HSE University Expands Cooperation with Malaysia in Technology Foresight
HSE University researchers will take part in a study of the future of engineering education in Malaysia, while the Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT) will use the iFORA big-data analysis system to validate the findings of its foresight research. These are the outcomes of a visit by HSE representatives to Kuala Lumpur.
Alexander Sokolov, Director of the International Research and Educational Foresight Centre at the HSE Institute for Statistical Studies and Economics of Knowledge (ISSEK) and Head of the UNESCO Chair on Futures Studies, was one of two international experts invited to the National Engineering Convention 2026. He delivered a plenary presentation entitled ‘Technology Foresight: Emerging Technologies and Future Competencies’.
In his presentation, Alexander Sokolov outlined the methodological approaches and practical tools used by the HSE ISSEK Foresight Centre in its forecasting projects. Particular attention was paid to forecasting methods based on artificial intelligence and big data. These primarily include methods for the semantic analysis of trends, weak signals, and ‘wild cards’ in relation to emerging technologies and the transformations they are driving in the economy and society. The audience showed particular interest in specific examples of projects, especially long-term scenarios for Russia’s development implemented as part of the Priority 2030 programme, as well as studies of future workforce competencies, including engineering competencies.
Alexander Sokolov was also invited as an expert consultant to discussions on scenarios for the development of engineering education in Malaysia through to 2041. The aim of this work is to revise the national standards for higher engineering education. HSE University experts will subsequently contribute to the methodological evaluation of the study and the preparation of recommendations on organising its subsequent stages. ‘Our Malaysian colleagues are taking a very serious approach to the question of what engineers of the future should be like and how the system for training them should evolve,’ said Alexander Sokolov.
The use of the HSE ISSEK-developed iFORA system in joint foresight projects was another topic of discussion. Alexander Sokolov presented the system’s current capabilities, as well as the multi-agent AI platform being developed on its basis as part of the Priority 2030 programme.
The Malaysian experts proposed using iFORA in the future to validate the findings of their own foresight study of long-term changes in society and technology. Their interest in the system stems from the possibility of supplementing expert assessments with analysis of large datasets and determining how well experts’ conclusions are supported by empirical evidence.
Plans are also underway to use iFORA in the study of the future of the engineering sector. The parties agreed to present preliminary findings from this study in October at the 16th International Research Conference ‘Foresight and Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy’, which is held annually by HSE ISSEK.
In October 2024, HSE University and MIGHT, at the initiative of ISSEK, signed a cooperation agreement on long-term forecasting of scientific and technological and socio-economic development. In November 2025, a delegation from Malaysia visited HSE University, where the parties discussed the results of their foresight projects and possible areas for joint work.
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