The HSE University has developed a roadmap for young researchers.

The project "I Went into Science" aims to popularize the profession of a scientist, provide effective support for students and postgraduates on their scientific journeys, and assist universities in training scientific personnel. The long-term goal of the project is to enhance the prestige and significance of the scientific profession, as well as to increase the number of defended candidate dissertations in Russia.

As part of the project, a team of postgraduates and young researchers from the Higher School of Economics created over one hundred engaging videos and published a series of popular science longreads about their research and the realities of life in science.

“The project ‘I Went into Science’ was conceived and implemented by the staff of the Institute of Cognitive Neurosciences. Our task was to demonstrate in a popular format of short videos that science is interesting, fun, engaging, and professional. Very often, for the average person, the word ‘science’ is associated with routine and slowness; however, modern science is not like that,” says Victoria Moiseeva, a leading researcher at the Institute of Cognitive Neurosciences and the project manager for "I Went into Science."

The final product of the project is an interactive roadmap for young scientists. It serves as a step-by-step plan outlining the key stages of a scientific career—from entering a master's program to defending a candidate dissertation. The roadmap is designed to help those who aspire to conduct research take their first steps into science with more confidence.

Each point on the roadmap includes useful tips and links to the videos and longreads created as part of the project, which will help individuals learn more about specific stages of a scientific career.

“Science is a career and a path that has its own characteristics for different specialties, but in general, it all boils down to the stages we highlighted in our young scientist roadmap. The map is interactive—you can select the stage that interests you and watch a video with information about the professional experiences of specific individuals—young specialists—or read longreads with career recommendations from established scientists,” explains Victoria Moiseeva. “We wanted the ‘roadmap’ to serve as a kind of navigator in the scientific world for young scientists who have chosen this professional path.”