• A
  • A
  • A
  • ABC
  • ABC
  • ABC
  • А
  • А
  • А
  • А
  • А
Regular version of the site

HSE April International Participants Conference to Discuss Global and National Challenges

HSE April International Participants Conference to Discuss Global and National Challenges

© HSE University

The Human Capital Multidisciplinary Research Centre will organize a series of presentations and roundtable discussions as part of the XXII HSE April Conference, which will take place from April 13 to 30, 2021.

The events’ topics align with the key areas of the Centre’s research. These include social and humanitarian dimensions of human capital; demography and active ageing; employment, skills and competencies; humans in the era of technological transformation; neurocognitive mechanisms of social behaviour; natural and climatic determinants of sustainable development; human capital and security in the global world.

Participants in the roundtable discussion ‘Individuals in an Era of Technological Change’ (April 13, 3:30-5:00 pm) will discuss global trends and challenges related to human capital development; digital transformation and digital inequality factors; innovation processes in the era of open innovation; and HR succession planning in science and technology.

The roundtable discussion ‘(In)homogeneous (ir)rationality. How the Brain Makes Decisions?’ (April 13, 5:15-6:45 pm) will address the role of the brain in decision-making. Experts will discuss the role of physiological state in decision-making and whether motivation is a physiological manifestation of needs. They will look at neurobiological theory of somatic markers, reinforcement learning theory in the contemporary decision-making theory, and conflict of needs and motivation as a reason for irrationality.

The XXII April International Academic Conference on Economics and Social Development will be held from April 13 to 30, 2021. For the first time, the conference is co-organized by HSE University and Sberbank. The programme includes a series of academic and expert discussions that will be held as part of the HSE-Sberbank Discussion Club – an expert platform that brings together academics, business representatives, and public officials to discuss critical economic and social challenges and share best practices in the sphere of business and institutional development, thereby laying out a path to the future.

Experts of the roundtable discussion ‘Labour Productivity and Russian Human Capital: Paradoxes of Interrelation?’ (April 14, 3:30-5:00 pm) will discuss why Russia, a leader in people with tertiary education, is falling behind other countries when it comes to labour productivity. There may be two answers to these questions: either human capital in Russia has low productive quality or Russia has serious limitations that prevent human capital from implementing its productive potential. The presentation at the roundtable will discuss the first variant.

Participants of the roundtable discussion ‘New Approaches in Washington and Moscow to Security and Arms Control Issues: 100 First Days of the American Administration’ (April 14, 5:15-6:45 pm) will discuss the following questions: How will the prolongation of the New START Treaty influence the prospects for a reconstitution and continuation of nuclear arms control? What are the chances of the USA and Russia returning to the Treaty on Open Skies? Which formats can be used to consider Moscow’s consent to introduce new types of nuclear delivery vehicles, as announced by the Russian President before the Federal Assembly, to further negotiations on strategic offensive arms reduction?

The roundtable discussion ‘The Russian Pension System after 2024: Forks in the Road and Long-term Challenges’ (April 15, 12:00-1:30 pm) will look at the present and the future of the Russian pension system. The event will include a presentation by HSE authors, ‘Russia’s pension system in the context of long-term challenges and national development goals.’ The participants will discuss the areas of development and determine the solutions that are required.

Experts of the roundtable discussion ‘Sustainable Development during the Pandemic: Natural Resources, Climate Change and Territorial Resilience’ (April 15, 1:45-3:15 pm) will discuss the changes and trends in the environment, climate and natural resources; the potential for the application of the ‘territorial resilience’ concept in Russia; prospects for economic growth during a period of deep decarbonization of the world economy, and other issues. The event will also include a special presentation by authors from HSE University.

The ‘Demographic and Social Factors of Active Longevity’ roundtable discussion (April 15, 5:15-6:45 pm) is dedicated to conceptual and methodological issues of research on the key factors of increasing the life expectancy of Russian citizens and the involvement of the older generation in economic and social activities, which are the subject of research projects within the framework of the research area ‘Demographic and social factors of active ageing’. Participants will discuss the topical issues of the methodology for developing demographic forecasts.

Experts at the roundtable discussion ‘Measuring Complex Constructs as an Objective for Higher Education in the Development of Human Potential’ (April 19, 5:15-6:45) will tackle the following questions. Why are complex constructs needed to understand and evaluate human potential? What complex constructs are the key components of human development today? The participants will discuss the socio-economic changes and processes that define the demand for complex constructs in higher education, the potential challenges in the operationalization of the complex constructs for higher education, and other issues. A special report by HSE. authors will also be presented: ‘Assessment of universal competencies as higher education results.’

On April 16, the Human Capital Multidisciplinary Research Centre will give three presentations during the conference. Asghar Zaidi (Oxford Institute of Population Ageing, UK) will deliver an honorary presentation entitled ‘Active Ageing Index in non-European countries’ (1:45-3:15 pm). This lecture is dedicated to the measure of active ageing in non-European countries. Samuel Freije-Rodrigues, Lead Economist, Poverty Global Practice, Global Practices and Cross Cutting Solutions, World Bank, will speak on ‘Poverty, Inequality and Shared Prosperity Indicators in the Europe and Central Asia Region’ (3:30-5:00 pm). He will present the recent 2020 Poverty and Shared Prosperity and talk about the impact of COVID on poverty in Europe and Central Asia. It will be followed by an honorary lecture by Antonio Damasio (University of Southern California, USA) entitled ‘Feeling, Knowing and Artificial Intelligence’ (5:15-6:45 pm), which will address how the physiology behind feelings can be transferred to the world of artificial intelligence.

The Human Capital Multidisciplinary Research Centre was created in November 2020 by HSE University and three other research organizations (RANEPA, MGIMO, and RAS Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology) and looks for responses to the global and national challenges that impact the evolution of human capital. The centre forms international interdisciplinary research teams with a leading role for Russian scholars and creates conditions for growing recognition of social sciences and humanities research in Russia.

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 partners are IA Interfax and Anews. Its general radio partner is Business FM. Media partners include Rossiyskaya Gazeta, MIC Izvestia, VTimes, News.Ru, SNOB, Indicator.Ru, Profile magazine, Parlamentskaya Gazeta, Finam.ru, Invest-Foresight, Econs.online, the ‘Scientific and Educational Policy’ Telegram channel, Polit.ru, Scientific Russia, Strategy magazine, the Agency of Social Information, and Industry of Eurasia magazine.

For more information on these events, please contact HSE University’s press service: press@hse.ru.

Media accreditation to the XXII April Conference is available here.

See also:

25th Yasin (April) International Academic Conference Now Accepting Proposals

Reports on new research results will be presented and discussed as part of the conference’s sections. These reports will be selected based on reviews of proposals. As always, the conference programme features expert discussions of the most pressing economic, social, internal and external issues in the format of roundtables and associated events.

Academic Council: HSE University’s Contribution to Achieving National Goals and Development Priorities to Increase

HSE University’s Development Programme until 2030 will be improved in order to increase the university’s contribution to achieving national goals and implementing the priorities of the country’s scientific and technological development. This decision was made by the university’s Academic Council on April 26. The meeting also addressed the principles for the development of HSE University’s external communications, one of which is the creation of a high-quality information field around the university.

Keeping Up with the Neighbours: Envy as a Driver of Economic Growth

Classical economic theory assumes that economic agents are entirely self-interested and rational in their pursuit of material well-being, and that they are not affected by external factors. As a result, externalities are not considered in any way when constructing economic models. Nevertheless, some sociologists argue for a revision of modern economic theory to incorporate the ethical dimensions of economic agents' behaviour. Kirill Borissov, Professor of the Faculty of Economics at the European University in St Petersburg, spoke at the XXIV Yasin (April) International Academic Conference and shared his observations from creating his own economic model incorporating the factor of envy.  

Structural Transformation and Drivers of Sustainable Growth in Russian Economy Discussed at HSE University

The Russian economy has demonstrated high resilience to unprecedented external pressure and has managed to largely adapt to new conditions. As early as this year, it can go from recession to growth. The issue of where to find drivers and resources for this was discussed at a plenary session titled ‘Russian Economy under Sanctions: From Adaptation to Sustainable Growth’ at the XXIV Yasin (April) International Academic Conference held at HSE University as part of the Decade of Science and Technology. Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation Maksim Reshetnikov took part in the discussion.

‘People Want to Receive Only Useful Content’

Experts say that interest in news has sharply increased among the Russian audience. At the same time, part of the audience deliberately avoids it. What kind of content is in demand and will people continue to watch TV? These and other issues were discussed at the plenary session ‘ Info-hygiene and Information Elitism: How to Consume Media Properly’ at the XXIV Yasin (April) International Academic Conference.

'The Emerging Trends in Africa Will Shape the World Order, and We Need to Be Prepared for That'

Africa has the potential to become a new economic giant. Today, African countries are interested in comprehensive cooperation and strengthening their positions in the global arena, and they look forward to receiving assistance from Russia and China in developing their technology, economy, and social sphere. Effective engagement with Africa requires training a greater number of professional African studies specialists. The XXIV Yasin (April) International Academic Conference at HSE University featured a plenary session on 'Africa in a Changing World'.

Learning a Foreign Language Can Delay the Onset of Dementia

Dementia, a debilitating form of cognitive impairment, can be preventable. According to Professor Jubin Abutalebi of the University Vita Salute San Raffaele, Italy, and the Arctic University of Tromsoe, Norway, the easiest way to prevent cognitive decline after the age of 60 is to learn and practice foreign languages – the more languages, the better, suggests Professor Abutalebi in his presentation 'Preventing dementia through bilingualism' at the XXIV Yasin (April) International Academic Conference.

‘The BRICS Strategic Partnership Offers the World Creative, Unifying, Forward-Looking Initiatives’

Today, BRICS has become an influential factor in modern international relations and is perceived as one of the pillars of a more just world order. This association is not based on one party’s dominance, but instead, is built on a sound balance of interests. The role of the association was discussed by the participants of the plenary session ‘BRICS Development Strategy: Equal Opportunities in an Unequal World’at the XXIV Yasin (April) International Academic Conference.

Sanctions Create New Opportunities for Russian Companies

Like any crisis, the sanctions of 2022, besides problems, have created new opportunities for Russian companies. This is the conclusion that HSE University’s experts have come to. Their study results are presented in the report ‘Adaptation of Russian Industrial Companies to Sanctions: First Steps and Expectations’, prepared by HSE University for the XXIV Yasin (April) International Academic Conference.

Search Query: How to Study Migration with Google Trends

Experts have calculated that the number of international students in Russia has grown six times over the last decade, and researchers say that many of those who are studying today would like to stay in the country. This, alongside issues such as why Google Trends are worth looking into, were covered at the HSE XXIV Yasin International Academic Conference on Economic and Social Development section on demography and labour markets.