The International Institute of Socionics (IIS) was established in 1991 in Kyiv, Ukraine, and for years has held the most prominent annual international socionics conference. The institute pursues the continued development of socionics theory, renders commercial consulting services, and since 1994 has released a bimonthly journal "Socionics, Mentology, and Personality Psychology" (six issues a year). Topics in the journal usually range anywhere from studies and applications of the primary principles of socionics to speculative extensions of the theory. The director and founder of the institute is Dr. Aleksandr Bukalov. In 2006 the institute established an International Academic Board to issue bachelors, masters, and PhD degrees in socionics.