This year marks an important event for the NES: the New Economic School has turned 30. We dedicate all our NES30 projects and events to the NES educational and research achievements. We are proud of what the School and the NES community reached out over the past three decades. The main value of NES is the people. It is thanks to all of you that the School continues to develop and remains a symbol of the best economic and finance education in Russia. 

I would like to remember and thank those who stood at the origins of the New Economic School. These are the founders of the NES – Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Valery Makarov and Professor of the University of Jerusalem Gur Ofer, economists Mark Levin, Victor Polterovich, Alexander Friedman, Zvi Griliches, Barry Ickes and Don Patinkin. All of them made an invaluable contribution to the development of the New Economic School. I am also grateful for the trust and support to my predecessor Ruben Enikolopov, as well as all of the previous NES rectors, who made it what it is now: in addition to the above-mentioned professor Valery Makarov, these are Sergei Guriev, Simeon Dyankov, Shlomo Weber.  

Unfortunately, this year has brought a lot of losses, they have not spared our School. After a long illness, our dear friend, one of the founders of the NES, Gur Ofer, passed away. A lot of great  people invested effort and love in the foundation of the New Economic School, but it would be fair  to say that without Gur Ofer, NES would simply not exist – as we know it. We will always remember Gur  with gratitude and this miracle that he gave us.

I would like to express my gratitude to all members of our friendly NES community – students and staff, professors and alumni, members of the Board of Directors and our partners and, of course, donors who, despite all difficulties, keep on supporting the School. Dear friends, let's not stop here and try to make the NES even better!