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HSE and Sberbank Will Host the April International Academic Conference on Economic and Social Development

HSE and Sberbank Will Host the April International Academic Conference on Economic and Social Development

© HSE University

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.

See also:

HSE Researchers Compile Scientific Database for Studying Children’s Eating Habits

The database created at HSE University can serve as a foundation for studying children’s eating habits. This is outlined in the study ‘The Influence of Age, Gender, and Social-Role Factors on Children’s Compliance with Age-Based Nutritional Norms: An Experimental Study Using the Dish-I-Wish Web Application.’ The work has been carried out as part of the HSE Basic Research Programme and was presented at the XXVI April International Academic Conference named after Evgeny Yasin.

China Bets on Expanding Leading Universities, Postgraduate Education, and STEM Fields

At the XXVI April International Academic Conference named after Evgeny Yasin at HSE University, one of the distinguished speakers was Prof. Liguo Li of the School of Education at Tsinghua University. He spoke about changes in the structure of higher education in China in line with national strategic priorities, including a proposed 1.7–2-fold increase in the number of leading research universities.

Scholar Explains How States Can Build Governance in Era of Mega-Shifts

How can states maintain governability and stability in a world where established rules are rapidly losing their force? Prof. Ali Farazmand of Florida Atlantic University answered this question in a presentation delivered at the XXVI April International Academic Conference named after Evgeny Yasin. The scholar proposed examining the transformation of the global order through the lens of two ‘mega-shifts’—from the rise of global corporate capitalism to the emerging multipolarity of today—and demonstrated why this transition between eras requires fundamentally new approaches to governance.

Supercomputers as Superheroes: How High-Performance Computing Is Saving the World

Modern supercomputers can perform more than a trillion calculations per second. This immense capacity enables researchers to address problems that were previously intractable. At the XXVI April International Academic Conference, Ilias Kotsireas, a professor at Wilfrid Laurier University, spoke about the potential of high-performance computing in fields such as weather and climate modelling, astrophysics, and medicine. 

A Time for Flexible Solutions: How China Trains In-Demand Specialists

Building an effective workforce training system requires not only appropriate institutions, but also well-developed intermediary organisations capable of translating policy into practice and connecting different groups of stakeholders, said Dr Po Yang, Professor at Peking University. She was an invited speaker at the XXVI April International Academic Conference named after Evgeny Yasin.

XXVI April International Academic Conference Kicks Off at HSE University

The conference programme covers five research topics: economics; human capital and society; instrumental methods and models; foresight research; and international research. Hundreds of scientists from around the world will take part in the conference.

Applications for Participation in XXVI April International Academic Conference Still Open

Applications can be submitted on the conference website until December 16, 2025. The programme has been developed around five research themes: Economics, Human Capital and Society, Instrumental Methods and Models, Foresight Research, and International Research. The heads of these areas have presented, in video format, the priority topics and sections for which they are expecting submissions.

Applications to Participate in April International Academic Conference Now Open

HSE University is now accepting proposals to present academic reports at the XXVI April International Academic Conference named after Evgeny Yasin. Applications can be submitted until December 16, 2025. The conference events will take place mainly on-site in Moscow from April 14 to 17, 2026.

Early-Career Researchers Discuss Cooperation between Russia and Arab States

HSE University has hosted a conference entitled ‘Russia—The Arab World: Digital Future and Youth Cooperation,’ organised by the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs (WEIA). The meeting took place in the run-up to the first Russian–Arab summit, due to be held in Moscow on October 15, 2025.

24 Countries Represented at 25th Yasin International Academic Conference Held by HSE University

The Programme Committee of the 25th Yasin (April) International Academic Conference on Economic and Social Development has summed up the initial results. In 2025, 1,384 people from 24 countries and 29 Russian regions participated in the conference, with 335 of them delivering presentations.