We were thrilled to see Salome Gelashvili, head of the ISET-PI Agricultural Policy Research Center (APRC), actively participate in a UNDP Georgia online discussion. During the virtual roundtable (entitled Local Economic Development and Business Friendly Environment for Municipalities), a variety of notable international speakers, particularly utilizing Czech expertise, came together to consider business development, combatting the rural-urban divide, and the effect of COVID-19 on the informal sector.

May 11 saw the second discussion in ISET's ongoing series of international policy online panels which examine the possible socio-economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The second panel was dedicated to what the higher education sector will look like when the pandemic is declared to be over.

International School of Economics at TSU (ISET) and ISET Policy Institute are holding second in the series of international Policy Panels – Re-imagining Higher Education Post-pandemic. It will focus on the impacts of COVID-19 on the higher education sector globally and will bring together top expert views on the longer-term prospects and challenges for the universities and students.

Although the operations of many businesses and organizations have been brought to a crashing halt due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, ISET has refused to allow the crisis to hinder its work. Over the last few months, all teaching and academic activity have been shifted online using Zoom, a format that works equally well for operations of ISET Policy Institute and its efforts to serve as a knowledge accumulation and exchange platform in the lock-down.

International School of Economics at TSU (ISET) and its Policy Institute are launching a Series of International Policy Panels online. Online Policy Panels will bring together distinguished economists, policy-makers, private sector leaders, and academics from various world regions to discuss acute and challenging local and global policy issues and facilitate sharing best practices across regions.