A warm welcome back to all returning students, faculty, researchers, and staff. Special greetings to our new students who will henceforth be part of our strong academic and professional community. Also, warm welcome to our new and continuing international students and international faculty. We wholeheartedly offer ISET to be your home and family, as is Georgian and ISET tradition.

It is with great sadness that ISET announces an enormous loss to the institution – Mr. Roy Southworth, former Chairman and Chairman Emeritus of the ISET Governing Board, passed away on July 23. He was a most dedicated friend of the broader ISET community, an inspiring development professional, a highly generous contributor, and a brave man with a big heart.

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.

On June 12, ISET hosted Kinan Bahnassi of the International Labor Organization, one of several UN-affiliated bodies active in Georgia. Mr. Bahnassi treated the audience of students, staff, and faculty to an interesting, perceptive, and rather a creative presentation.

The debate over working hours has become a frequent topic of discussion in recent years, especially as increasing numbers of modern industries (especially workplaces such as technology startups) find the traditional nine-to-five standard incompatible or irrelevant.