The Skolkovo Foundation held a housewarming party Saturday at the innovation center just outside Moscow, opening a new chapter in the project to modernize Russia’s economy.
Skolkovo president Viktor Vekselberg, left, speaking at the ribbon-cutting ceremony on Saturday. Photo: sk.ru
The innovation center is a 400-hectare innovation ecosystem comprising a university, a technopark, R&D labs and more that is scheduled to be complete by 2020.
The managing entity, the non-profit Skolkovo Foundation, has been residing in an office block in downtown Moscow during the first four years of the project.
Now, it moves into the technopark offices alongside more than 100 of Skolkovo’s resident companies.
“We will live here for a long time; a very long time,” said Skolkovo Foundation president Viktor Vekselberg during the festivities.
Brilliant sunshine and chilly wind accompanied the housewarming party. Photo sk.ru
Saturday’s party featured energetic dance troupes, live bands, spit roasts, exotic teas and art installations – all alongside the new Skolkovo offices, a row of bright, four-story buildings flanked by birches and ponds and sports fields.
Sporting a green Skolkovo cap and speaking against a stiff autumnal breeze, Vekselberg said October 4 would be celebrated annually as Skolkovo’s own ‘City Day.’ Russian cities traditionally celebrate the anniversary of their founding.
“Come and enjoy yourselves, be creative, innovate, and build,” he said to applause. “We will be the envy of everybody else. Happy holidays, Skolkovo residents!”
The goal of the organizers was to make all who attended, whoever they may be, feel at home in their new surroundings.
The bright technopark offices will be home to the Skolkovo Foundation. Photo: sk.ru
“You will be addressed at this time not as Skolkovo employees, not as innovators, but as residents of the innovation city,” said Alexander Chernov, the foundation’s vice president and director of communications.
A delegation from the Russian government was led by Arkady Dvorkovich, a Deputy Prime Minister to Dmitry Medvedev and a key supporter of the Skolkovo project.
Deputy Prime Minister Dvorkovich, left, and Skolkovo communications chief Chernov, right. Photo: sk.ru
Skolkovo has more than 1,000 resident companies that receive grants, tax breaks and a wealth of mentorship and administrative support as they seek to commercialize their products.
They are split into five clusters that reflect the priority areas in Russia’s economy: IT, space, biomedicine, nuclear and energy efficiency.
To all but 100 companies that have already relocated to Skolkovo, the “resident” status has been exclusively virtual. But by the time all the necessary components are in place, the hope is that Skolkovo can serve as Russia’s answer to Silicon Valley and help wean Russia’s economy off natural resources.
Saturday’s event was a key step on that path.
The lake and woods that provide the scenery from the technopark office windows. Photo: sk.ru