4 September 2024

Getting ahead at any cost

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.

For more information, visit the Roscongress Information and Analytical System roscongress.org.

 

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