Dr. Denis Bednyagin, Russian & permanent resident in Switzerland since 2002, obtained PhD degree in the domain of economics of innovation in energy sector combined with postgraduate Master’s degree in energy from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), one of the world´s top-20 universities according to various rankings. He is also a graduate of the Moscow State University of International Relations (MGIMO) with specialization in economics, foreign trade and marketing. During his university studies he participated in students exchange program in international management hosted by the leading French business school HEC Paris.
After university graduation Dr. Bednyagin worked for several years as project manager in construction of hydro & thermal power plants, and then joined the Laboratory of Energy Systems and Chair of Economics & Management of Innovation at EPFL where he conducted engineering-economic studies on different assignments of World Bank, European Commission, Euratom/EFDA, Swiss Federal Office of Energy, electrical utility companies, etc. The research work of Dr. Bednyagin was particularly focused on integrated (Energy – Economy – Environment) assessment modelling, long-term forecasting, technology foresight, uncertainty and risk management. In his PhD dissertation he developed a holistic approach to evaluation of large scale R&D programs taking into account total social costs and benefits with the help of advanced “real options” pricing models and long-range scenario projections.
Since 2010, Dr. Bednyagin has been working in private sector as business development adviser, technology consultant and board member at various long-only & private equity investment funds, medium size companies, and start-ups. As a seasoned expert in the areas of energy technologies, IT applications and investment management Dr. Bednyagin assisted clients in the definition of business strategies, design of specific projects, structuring M&A deals, fundraising using traditional debt & equity instruments as well as innovative cryptocurrency-based mechanisms.
In 2017 Dr. Bednyagin became interested in blockchain technology which represents one of the key elements of Fourth Industrial Revolution. Being familiar through his previous advisory assignments with other innovative digital technologies, such as Internet of Things, smart sensors, AR/VR, mobile apps, artificial intelligence, big data analytics, etc., he realised the profound disruptive impact that Industry 4.0 may have on practically all economic sectors and social governance. In this way, being himself a part of “new digital movement” through collaboration with the leading Japanese blockchain IT company Soramitsu and its decentralised autonomous economic system SORA, Dr. Bednyagin is keen to share his knowledge and practical experience with students, private companies and public authorities by teaching the topics of digitalization, smart energy systems, smart cities and sustainable innovation.