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RBBC Russo-British Conference Series: Building the Future Together

On 27 February 2020, this Conference, held at Jesus College, brought together high-level participants from the UK and Russia to discuss and produce recommendations on common social and economic challenges and opportunities facing the UK and Russia, around two topics:

  • Digital health and bi-lateral relationships between hospitals and research communities
  • Urbanisation, smart cities and modern service provision. 

The topics had emerged from the first conference in the series, held at Wilton Park on11–13 February 2019, which identified these as areas of shared importance.

The format took a plenary session, followed by time spent in sessions dedicated to the themes of digital health and smart cities, generating fresh insights and analysis. Session titles included, 'How do technology, policy and human behaviour affect the development of cities?', 'What does healthcare need from digital technology?', 'What is the state of the art in smart cities?', and 'What can digital technologies offer for healthcare over the next five years?'. The conference also featured a number of keynote lectures from Kirill Kaem, the Senior Vice-President for Innovations at the Skolkovo Foundation, and Professor Andy Hopper CBE, the Vice-President of the Royal Society

The conference set out to achieve the following objectives:

  • Identify: the key trends and developments in digital health and smart cities over the next 5 - 7 years and how each respective side is looking to meet these policy, environment and industry challenges.
  • Engage: with potential business partners and explore avenues for further Russia-UK collaboration.
  • Exchange: technology and ideas with international colleagues from across the industry.
  • Shape: future business opportunities by navigating shared international policy challenges.

The report for this conference, as well as the infographic which was produced from the most notable data and information, can be found here. The conference was held on the basis of non-attributable discussion in a neutral environment designed to encourage open and constructive dialogue.