As I do every year since I arrived in Georgia back in 2009, this November I attended the Tbilisi International Fair for Agro, Food and Drink Products, Packaging, and Processing. This fair, although very small for international standards (some 60 stands) is actually one of the most important trade exhibitions in the country, and the only significant one with a focus on agriculture and food sectors.

There are many possibilities for how to increase the productivity of the Georgian agricultural sector. Experts suggest upgrading knowledge and technologies, promoting collaboration among farmers, and coping with the land fragmentation problem, to name just a few of the ideas circulating in the debate.

Task Assignment with Autonomous and Controlled Agents was the topic of an interactive seminar given by Dr. Florian Biermann at ISET on November 20, 2013. The assignment problem is one of the most famous branches of operational research. The general problem concerns a situation whereby one has a number of tasks that should be divided among employees.

Many of us have been lucky to be taught by great teachers, teachers who did not just teach, but inspired and brought out the best in us. Indeed, it is hard to overestimate the impact (positive and negative) of teachers on the children’s minds, their career prospects, and aspirations.

On November 13, 2013, ISET hosted a presentation of the preliminary results of “Support in Economic Policy Analysis Using CGE Modeling in Georgia,” an ISET Policy Institute project that started in December 2012 with the financial and technical support of GIZ’s Private Sector Development Program South Caucasus.