It's hard to overestimate the importance of the conference that we are doing together with Siemens in the Hypercube. This is a priority event from the point of view of the implementation of a key element of the concept of Skolkovo - international integration. Today, the world of science and business has become global, and without cooperation it’s already impossible to exist; only in transparent cooperation with the international community can we achieve success in the transition from a resource model to a knowledge economy. No form of isolation or protectionism will help. Open dialogue, the dialogue of the future, starts now.
It's a shame when you come to Silicon Valley and everywhere you hear Russian speech. Large corporations need to be actively involved in the training and motivation of young people. It is necessary to restore Russian prestige in scientific activities. But we do not want to reinvent the wheel, we want to attract the best professionals in their fields. Just today in Amsterdam an agreement was signed to establish the first Skolkovo Tech research center - here's a good example of international cooperation in the framework of our ecosystem. Skolkovo Tech’s main goal is that at the end of training, all graduates will work in their specialty in our country.
We have already begun to argue that to create a successful innovative business, it is not necessary to leave Russia. Skolkovo today has more than 900 start-ups, young talented guys, the scientists who believed in us. Skolkovo has become a serious factor in blocking "brain drain" from Russia. In this case we are not a competitor of the Academy of Sciences, for example, our model is not an organization, but a philosophy, an environment for innovation projects. I will quote an academician, the director of the Institute for Information Transmission Problems at the Russian Academy of Sciences, a member of our Scientific Advisory Board, Alexander Kuleshov: "This is the first project that has a clear anti-emigration effect. Earlier, at the anniversary meetings of graduates from elite universities, we found ourselves missing half the class, as they emigrated. Now, thanks to Skolkovo, the trend is declining."
Another important point for the link of business and science - the protection of intellectual property. The Skolkovo Center for Intellectual Property has helped with 100 patents for technology over the last year, 25% of all domestic patents. But the situation in Russia with patenting is catastrophic. In sum, all the major Russian corporations together are patenting less than the company Siemens is by itself. Russian engineers and inventors do not know how to protect their ideas. It is important to create an open civilized market of patented innovations. We need people that have the capabilities of a scientist and entrepreneur. It is not a gift, it can be learned. We need people that are implementers, modernizers. And yet, we really need a comfortable environment for innovation, for businesses across Russia, not only in Skolkovo.
(From a speech at the plenary session of the Future Dialogue conference, “The engine of innovation, from research to practical solutions." Skolkovo Hypercube, April 9, 2013)