Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev spoke at the main plenary session of "Russia: A Map of Change" at the Krasnoyarsk Economic Forum, which was moderated by Alexey Sitnikov, vice president of product management and development of the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology.
A significant portion of the speeches by the prime minister and the Skolkovo Foundation’s chairman of the board of trustees was devoted to the development of state institutions.
"The site of the Krasnoyarsk forum for me is special, and five years ago I also delivered a keynote address on the four ‘I’ concept (innovation, investment, infrastructure, institutions),” Medvedev said at the beginning of his speech. The prime minister continued to note that the speech largely determined the roadmap of innovation in the country. He also said that he believed the development of institutions had come a long way, making significant progress in a very short time. Medvedev pointed out that the Skolkovo Foundation has more than 800 residents, 49 accredited venture funds, and corporations working in Skolkovo are ready to invest 30 billion rubles in R & D centers there.
We need to invest in these guys, in their intelligence, to fight for the potential leaders of the future. We don’t have a lack of money, but of people and talents, and we are competing for the commodity markets, for capital, but the main thing is that we have to fight for people, so our high-quality experts will want to live and work in our countryDmitry Medvedev
The prime minister pointed out that the global economic market shows signs of crisis, but a return to a pre-crisis growth model is impossible. “A stable demand for a different quality of life, education and health care has developed in this country," he said. "Such a demand could not occur in a country with an underdeveloped economy, but at the same time we need to ensure a GDP growth of at least 5 percent, and the main problem to be solved is the improvement of the investment climate in the country."
The prime minister also noted that youth play an important role in addressing development issues, and because of this he considers organized competitions to be interesting, including those set up by the Skolkovo Foundation. One example includes the Imagine Cup, a competitive selection of young technology startups that the foundation co-organizes with Microsoft.
Among the speakers to whom Alexei Sitnikov gave the floor was advisor to the President of the foundation, Pekka Vilyakaynen. He spoke for only three minutes, during which time he managed to make a number of important and striking statements, in particular the fact that he considers the most important task to be connecting regional youth community startups, the talents of Russian, who are now scattered across the country. And for this, Vilyakaynen said, the foundation will soon begin a road show in support of mega-event Startup Village in 17 regions of the country with the support of a number of other development institutions, as well as relevant ministries.