The Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, located in Geneva, Switzerland, is a new Institute generated by the merger of the Graduate Institute of International Studies (HEI) with the Graduate Institute of Development Studies (IUED), established respectively in 1927 and 1961. The Graduate Institute, an institution of higher education and research, provides independent and rigorous analyses of current and emerging world issues with a double emphasis on international relations and development studies. Prominent students from all over the world access postgraduate studies in Development Studies, International Affairs and International Studies. The Institute also offers a range of fundamental and applied research, particularly on five themes which are important to international affairs: Trade and Integration, Conflict and Peace-Building, Migration and Refugees, Environment and Health Policy. The Institute also offers a wide range of Executive Education degrees and open-enrolment courses on these themes. The Graduate Institute alumni community regroups more than 10'000 - Amongst these, some have become well-recognized specialists in their domain, like Leonid Hurwicz, the 2007 Nobel Prize in Economics, Kofi Annan, Former UN Secretary General, Brad Smith, Microsoft Vice President and Nobuyuki Idei, former Chairman and Group Chief Executive Officer of Sony Corporation.