Online Desk: Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus has been appointed chair of the international advisory board of Moscow’s Financial University (under the government of the Russian Federation).

On November 23, he joined a high-level strategic meeting with Prof Stanislav Prokofiev, Rector of the Financial University, and his colleagues.

The Financial University hosted the meeting. At the meeting, Dr Yunus was invited to be the chair of the university’s International Advisory Board.

Dr Yunus gave his consent to this appointment, the Yunus Center said today.

The Financial University is one of the top five universities in Russia with 3,000 academic staff. Dr Yunus was invited to give a lecture to the faculty and students of the university last year on his thoughts on creating a new civilization based on social business, working towards achieving three zero goals – zero net carbon emissions, zero wealth concentration, and zero unemployment.

The International Advisory Board will be a deliberative collegial body. Its primary goals are to attract the best international experience, to provide in-depth expert analysis, and to prepare proposals for strategic development, as well as academic, research and innovation activities of the university.

During the meeting, the rector of the Russian university explained the role of the international advisory board in developing the university’s academic programme and in designing the future direction of research at the university.

He explained how the university community admires Dr Yunus’ concept of social business.

He also said that Financial University would like to introduce the concept in their academic programmes.

He said that students will be encouraged to design and implement social businesses during their academic years at the university, and the institution will provide financial support to the student-entrepreneurs to start their social businesses.

The meeting was also attended by Professor Mikhail Eskindarov, President of the University; Professor Ekaterina Kameneva, Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs; Professor Kirill Babaev, Director of the Center for International Scientific and Educational Projects; Liliya Prikhodko, Head of the International Relations Department; and Mikhail Mamuta, Head of the Service for the Protection of Financial Services to Consumers and Minority Shareholders, Bank of Russia, the Central Bank of Russia.

The participants also discussed the prospects of cooperation between the Financial University and the Yunus Centre.

Rector of the Financial University, Prof Stanislav Prokofiev, expressed his support for the ideas of social business as a guarantee for sustainable and long-term social development.