Formally announced after the meeting between Swedish and Russian prime ministers, Ericsson’s participation in Russia’s Skolkovo Innovation Center draws on the company’s 120 years of collaboration with Russia on ICT modernization.
The strategic agreement will help drive innovation and development in the country’s science and technology sectors.
Under the agreement, Ericsson will play a key partner role with the non-profit Skolkovo Foundation in the development of the Skolkovo Innovation Center, a high-technology business park aimed at promoting the development of science and technology companies.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin announced the strategic agreement during an official visit to Sweden, where he held talks with Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt and representatives of the Swedish business community.
Victor Vekselberg, President of the Skolkovo Foundation, says Ericsson’s decision to play a key role in the future of Skolkovo is a major milestone for the project. “We are delighted the Skolkovo Innovation Center will have the opportunity to benefit from the tremendous industry leadership and expertise Ericsson brings to this very important project,” Vekselberg says.
Ericsson CEO and President Hans Vestberg says: “This agreement is a continuation and expansion of what has historically been a partnership based on collaboration, a shared spirit of technological enthusiasm and one that emphasizes a localized presence of our combined efforts in Russia. We find the Skolkovo environment suits us very well in our development needs and by joining the Skolkovo initiative, we are taking another step in our 130-year relationship with Russia.”
Ericsson’s primary contributions to Skolkovo include:
- The creation of a project-oriented Ericsson research and development (R&D) center;
- Support for further development of Skolkovo’s R&D infrastructure through the establishment of an Ericsson Networked Society Lab;
- Support for the development of Skolkovo University of Technology programs focusing on broadband-based cloud applications, intelligent transport solutions, machine-to-machine (M2M) and other technologies;
- Support for the development of an efficient regulatory environment, institutions and management principles based on advanced solutions in corporate compliance, technical support, efficiency and safety.
About Ericsson Russia
Ericsson’s partnership with Russia dates back 130 years to the first sale of a telephone set in 1891. In 1897, Ericsson went local in Russia with the opening of a major telephone manufacturing facility in St. Petersburg, which at the time was the company’s largest such facility in the world.
To develop ICT talent in Russia, Ericsson currently operates the Ericsson Training Center, which was opened in Moscow in 1996. The Center is a joint venture with the Moscow Technical University of Telecommunications – MTUCI. Since opening, the Center has trained more than 20,000 ICT professionals.
Ericsson switches serve more than 40 percent of all national and international telephone traffic in Russia and an Ericsson solution supports every third mobile call in the country. Ericsson is an industry leader in the introduction of an extensive range of the most cutting-edge technologies in Russia’s burgeoning information and communications technology (ICT) sector.
