On November 25, ISET started a policy seminar series provided by the second-year students of ISET’s MA program. The first presentation was delivered by Tamar Bregvadze, Mariam Chachava, Kamran Gasimov, and Yervand Martirosyan under the supervision of the head of Energy Concentration at ISET, Norberto Pignatti.

A few weeks ago Elon Musk (CEO of SpaceX and Tesla Motors and Chairman of SolarCity, among others) presented two new products: solar roof tiles produced by SolarCity, and Tesla’s Powerwall 2, designed to work together to revolutionize the concept of solar PV systems. Energy sector professionals, environmentalists, and renewable energy enthusiasts around the world (including Georgia) were thrilled, and started sharing information and opinions about the new products on social networks, talking of another step towards the revolution of the power sector so many are waiting for.

On November 2, ISET hosted Francois Painchaud, the IMF Resident Representative in Georgia. Mr. Painchaud presented the 2016 November Regional Economic Outlook for the Caucasus and Central Asia, highlighting three main areas: global and regional environment, outlook and policy actions, and policy priorities.

Tempelhofer Feld is a beloved communal recreation area of Berliners. Tempelhofer Feld is not just a park. It is a park built instead of an airport. In 2008, when the almost century-old Tempelhofer airport was closed, the city of Berlin declared the centrally located, 386-hectare (!) open space for public use. Today, the area has six-kilometer cycling, skating, and jogging trail, a 2.5-hectare barbeque area, a dog-walking field covering around four hectares, and an enormous picnic area for visitors – everything we, Tbilisi citizens, can only dream of.

On Tuesday, May 24, Dr. David Ubilava from the University of Sidney gave a presentation entitled "The El Niño Southern Oscillation and Economic Growth”. Dr. Ubilava started the presentation with the definitions of such phenomena such as climate anomalies and weather and emphasized the importance of weather as a factor in agricultural production.