The conference was dedicated to the role of informal spaces in the production of innovation. It was organized by the EUSP’s Center for Science and Technology Studies, and supported by a megagrant from the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation, recieved for the study of Russian IT specialists and their diaspora.

Alexander Knysh gave a presentation as part of the Oriental Seminar in the EUSP’s Gold Hall. Mr. Knysh is the head of the Laboratory for Analysis and Modeling of Social Processes at SPbSU, and professor of Islamic Studies in the Department of Near Eastern Studies at the University of Michigan.

Renowned French sociologist Michel Wieviorka gave a lecture in the EUSP’s Golden Hall. Mr. Wieviorka is a professor at the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (EHESS), in Paris.

Konstantin Severinov, professor at the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology and head of the Molecular, Environmental and Applied Microbiology Laboratory at St. Petersburg State Polytechnic University, gave a lecture in the Conference Hall. What might explain the similarity between all living things? We agree that this similarity is due to common ancestry, though there are parts of this hypothesis that are not necessarily true.

Saskia Sassen works in the fields of globalization, international migration and urban studies. She is the author of more than ten books, the most well-known being The Global City: New York, London, Tokyo, which was first published in 1991 and republished ten years later as a new edition. In her research, Sassen posits the concept of an economy based on the concept of a global city: the contemporary global economy can be conceived of as a network of trade and finance chains whose links are composed of large (global) cities.

In contemporary economics, the term “capital” implies not only physical capital, but human capital as well — in the form of knowledge, skills, health, and administrative capabilities. There is also social capital, reflecting social ties and interpersonal relations and trust. Human and social capital, much like physical, can accrue and bring profits to a firm.

 The EUSP International Programs have started the new academic year for the 17th time since 1998, when IMARES hosted its first students almost two decades ago. Fourteen countries are represented this year by students from the USA, Denmark, Germany, UK, Italy, Russia, France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Estonia, Greece, Malaysia, Australia and South Korea. Our students, faculty and administration gathered on September 1 for a short opening ceremony of the Fall '14 semester at the EUSP Golden Hall to meet and to introduce themselves.

On June 25th at a ceremony in the EUSP’s Conference Hall, William Rosenberg was awarded an honorary doctorate. Rosenberg is a professor at the University of Michigan and a member of the EUSP Department of History’s International Advisory Board. After the official ceremony, Rosenberg gave a semi-formal speech about his own path as a historian, the first years of the European University, and about how shortages, violence, and loss have continued to define the history of Russia after the revolution of 1917.

On June 18-19, the EUSP’s Center for Science and Technology Studies hosted a conference titled “Explorers and Pirates: Digital Creators and the Creation of Value(s).” The conference took place at the European University and the hotel Radisson Sonya.

On June 30, Lexingron Books published a new book written by the Center for Modernization Studies (М-Center) Vladimir Gel'man, Dmitry Travin, Otar Marganiya.

On June 4, 2014 Elisabeth Ludeking, a student in the IMARES program, took part in the 3rd Jury Tukalov's rowing regatta at "Znamia" rowing club and placed first in single scull racing. The regatta is named after Jury Tjukalov - two-time Olympic champion in rowing. Jury Tjukalov was a guest at the competition and congratulated the winners of the regatta in single, double, quad and octuple sculls.

On May 30, cultural historian Alexander Etkind gave a public lecture on the concept of the super-extractive state. Professor Etkind began by saying that at the present moment there is a growing interest in political economy. History, having survived its predicted endpoint, is experiencing a return. This is, however, within the framework of an altogether different capitalism—not the one spoken about by classics. They did not know the significance that natural resources and raw materials could acquire.   

On May 29, Federico Romero, dean of the Department of History and Civilizations at the European University Institute in Florence, gave a lecture on new approaches to Cold War history.

Michele Espagne coined the term “cultural transfer” in the 1980s, becoming one of the founders of the transnational approach. The focus of his research interests is primarily the history of translation and the circulation of knowledge between France and Germany in the 19th century. He currently leads one of the research laboratories at the École Normale Supérieure (Paris) and the National Centre for Social Research in France (CNRS).

On May 22nd, the 13th meeting of friends and trustees of the EUSP took place in the Hermitage’s Hall of the State Council, chaired by Mikhail Piotrovksy and Alexei Kudrin. During the meeting, the most representative in the history of such events, negotiations with current and potential EUSP donors were held.