HSE University-St Petersburg Holds International Expert Day on Social Entrepreneurship
On November 29, the campus hosted the Expert Day of the HSE University-St Petersburg and University of Technology Malaysia mirror laboratory. The official partner of the event was the Our Future foundation.
The event started with a welcoming speech by Magdalena Gaete, head of the Laboratory for Reputation Management in Education, Alexander Sorokin, Dean of the School of Social Sciences, and Rosmini Omar, Dean of the Azman Hashim International Business School at UTM Malaysia. 'The mirror laboratory has been actively carrying out research for a year already. After teaming up with our Malaysian colleagues to work on this project, we are always up to date on the latest research and successful projects in this field,' said Alexander Sorokin.
The first session began with a joint report by HSE University-St Petersburg and UTM Malaysia devoted to the latest results of the mirror lab's activities. Over the year, the researchers studied the socio-legal bases of social enterprises in Russia and Malaysia, formed portraits of social entrepreneurs in both countries, and conducted a comparative analysis of institutions and the characteristics of social entrepreneurship.
Magdalena Gaete, Head of the Laboratory for Reputation Management in Education
We have much to learn from the global leaders in social entrepreneurship—our partners, Malaysia and Mexico—and much to teach them. They are actively expanding the scientific base with high-quality research, and we are rapidly developing a range of amazing projects. I hope that the work of our laboratory will become a jumping-off point for researching the potential of social enterprises in rapidly developing countries.
The practical session gathered active social entrepreneurs and representatives of government and infrastructure who have supported them. The participants discussed real-life practices of social entrepreneurship.
The sections featured experts from HSE University, SPbU, RANEPA, and the Analytical Centre under the Russian Government, as well as the founders and heads of major social enterprises such as Opeka and Future Leaders.
HSE University-St Petersburg and the University of Technology Malaysia (UTM) launched the mirror laboratory in social entrepreneurship in November 2023. The laboratory conducts research, promotes the best global practices in social entrepreneurship, and helps to adapt them to the Russian environment. The first results of its activities were discussed in autumn at a meeting with the Minister of Higher Education of Malaysia.