equal. A new study by Maksim Nikitin and Vera Maltseva from the Centre for Skills Development and Vocational Education examines how family background continues to matter after graduation—shaping not only whether young people find work, but what kind of work they do.

Natalia Rozenfeld, a Junior Research Fellow and Doctoral Student at the HSE Institute of Education's Centre for Vocational Education and Skills Development, presented her research at the 2026 Annual Conference of the European Consortium for Sociological Research (ECSR), which was held at Trinity College Dublin. Taking place on 15–17 June, the conference focused on how social institutions shape inequality in education, employment, and other areas of life, bringing together researchers who study the ways societies respond to growing uncertainty and structural change.

How are universities, vocational education systems, and researcher training programmes evolving in response to new challenges? These questions were at the heart of the international forum ‘Reconfiguring Education in a Changing World: Russia–China Dialogues on Higher Education, Skills, and Research Training’, held in China in mid-June. The event was jointly organised by the HSE Institute of Education and the Graduate School of Education of Peking University, which hosted the forum on its campus.

How are universities, vocational education systems, and research training responding to new economic, technological, and social challenges? These questions were at the centre of the international forum, “Reconfiguring Education in a Changing World: Russia–China Dialogues on Higher Education, Skills, and Research Training,” held on 12 June at the Graduate School of Education at Peking University.

Vera Maltseva, Director of the Centre for Vocational Education and Skills Development at the HSE University Institute of Education, has presented a report titled ‘Secondary Vocational Education in Russia: From the Periphery to the Frontier?’ at the International Forum ‘Russian Education: Heritage and Transformation’. The event took place on 6 December 2025 in Nanjing.

An article focusing on contemporary practices of public-private partnership in the field of vocational education across BRICS countries has been published in the journal ‘Voprosy Obrazovaniya’ (Educational Studies Moscow, No. 3, 2025).

Anastasia Lukina, a staff member of the Centre for Vocational Education and Skills Development, has presented at the European Conference on Educational Research (ECER), the premier European forum for education researchers. Her report focused on the choice of higher education by Russian first-generation students—those whose parents do not hold a higher education degree.

Центр развития навыков и профессионального образования организовал исследовательский трек на международном летнем институте в Шанхае

From April 14 to 17, the Centre for Skills Development and Vocational Education at the HSE University hosted Professor Santosh Mehrotra, one of the world’s leading experts in labor, employment, education, and social policy, and a visiting professor at the University of Bath (United Kingdom).

Researchers from the Centre for Vocational Education and Skills Development participated in an international panel discussion focused on the experiences of first-generation students in higher education. The session, co-organized by the HSE Institute of Education, brought together experts from Russia and the United States to discuss the structural and cultural barriers that shape access to higher education.