HSE Awards Its Best Alumni

On October 16, Roll Hall was the scene of the annual meeting of HSE graduates for the HSE Alumni Awards ceremony.

The award, established in 2007, recognizes graduates of the university who have achieved significant success in their professional activities. Winners are chosen by popular vote; all members of the HSE community – students, alumni and employees – are eligible to vote for candidates in six categories.

Evgeny Yasin, Academic Supervisor and Professor in the Faculty of Economic Sciences, came with First Vice Rector Vadim Radaev and Vice Rector Vladimir Samoylenko to congratulate this year’s winners.

‘It brings me great happiness to stand before you 20 years after the first graduation from HSE – Russia’s best university. I am not ashamed to say this, because I often meet with alumni and your successes speak for themselves’, said Yasin as he addressed guests at the ceremony. Graduates from that first graduating class of 1995 joined Yasin on stage to take selfies with him.

A special rector’s prize for contributing to the development of the Higher School of Economics’ endowment (more than 1 million roubles were raised in just one month following the announcement of the open collection) was awarded to Igor Gurkov, deputy general director of the Optima Group, co-founder of a network of kindergartens and the Sportiv health clubs, and a graduate of the Faculty of Management (currently, the Faculty of Business and Management). Igor was one of the first to contribute to the endowment.

‘I am certain that there will be more of us donors who are willing to help the university; it doesn’t matter how much you can contribute to the fund’, he said as he was presented the award by HSE Vice Rector Vladimir Samoylenko.

In the category of Beautiful Debut, which is awarded to young alumni, Ekaterina Frolova, a graduate of the International College of Economics and Finance (ICEF) in 2012, was the winner for establishing the CitYkids chain of children’s’ centres. ‘For a long time we wanted to work in preschool education, and I am really glad that I was able to achieve something’, she said. ‘My message to everyone is to not be afraid of taking risks, to not be afraid of going against popular opinion and doing what you love’.

In the category of Corporate Business, First Vice Rector Radaev named two winners. For their notable achievements in developing technology and telecommunications, Nina Zavrieva of Channelkit, a 2007 graduate of ICEF, and Maksim Brodovsky, a 2001 graduate of the Faculty of Management, were awarded for their personal career success and their promotion of the HSE name. For many students deciding to enter the hotel business, the Holiday Inn Moscow Lesnaya and the Holiday Inn Moscow Suschevsky – both of which have Maksim as their general director – were the places where they got their start in the profession.

Ksenia Mokrushina, a graduate of the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs in 2008, was the winner in the Public Service category for her work in the field of urban policy and planning and for her contribution to the development of Moscow’s urban space. In 2012, Ksenia received a Master’s degree in urban planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, after which she returned to Moscow. She taught at HSE and since 2014 has served as director of the SKOLKOVO Centre for Urban Studies at the Moscow School of Management. ‘Several years ago in an interview I said that Russia was the country where I could become an expert with unique knowledge. Despite the fact that any project here takes an incredible amount of blood, sweat and tears, Moscow is still a very interesting and dynamic place. And I’m very glad that everything that was once a dream has become a reality’, she said.

The category of Philanthropy recognizes alumni for significant contributions to the development of charitable and socially important projects. This year, the winner was Milana Hachaturova, who graduated from the Faculty of Psychology in 2008. After graduation, Milana remained at HSE, which she says she has no regrets about doing. Since 2014, she has served as Deputy Head of the School of Psychology (Faculty of Social Sciences). Milana was awarded for her active work with students in support of their initiatives. According to Milana, it is the students – their energy and personal involvement – that serve as a source of strength and inspiration that help her in her teaching and administrative work.

For his contribution to the development of the media business, Andrey Gromkovsky, a 2004 graduate of the Faculty of Applied Sciences (currently the Faculty of Social Sciences), won in the category of Private Business. Andrey currently serves as the managing director of video distribution for 20th Century Fox in Russia and the CIS.

The category of the Fourth Estate is one of the most recent award categories, which recognizes those who have made achievements in the area of media communications and public relations. This year the winner was Tonia Samsonova, who won with a big lead in the vote. Samsonova is a 2007 graduate of the Faculty of Sociology (currently, the Faculty of Social Sciences). She won for the publication of The Question, a website where people can find answers to virtually any question. 

This year’s ceremony took place in a recreational centre where guests had the opportunity not only to meet with classmates and teachers, but also to take part in the game of ‘business speed dating’, a master class on Latin American dance under the supervision of the HSE Extreme Sports Club, or a visit to a special exhibit held by the HSE Art and Design School.