Although the relations between the two powers have reached historic lows, US-Russian cooperation in scientific and technological fields is still alive.
“The Russian government is not imposing any sanctions whatsoever against the USA in the field of scientific interaction,” Gazeta.ru reported earlier this month, citing Russian ambassador to the USA Sergey Kislyak.
“Russia has always been and still remains open and interested in normal and mutually beneficial cooperation between scientists. I have no rights to speak for the US government, but even at a formal level I have heard of no sanctions that would bar opportunities in scientific collaboration,” the ambassador said.
Illustrating continued cooperation is the tech commercialization training program received earlier this month by six innovative start-ups from two Russian research universities – in Nizhny Novgorod and in Perm – at the University of Maryland’s Technology Accelerator Program.
The Russian startups also met a number of potential partners and/or investors in Washington, DC. Their projects vary from new narcotic and pharmaceutical testing techniques to mobile cardiac testing and diagnostic equipment, to a training simulator for cargo-handling machinery, and a platform for assessing linguistic competencies by tracking eye movements.
Participating in the meetings was Blacklin Associates, a US company cooperating with the Nizhny Novgorod university (UNN) in preparing roadmaps for commercialization, as well as top officials from the Russian Federation Trade Representation to the USA.
Commenting on the course and results of the meetings, Kendrick White, Vice Rector for Innovation at the UNN, said that all those present had shown “strong interest” in both the start-up projects and UNN as a “very progressive university leader in Russia.” The participants were keen to learn more of “our approach to IP protection, transparency, and willingness to work with industry,” the vice rector underscored. The US partners talked about the importance of continuing long-term relations with Russia, pointing out that “academia relations are now more important than ever to develop and maintain,” he said.
Scott Blacklin of Blacklin Associates sent a clear message to the attending American representatives, explaining why now was the time to develop their relations with Russian universities, a huge innovative community which has been reaching out to the world, with the UNN ahead of the pack.
The American tour of the six Russian startups was part of the US Russia Innovation Corridor (USRIC), a cooperation framework created by Nizhny Novgorod and Maryland universities in early 2013.
The USRIC, which has just closed its Fall 2014 application round, aims to attract “university-based startups and entrepreneurs interested in exploring collaborations and accessing incubation services and US networks in their target industries.”
