Russian Regions in The Focus of Changes

21:33, November 20, 2022

The first results of the meeting of leading researchers and businessmen

On November 16-19, Graduate School of Economics and Management UrFU organized the XVII International Conference "Russian Regions in the Focus of Changes". The conference was very eventful and productive: 60+ round tables, expert sessions and panel discussions. Expert participation of such key persons from the academic and business environment as Prof Dr Kangjuan Lyu,  Prof Dr Sergey Afontsev, Prof Dr Himanshu Rai,  Andrey Klepach, Prof Dr Sergey Roshchina, Prof. Dr. Ghosal Debraj, Prof Dr  Vladimir Klimanov, Prof Dr Sergey Myasoedov, Prof Dr Vasily Kashin, Mr Vasily Tretyakov, Prof Dr Sergey Kolesnichenko, and others allows us to deeply understand economic processes and think through effective scenarios for the future.

Special guests of the conference, one of the leading oil and gas analysts  , a statesman of Kazakhstan and an expert in financial management Medet Sartbaev, an economic geographer, an expert in the field of socio-economic development of regions Natalia Zubarevich and Vice-President of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs Maria Glukhova shared their expert vision of the future of commodity markets and other sectors of the economy in sectoral and regional aspects.

“The main goal of the conference is to discuss topical issues and the current situation with the best Russian analysts. I am glad that the composition of the conference experts is being strengthened, while the core group of experts remains the same. For sure, the results of the reports and studies presented by our speakers are of great value. This is especially valuable because we are in a situation of uncertainty and first-hand information is the most important,” Dmitry Tolmachev, Director of the Graduate School of Economics and Management, UrFU, Director of the Analytical Center "Expert", Vice President of the Association of Russian Economic Think Tanks (ARETT).

Key discussions can be found in the recording on GSEM UrFU channel.

On November 17 the main plenary discussion "Russian Regions: adaptation and development in the context of new challenges" were held. There were discussed macro-scenarios for economic development and changes in global markets, the priorities of the new industrial policy in the regional projection, the reaction of companies and their response to challenges, changing business models, measures support and development tools for enterprises and regions, as well as a new structure of international relations.

Plenary discussion "Drivers of Business Education in the time of Global Uncertainty" focused on the development areas of business schools. The experts answered a number of questions. Are (E)SG and digital transformation still the main trends in the face of global shocks? How is the demand for business school graduates changing in the context of global shocks? Will new local clusters of business schools appear within the G20? What competencies should be developed at the university for the innovative development of regions? how does (limited) academic mobility affect the quality of education and the well-being of students, teachers, partners?

Panel discussion “The impact of the monetary policy of the Central Bank of Russia on the economy of the country and regions”, where the focus was on the specifics of the economy of the Ural regions, the importance of information received from enterprises in the framework of monitoring enterprises conducted by the Bank of Russia to make decisions on monetary policy.

Plenary discussion "Import dependency of Russian regions" was devoted to the past experience of the response of Russian regions in relation to imports to external shocks, the specifics of the regions' response to new challenges, as well as the potential of the Russian import substitution policy and growth drivers

Experts of the panel discussion “Russia - Asia - Middle East: structure of international relations, effective business partnership, new logistics " discussed a number of issues related to the opportunities for cooperation between Russia and Asia, including the most promising areas of economic and investment cooperation, what can be an additional incentive for the implementation of joint projects which customs.

The panel discussion "Opportunities for Russian Business" brought together practitioners who are deeply immersed in the topic of adapting businesses to the conditions of the crisis, who know anti-crisis management practices and models of work in foreign markets. Case studies of successful solutions, new markets and niches, as well as the development of the potential of parallel imports were discussed.

At the panel discussion "Creative reindustrialization of second-tier cities in the context of digital transformation", creative industries were comprehensively discussed, including models and cases of creative urban reindustrialization, the experience of "reindustrialization" of the cities of the Urals and Siberia, as well as the question of whether the industrial economy is a development factor or containment to diversify city functions.

The main theses and key ideas for each of the key discussions will be published. Follow the agenda and stay up to date with the main economic trends.