Authorities in the Republic of Bashkortostan have approved a $52 million long-term innovation program to run till 2015, regional officials report. Of the total funding, $17 million is reportedly to be allocated from budgets, and $35 million is to be raised from non-budgetary sources.
Skolkovo, the state-sponsored innovation hub under construction near Moscow, has selected 28 projects to fund, according to its vice president, Stanislav Naumov, on March 4. He said that by the end of the year, that number will have risen to 116. Important tax and customs exemptions will also be offered.
In a meeting with Russian bloggers yesterday, Viktor Vekselberg, president of the Skolkovo Foundation, pledged to “lynch bribers” on the future innovation hub’s territory should any instance of corruption be discovered, reported Vedomosti, a Russian business daily.
The Russian Ministry of Economic Development unveiled last week an online map of the country’s investment projects, proposals and sites as well as special economic, socio-economic indicators, logistical infrastructure and educational centers.
Viktor Vekselberg, president of the Skolkovo Foundation, annouced yesterday to Russian president Dmitry Medvedev that the first office building of Skolkovo, the state-sponsored innovation hub under construction near Moscow, would be completed before the end of the year. The project’s administrative center will move to the Skolkovo territory in November, Vekselberg said.
In today’s Russia, there’s a growing critical mass of different individual catalysts that are themselves initiating new innovation-stimulating projects. Many of these are emanating from Moscow out to the regions. Look at the project GreenField, look at StartUp Point or Start in Garage. There’s a lot of new types of people that are emerging, who …
The coming age of Russian innovation: tech culture takes root in the regions Read More
The Skolkovo Innovation Prize contest received 2,318 submissions from a total of 10,681 participants. The contest, conducted in partnership with Cisco, is designed to attract talented inventors to Skolkovo, the state-sponsored innovation hub under construction near Moscow.
Cisco and the Skolkovo Foundation today unveiled further details of joint efforts under the Skolkovo Project plans to develop a “Virtual Skolkovo”. Based on the proposal from the Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG), Virtual Skolkovo will be a business innovation ecosystem that pushes the advantages of traditional clustering beyond physical boundaries into the virtual …
Cisco to develop “Virtual Skolkovo” in follow-up MOU with Skolkovo Foundation Read More
The Federal Service of Financial Markets (FSFM) has registered $52 million follow-on shares placement report by Kazan-based innovation Technopark Idea, FSFM reports. The shares were reportedly placed privately.
Kemerovo region’s Kuzbassky Technopark is to get $28.4 million financial aid from the federal budget in 2011-2014, regional officials report.
Authorities in Kaluga region are to get $17.2 million finance from the federal budget to build a technopark specializing in high technologies, Interfax reports. The technopark is reportedly to be located in the city of Obninsk. The project is scheduled to be carried out in 2011-2014.
Prof. Daniel Isenberg from the U.S.’ Babson College challenges governments’ drive for innovation clusters by saying top-down cluster strategies “may perversely dull the entrepreneurial spirit rather than sharpening it.” I found his viewpoint interesting to dwell upon—and pretty arguable, too.
