Background
HSE University (officially, the National Research University Higher School of Economics), one of Russia’s leading academic institutions, is an active and forward-thinking member of the Russian university community. HSE holds membership in several prestigious associations including the Russian Association of Leading Universities (ALU), the Russian Association of Top Economics and Management Schools (AVVEM), and the Association of Global Universities.
HSE University partnered with Yandex Cloud to implement its Digital University initiative.
What is Digital University
The Digital University initiative aims to shape a comfortable professional environment for students, teachers, researchers, and scientists by integrating cutting-edge technologies across all university processes.
Built on universal principles and an open architecture, the Digital University enables flexible platform solutions that can be easily adapted for a wide range of users with minimum customization. The Digital University is based on two core components that support workflows and service delivery:
- SmartLMS, an open learning platform that features next-gen digital learning services, as well as content types and categories. Designed with open architecture, supporting global integration standards (SCORM, LTI, etc.), it brings seamless integration of such tools as digital simulators, proctoring systems, assessments, and more.
- Back-office platform tailored to the HSE needs that powers websites, mobile apps, chatbots, and other features, including an educational marketplace.
Digital University with Yandex Cloud
To rapidly deploy the Digital University infrastructure and support its ecosystem, as well as enhance data-driven education management, HSE University leverages various cloud solutions, including the Yandex Cloud technology stack. These solutions help HSE in implementing digital learning technology and personalized education, with prominent cost-efficiency in training future professionals and conducting research:
- Learning platform: SaaS solutions for proctoring (monitoring and managing distant exams) and videoconferencing.
- Back-office platform: Cloud-hosted help systems.
- Digital infrastructure and IT security: Anti-spam solutions.
- Integration layer support: File storage.
- Data operations: Cloud-hosted analytics solutions.
- Reliability of Digital University marts: CDN.
Across its digital transformation framework, the university particularly utilizes infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) solutions to meet the evolving operational needs.
First steps
HSE University has already leveraged Yandex Cloud capabilities to host a web platform for final certification of the fourth half-term HSE students.
Looking ahead, the university expects to use Yandex Cloud as a development and deployment platform for AI-powered recommendation and predictive systems. They are intended to help students and teachers in selecting optimal elective courses, recommend relevant academic conferences, and forecast employer demand and job market trends in specific fields. Yandex DataSphere, the machine learning platform by Yandex Cloud, will enable rapid development and integration of those systems.
Opinions
Building the Digital University goes far beyond adopting remote learning formats, as simply delivering education online is not enough. The critical factors are: how consistent our learning infrastructure is; whether we succeed in seamlessly integrating educational content and its delivery formats into a coherent unity; and how strong our willingness to experiment remains. We recognize our strengths and are actively exploring advanced cloud technologies, including AI solutions, to keep making our core workflows even more efficient.