Almost as soon as they are through the front doors, new arrivals to ISET are told that the institute is like a family, and it does not take long before the truth of these words is proved. ISET alumni frequently come back to visit, and not just to pay friendly visits to their old professors: many have gone on to work prestigious jobs in both the government and private sectors or earn PhDs in American and European universities, and so return to ISET to present on topics that will be of interest to the community, both old and new.

Georgia’s population is rapidly aging because of low fertility, improvements in the healthcare system, and labor migration. The challenges of living in an older society were discussed in a working group format as part of the “National Dialogue on Georgian Demographic Security Priorities”, April 18-19, which was attended by ISET-PI’s Maka Chitanava and Lasha Labadze. This UNFPA-supported dialog was initiated by the Georgian Parliament’s Healthcare and Social Policy Committee.

On Tuesday, October 27th, ISET hosted Zurab Tchiaberashvili, former Mayor of Tbilisi, former Minister of Health and Social Affairs of Georgia, and current professor at Ilia State University. Mr. Tchiaberashvili delivered a presentation titled “Healthcare in Georgia: Challenges Ahead.”

On October 23, 2013 ISET hosted a strategic dialogue on Georgia’s national competitiveness. Eric Livny, ISET’s Director, opened the dialog with a brief presentation of the major changes in Georgia’s competitiveness performance in the 2012/13 Global Competitiveness Report. Georgia improved from 77th to 72nd position; the country saw the largest improvement in the macroeconomic environment while doing slightly worse in the labor market, healthcare, and primary education pillars.