Wolfgang Polt serves as Director of Policies at the Institute for Economic and Innovation Research Policies, Joanneum Research, in Austria. At a special session of the April International Academic Conference on Economic and Social Development hosted by the HSE Institute for Statistical Studies and Economics of Knowledge (ISSEK), he gave a report entitled 'Mission-oriented STI Policies for the Future - What Lessons from the Past?' Following the event, he spoke with the HSE News Service about his impressions of this year’s April Conference, the current state of STI policy globally and in Russia, and future projects he plans to undertake through collaboration with colleagues at HSE.