The ISE Center, jointly with the Sociology Education Center of the RAS Institute of Sociology, with the support of the Ford Foundation, initiated a new competition for CASEs (Centers for Advanced Studies and Education)

Speaking at the opening session were President Vladimir Putin; Rector of the Moscow State University, Academician Viktor Sadovnichy; Nobel Prize winner Academician Zhores Alferov, and some other prominent individuals.

The forum brought together Rectors of Russian schools of higher learning, including all those Universities which have established CASEs, Directors of RAS research institutes, officials from the Russian Ministry of Education and other Ministries and government agencies, as well as some well-known scholars and public figures.

Representatives of the ISE Center (Information. Scholarship. Education.) attended the Congress as guests.