HSE April International Participants Conference to Discuss Global and National Challenges
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:
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.