Interaction with Researchers and Stakeholders at the XIV HSE April Conference
Professor Jordi Surinach, University of Barcelona, is representing the SEARCH project at the HSE’s April Conference.
— You are the coordinator of the SEARCH project for 17 universities from across Europe. Could you give us an overview of the project, please? What is its main goal?
— The project is an EU initiative, and part of of the 7th Framework Programme. It is called ‘Sharing KnowledgE Assets: InteRegionally Cohesive Neighborhoods’.
The main objective of this project is to strengthen the integration process between the EU and the Neighbourhood Countries (NCs) by focusing on the European Research Neighbourhood (ERN). This will help facilitate an understanding of the institutional framework conditions of the ENP countries and their economic interactions with the EU in terms of people, capital, trade, knowledge, and innovation.
SEARCH aims to improve the implementation of the European Neighbourhood Policy by taking into account that "one size fits all" policy recommendations will not be appropriate in this situation, due to the bilateral nature of EU-ENP country agreements.
The research priority areas for strengthening EU-NC cooperation are:
- Trade and economic integration
- Facilitating mobility and managing migration flows
- Knowledge, creation and innovation diffusion/ adoption
- Social, cultural and institutional environments
- Improved interregional cooperation strategies
We have distributed the project in 6 work packages:
Wp1. Background. ENP: Past, Present and Future
Wp2. Trade Flows and Localisation Choices
Wp3. People Mobility and Human Capital
Wp4. Technological Activities and Innovation Diffusion in the EU and Interactions with Neighbouring Regions
Wp5. Institutional Environment
Wp6. Policy Issues and Research Implications: Towards an Integrated ERN Policy Posture
On our webpage you can find all the working papers, policy briefs and results connected with our project.
— The project is unique in how it brings together so many researchers. What are the differences between scientists from different countries? What do they have in common? From your experience, what is the average researcher like?
— In my opinion, any differences between researchers are not due to their nationality but down to the specialization of each partner.
The project is multidisciplinary, and each partner has researchers who analyze one topic or another, depending on their specialization. The approaches used, which can either be more descriptive or based on surveys or econometric models, also depend on the specialization of each partner. Every Work Package has been carried out by different partners, complementing each other. At the end of each WorkPackage, the partial results are brought together in a Summary Report.
A modern researcher is one that knows the background and literature related to the topic and can speak English.
— How would you describe your cooperation with the HSE?
— The HSE is one of the partners of the consortium. Our cooperation with them is very useful because they give us some approaches which complement other "central-European partners". They always contribute very interesting working papers to our project and have offered us the opportunity to disseminate our results through this very international conference. That’s why we are here!
HSE is a very strong partner and deeply committed to our project.
— What do you expect from the April conference 2013? What should be done for achievement of better scientific economic results?
— As I said earlier, we are looking forward to presenting some of our results. It’s impossible for us to present all our results as we have produced about 50 working papers. Here, we going to share the results of about 12 of them We’re also looking forward to meeting other researchers and stakeholders, hopefully they’ll be able to give us some suggestions for further research!
Anna Chernyakhovskaya, specially for HSE news service
See also:
HSE University Announces Call for Proposals to Attend Anniversary Yasin Conference
HSE University invites submissions of proposals with academic reports for participation in the 25th Yasin (April) International Academic Conference (YIAC). The conference programme, centred on five research themes addressing issues of economic and social development, will retain its interdisciplinary focus and welcome participation from leading scientists in Russia and around the globe. The key events of the 25th Yasin Conference will be taking place in Moscow from April 15 to 18, 2025.
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.