Professor Yelena Kalyuzhnova delivers United Nations Economic Commission for Europe presentation

Professor Yelena Kalyuzhnova, Vice Dean (International) and Director of the Centre for Euro-Asian Studies (CEAS) at Henley Business School, was invited to participate in the 16th session of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Committee on Innovation, Competitiveness, and Public-Private Partnerships.

This session, held from 30 May 2023 to 2 June 2023, was hosted at the UN headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland and focused on the topic of 'Digital and Green Transformations: the Role of Innovation and Public-Private Partnerships'. The session explored the urgent need to address global challenges such as energy sustainability, climate change, biodiversity loss and plastics pollution without ignoring the economic and social dimensions of the UN's Sustainable Development Agenda, considering the use of digital technologies to improve resource management and transactional efficiency whilst enabling new business models and making new forms of economic activity viable.

Further consideration was given to the role of transformative innovation across multiple fields and public-private partnerships (PPPs) in driving digital and green transformations, with attendees exchanging experiences, sharing success stories, reviewing progress and identifying knowledge gaps. With both physical and digital infrastructure requiring significant and sustainable investment, the session considered how PPPs will be critical as a way to bring the private sector's financial resources and technological expertise to this effort.

As a member of the Team of Specialists on Innovation and Competitiveness Policies at UNECE, which includes a mix of UN member state councillors, business leaders, academics and representatives from the private sector, civil society and international organisations, Professor Kalyuzhnova has been a regular contributor to UNECE meetings and publications. Her role includes conducting research, offering analysis and providing advisory services on innovation and competitiveness policies.

During her time in Geneva, Professor Kalyuzhnova presented on the Review of Georgia report that she had conducted and actively engaged in collaborative problem-solving and the exploration of cutting-edge strategies for sustainability and technology. A notable opportunity arose for her to present the impact case on creative industries in the Euro-Asia region, a project currently undertaken by the CEAS, and she also discussed future steps for collaboration between the CEAS and UNECE.