ISET is proud to welcome Mr. Luc Leruth, a professional of considerable academic experience who has worked for many years in financial institutions, to the ISET Policy Institute as one of its Lead Economists. A native of Belgium, Mr. Leruth previously worked as the Director of a number of the IMF's Technical Assistance Centres in Africa and the Pacific region.

In a first for Georgia's education sector, the ISET MA Class of 2020 underwent its graduation ceremony entirely online. Guest speakers – including Minister of Education Mikheil Chkenkeli, ISET Governing Board Director Jean-Frederic Paulsen, and Deputy Swedish Ambassador Erik Illes – appeared over Zoom, followed by members of the Class of 2020 itself, and finishing with an address by Valedictorian Guram Lobzhanidze.

Three ISET MA students have received need-based scholarships from the Policy and Management Consulting Group (PMCG), an international development consulting company, and a long-time friend and partner of ISET.

ISET’s BA Program in Economics is now accredited by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) until 2025. The program is recognized by UK NARIC at the same level as a UK undergraduate degree. BA students undertaking CIMA courses will also be exempted from taking CIMA exams, thereby earning CIMA qualifications.

On November 15-16, 2019, FREE Network and ISET Policy Institute organized and conducted an international gender economics conference in Tbilisi, Georgia1. The conference brought together researchers, policy-makers, and the broader development community to discuss obstacles to gender equality and women’s economic empowerment, and policies to remove the existing constraints, focusing on Eastern Europe and Emerging Economies.