4 September 2024
Russia is intensifying its pursuit of technological
sovereignty by seeking to create mechanisms that translate industrial needs
into scientific excellence. At the heart of this strategy, there is the need to
develop its own technologies and create the infrastructure that will support
this process. Four science and education clusters will soon appear in the
Russian Far East, marking a new milestone in advanced research and development.
At the same time, in order to ensure sustainable dynamics of technological
progress, it is necessary to strengthen the work on training personnel capable
of solving the tasks of creating innovative and breakthrough technologies.
Thanks to this, Russia will be able to strengthen its technological
sovereignty. This was the opinion of the participants of the session ‘Getting
Ahead at Any Cost’, which was held as part of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF).
KEY CONCLUSIONS
Development of science in the Russian Far East has
great potential
“The Far East has been on the frontier of
technological development for several generations due to its geographical
location. <...> It is very close to the countries that have made a
technological leap: Japan, South Korea, and China. For the Far East, it is
obvious that technology is vital to win, to endure today, to avoid fighting
tomorrow, to be strong and self-sufficient,” Alexey Chekunkov, Minister of the
Russian Federation for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic.
Russia has a positive investment climate for
innovation development
“As far as financing is concerned, the
situation is now improving, because a large amount of liquidity is locked up
inside the country. <...> New active players are emerging: it is both
private individuals and corporate investors. New funds are appearing,
investment platforms are developing. Other new mechanisms are appearing. We
have successfully tested a mechanism for attracting private investors through
digital financial assets,” Ruslan Sarkisov, General Partner, Voskhod Venture
Capital.
“Virtually every object of the material
world relates to chemistry and microelectronics one way or another. Therefore,
it is simply impossible for our national security not to deal with it.
<...> Now science is not perceived as a social sphere. Many companies
have started to look what competencies are offered by universities. Now the
centre of transport technologies is also developing in universities. This is a
point that allows us to translate the needs of industry into science,” Igor
Drozdov, Deputy Chairman, VEB.RF.
PROBLEMS
Insufficient level of research development
“Unfortunately, the innovation cycle is not
developing as fast as we would like it to. It takes up to two generations. In
order to create new technologies, we need to raise a generation of scientists,
who in turn will raise a generation of engineers. But unfortunately, they are
lost within one generation,” Alexey Chekunkov, Minister of the Russian
Federation for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic.
“There is a problem. Handout documents set
the task to achieve technological sovereignty, including in the areas we have
mentioned – chemistry and electronics. These are areas where development and
production are quite capital-intensive. At the same time, profitability in a
number of areas is low or non-existent. <...> It is impossible to create
a technology within a university that will be immediately implemented in
production. It is possible to make something in vitro, but further scaling
within the university structure is absolutely impossible,” Igor Drozdov, Deputy
Chairman, VEB.RF.
Shortage of human resources to ensure technological
breakthroughs
“You cannot buy and develop technology
without people. We are always asking ourselves the question, ‘Where can we get
these people?’ We are Far Eastern universities. We have a fairly low density of
scientists and engineers. We do not have a lot of them. We generally have a low
population density,” Elena Kharisova, General Director, Fund for the
Development of Innovative Scientific and Technological Center “Russky”.
“We are facing staff shortages. We make
robots. But now we have to build a factory in Moscow, in a special economic
zone, where robots will build robots. After all, you have to develop a great
deal of technology, make a manufacturing process, create software. So, we
invest a lot in the team, in the development of our own personnel, in the
development of the industry, starting from school. It is not a quick process,” Artem
Lukin, Chief Executive Officer, TECHNORED.
SOLUTIONS
Strengthening support for domestic innovative
scientific developments
“The priority today is the creation and development
of technologies for new production facilities. This year, we will set a record
in terms of investments. The figure will be about 50% higher than last year.
<...> We are setting new historical records for our company. As of today,
the portfolio of investment projects under implementation totals RUB 1.7
trillion, the most significant part of which is the Amur Gas Chemical Complex
project. It will be the largest integrated production unit in the world,
producing 2.7 million tonnes of commercial products,” Aleksandr Petrov, Member
of the Management Board, Executive Director, SIBUR.
“This year, we have had our first victories:
here is a company that has made software for diagnosing aircraft engines. Now,
against the background of sanctions, foreign alternatives are unavailable. It
turned out to be an interesting story. Now they have signed a contract, have
stable demand, and are going on to sell their technology to airlines,” Anatoly
Semenov, Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).
Intensifying efforts to increase the number of
scientists in the Far East
“We are preparing a special programme. It
will be called ‘100 scientific engineering teams for companies in the Far
East’. <...> In 2030, we plan to open four scientific and educational
clusters together with the Government of Primorsky Territory. They will house
240 such companies. They will work with 100 scientific engineering teams from
all over the world. This is the only chance for the Far East to keep talented
children, scientists, engineers... and help them fulfil their talents,” Elena
Kharisova, General Director, Fund for the Development of Innovative Scientific
and Technological Center “Russky”.
“We are going to launch such a mix of
science, technology, education and production here on Russky Island. This is an
innovative scientific and technological centre. <...> Key decisions have
already been made by the government. Budgets have been allocated for the Far
East concession. <...> There will be a programme to attract the best
scientists, including world-class ones. This will allow Vladivostok to become
one of the leading scientific centres in Russia,” Alexey Chekunkov, Minister of
the Russian Federation for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic.
* This is a translation of
material that was originally generated in Russian using artificial
intelligence.
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