HSE and Sberbank Will Host the April International Academic Conference on Economic and Social Development
From April 13 – 30, 2021, the XXII April International Academic Conference on Economic and Social Development (AIAC) will be held in Moscow. For the first time, the conference will be co-organized by HSE University and Sberbank.
Among the interdisciplinary conferences devoted to the social sciences held in Russia, AIAC is the largest event in terms of number of participants and representation of the international research community. Every year, the conference attracts more than 1,700 researchers and experts — including about 200 specialists who are from outside of Russia — who engage in discussions devoted to a wide range of issues related to the economic and social development of Russia.
For the first time, from April 19 – 23, a series of discussions will be held as part of the conference and hosted by the HSE and Sberbank Discussion Club — an expert platform where academics, industry professionals, and government representatives discuss urgent challenges facing Russian society and the economy, share best development practices for businesses and institutions, and shape the image of the future.
Sections dedicated to breakthrough technology, education, science, and health will be streamed live. The Discussion Club’s topics will also include AI, the digital transformation of companies and the state, cybersecurity, and ESG.
Yaroslav Kuzminov, Rector, HSE University
The April Conference is the largest social sciences conference in Russia. It brings together leading Russian and foreign researchers, experts, and public figures who, on the basis of scientific and scholarly research, develop solutions for the economic, social, and educational strategies of the state. Today we have brought the HSE and Sberbank brands together so that research and business gain new opportunities for discussion and develop mutually beneficial promising areas of cooperation. We are confident that Sberbank’s participation as a co-organizer of the conference, particularly in terms of its substantive aspects, will impart a new energy to the event, invigorate its agenda, and attract new participants, each of whom will enrich our programme.
Herman Gref, CEO, Chairman of the Executive Board, Sberbank
HSE University is not only one of the best universities in the country, but also a centre of international expertise. At Sberbank, we always carefully study the research, analytics, and reports that we receive from HSE scholars and experts. And we are very interested in the results of that research being put into practice as soon as possible. As part of our joint discussion club, we will discuss current challenges for society, share the best practices for developing business and institutions, and together with all of the participants, we will formulate ways to implement them.
Traditionally, April Conference speakers include members of the Russian Government, employees of the World Bank, the OECD, and heads of Russian and foreign companies. The majority of the event programme is comprised of presentations and talks given by Russian and international researchers. Special events that are held as plenary sessions and round tables, as well as presentations, also form an important part of the programme. The scholarly presentations of the conference will be held online while the special forums will be held in a hybrid format.
The thematic areas of this year’s AIAC cover dozens of subject areas, including the Arctic; public administration; local government; NGOs; demography and labour markets; macroeconomics and economic growth; international relations; management; world economy; science and innovation; education; health development; regional and urban development; social policy; sociology; financial institutions; markets and payment systems; firms and markets; and others.
The conference’s general information partners are TASS and the Russia-24 TV channel. The event’s general news agency partner is RIA Novosti, while its strategic partner IA Interfax, and its general radio partner is Business FM. Media partners include: Rossiyskaya Gazeta, MIC Izvestia, VTimes, News.Ru, SNOB, Indicator.Ru, Anews, Profile magazine, Parlamentskaya Gazeta, Finam.ru, Invest-Foresight, Econs.online , the telegram channel ‘Scientific and Educational Policy’, Polit.ru, Scientific Russia, Strategy magazine, the Agency of Social Information, and Industry of Eurasia magazine.
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