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From 3 to 5 July 2026, the International Symposium on "High-Quality Development in the New Era of Opening-Up" was held in Chengdu to mark the 20th anniversary of the Research Institute of Economics and Management (RIEM) at the Southwestern University of Finance and Economics (SWUFE), one of ICEF HSE University's key partner institutions in China.

Through its new partnership with the National Finance Association (NFA), ICEF HSE is strengthening its ability to deliver education that combines academic excellence with the practical needs of today's financial industry and employers. As part of this collaboration, both bachelor’s and master's students at ICEF HSE will receive enhanced preparation for the Certified Financial Analyst (CFA-Russia) qualification examination. The knowledge required to successfully pass the examination is integrated into ICEF's core curriculum and the elective course Practical Finance, which has been specifically designed to support exam preparation. This approach equips graduates not only with a strong theoretical foundation but also with practical financial analysis skills, a solid understanding of professional ethics, and critical thinking abilities—competencies that are highly valued by employers across the financial and investment sectors.

Moscow-born and raised Alisa Vakhitova is the youngest of three siblings in her family. Alisa developed her interest in economics in high school and enrolled in HSE Lyceum (Economics and Mathematics) after completing ten grades at a regular school near her home. Alise graduated from HSE Lyceum with honors and showed prize-winning performance at the final stage of National Economics Olympiad for school students. A member of the ICEF class of 2024, Alisa worked as an analyst developer at Yandex and is currently completing her master’s in Finance at the University of Cambridge, scheduled to embark on her PhD studies there in September. Here’s Alisa about the stages of her journey and her plans for the future.

As part of the ICEF elective course “Artificial Intelligence for Business”, students work on projects for partner companies and potential employers. AI experts from these companies also serve on the jury during the final project presentations.