Baikal State University became a host site for a number of events of the Baikal Economic Forum. The All-Russian Scientific and Practical Conference "Regions of Siberia and the Far East in the Context of Global Trends: Challenges and Prospects" was held at BSU.

The conference was organized by Baikal State University, the Association of Municipalities of the Irkutsk Region and the Public House of Irkutsk. The forum events are supported by the Irkutsk Regional Public Organization "Union of Territorial Public Self-Governments of the Irkutsk Region", Irkutsk City Administration, and the Government of the Irkutsk Region.

Scientists from leading scientific and educational centers of Russia, deputies of the Irkutsk Region Legislative Assembly, representatives of regional authorities and local self-government, domestic business companies, the All-Russian Assembly of Territorial Development and Public Self-Government, the Union of Territorial Public Self-Governments of the Irkutsk Region took part in the conference discussions.

The representatives of Moscow and St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk region and Khabarovsk region took part in the conference.

The conference was organized on three main thematic platforms. At the platform "Smart Development" of the territory - from resources to technologies" leading scientists from universities of Siberia and the Far East presented their vision of spatial development of Siberian and Far East regions. Svetlana Khakhina, Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Industry of the Irkutsk Region, presented an overview of the development prospects of the Irkutsk Region. Colleagues from Moscow highlighted the prospects of using AI in the performance of services and functions by public authorities and local self-government authorities. The audience was particularly interested in the report on the role of private business in the development of transportation infrastructure in Siberian and Far Eastern regions.

The platforms "Smart Development - Focus on People" and "Smart Local Community - Key Capital of the Territory" discussed the issues of staff shortage in Siberian regions, the use of industrial tourism opportunities for professional orientation of children and teenagers, organization of activities to promote patriotism and organization of educational work, etc. A large block of speeches was devoted to the successful practice and prospects for the development of territorial public self-government in Siberian regions.

The initiative to hold the Baikal Economic Forum belongs to the Department of Public Administration and Human Resource Management of Baikal State University, which has been training highly qualified specialists in the field of "Public and Municipal Administration" for more than a quarter of a century.