JVI Alumni Quotes

I am pleased to announce that I have successfully completed the "Cyber Risk Supervision - Path to Operational Resilience" course in Vienna, Austria. This course covered a wide range of topics related to cyber risk supervision, including banking IT and cloud technologies, international guidance on cyber risk, business continuity, cyber preparedness and testing frameworks, third-party risk management, and cyber incident reporting. Throughout the course, we examined case studies to better understand the practical application of these topics. I found the discussions on cyber risk supervision, both onsite and offsite, to be particularly insightful. It was fascinating to learn about the role of information sharing and communications in mitigating cyber risks and ensuring operational resilience. Overall, this course has provided me with a strong foundation in cyber risk supervision, and I look forward to implementing what I have learned in my work. I would highly recommend this course to anyone interested in this field. Khusravbek Abduvaliev, Supervisor of Credit Institutions, Central Bank of Uzbekistan. Course on Cyber Risk Supervision – Path to Operational Resilience, March 6-10, 2023.

The opportunity to participate in this course was uniquely exciting for me, as it helped me to study international experiences on structural reforms, mainly on tax reforms, in order to be able to present tax policy reforms using the most effective tools. It also helped me to become more involved with carbon pricing cases. During the course, I gained knowledge about Government steps on setting prices that emitters must pay for each ton of greenhouse gas emissions they emit, and about the steps businesses and consumers take to reduce their emissions to avoid paying the tax. And finally, during this course, I studied international best practices on tax policies regarding foreign investments, particularly in terms of providing tax benefits. Susanna Arzumanyan, Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Armenia.  Structural Reforms Course, May 6-17, 2023.

The course on „Competitiveness, growth, and crises” provided a comprehensive picture on competitiveness analysis, with a focus on its productivity component and the variety of indicators available, but also on emerging issues such as global and regional value chain developments and novel policies. Since my daily activity is largely analytical in nature, the content was well-received.  I appreciate that the course has been connected to the most recent developments in the international economic and financial domain. Not a few times have I received information related to the impact of trends such as „decoupling” or „friendshoring”, or the implications of the functional labour division, on the growth perspectives and competitiveness of an economy, just to list a few. These were accompanied by the technical aspects supporting them.  In addition, it was an interactive course, with lecturers engaged in open discussion regarding the course topics, apart from the practical workshops that helped us gain first-hand experience. I should highlight the relevance of the regions in focus, given the economies the participants came from. In this edition, the focus on the particularities of the economies in the Balkans, Central Asia, Central and Eastern Europe contributed to a wider picture of the various developments paths and how improving competitiveness could provide new growth opportunities, which included also a peer-to-peer learning and sharing component. Mădălin Blidaru, International Relations Specialist, National Bank of Romania Competitiveness, Growth, and Crises Course, 13 – 17 February 2023

The Competitiveness, growth and crises course was a new opportunity for me to update and improve my knowledge about competitiveness, growth and crises. Being a macroeconomist, I believe that in the current conditions of the development of the world economy, regularly recurring crises become inevitable, and their management and overcoming their consequences are more than difficult. This circumstance, as well as cooperation between countries in the current conditions of globalization, make this course more than relevant. Apart from new experience, skills and opportunities, this course and JVI in general is an informal, but very effective platform for making new acquaintances, friends, work connections. I am happy and grateful to be a part of the "Competitiveness, growth and crises" course. I am sure that I will return to JVI within the framework of another course. Narine Petrosyan, Ministry of Finance, Armenia Competitiveness, Growth and Crises Course, February 13-17, 2023

Attending the audit process and preparing recommendations for external public financial control in accordance with the law are the main duties of my job. We need to always upgrade our experiences, knowledge for implementation of reforms, key challenges, and the factors for success. Therefore, participating in the PFAR course was very effective for me and it allowed direct interaction with the top officials from the Austrian Federal Ministry of Finance, the Parliamentary Budget Office (and the Public Administration Division) for well understanding the global gap, risk, and trends.  Furthermore, I consider that a well-designed course by JVI opens unique opportunities to exchange experiences, share knowledge and deeply contribute to participants for a comprehensive and practical understanding. Jahandar Gadirov, Department of Public Services Audit, The Chamber of Accounts/SAI Azerbaijan.

Crisis and resilience course entirely fulfilled my expectations regarding organization, topics, lecturers and discussions with participants. From the historical perspective to recent episodes, we had a comprehensive insights into types, costs and causes of variety of crises that humanity faced so far and lessons that were or were not learnt, especially in European regions and countries. Moreover, we were actively included in presentations and case studies which helped us to better understand practical implications of different policies, primarily monetary and fiscal, designed to respond to short-term and long-term consequences of crises in adequate, coordinated and sustainable manner. At the same time, it was great opportunity to meet colleagues from different countries and cultures and exchange professional and personal experiences on crises and other current socio-economic developments, which will probably have long-lasting impact on national and global economy. This extraordinary course provided me with broad-based academic and empirical views on fundamental and specific issues immanent to crises, with special focus on policy measures which can be implemented on macro and micro level, both before and during crisis. I would highly recommend this one-week course to central bankers and employees in ministries of economy and finance who are involved in analyses and researches related to crises and capacities to recover in their institutions and home countries. Stojan Janković, analyst, Economic Research and Statistics Department, National Bank of Serbia Crises and resilience course, November 14-18, 2022. 

From September 12, 2022 through September 16, 2022, I had the pleasure of attending the “Future of Taxation” course at the Joint Vienna Institute. The course was incredibly well-designed balancing lectures, country presentations and the multiple discussions to give the participants a comprehensive and practical understanding of the topics. Topics covered such as the Structure of Taxes in Emerging Market Economies enhanced my understanding of the fundamentals of tax systems across developing economies and challenges they face. In addition, through topics on Tax avoidance, Tax evasion, and Illicit financial flows I grasped the importance of having well-established tax laws and enforcement capacities, whereas the Panel Discussion on the impact of Digitalization on Taxation provided me with novel insights on the benefits and challenges pertaining tax systems and policies arising from digitalization. Overall, the course was very informative, practical, and encompassing and would highly recommend it. Lastly, I would like to express my gratitude to the Joint Vienna Institute for the opportunity to attend policy-oriented trainings. Through these effectively designed and tailored courses, I can professionally grow and develop, as the new knowledge and skills I acquire I directly apply at my workplace. Festa Kusari, Senior Fiscal Policy Analyst, Ministry of Finance, Labor, and Transfers, Government of Kosovo. Future of Taxation course, September 12-16, 2022.