The Skolkovo Foundation has won the hosting rights to the International Association of Science Parks 2016 World Conference, along with partner bidders MSU Science Park, Technopark Strogino and the Innovation Development Center of Moscow.
The vote was held on Tuesday in Doha at the 31st International Association of Science Parks World Conference. The three-way Russian bid beat out competition from the Utrecht Science Park in the Netherlands and the Teknopark Istanbul.
Skolkovo vice president Alexander Chernov speaking as advisor Pekka Viljakainen, left, looks on.
Presentations by the winning bid team were made by Pekka Viljakainen, an advisor to Skolkovo Foundation President Viktor Vekselberg, and Skolkovo Foundation Vice President Alexander Chernov.
“This victory is obviously a sign that our first noticeable successes in Russia on the path to innovative development have been recognized," said Chernov. "Or at least it recognizes our intentions to move along this path and create a knowledge-based economy that I’m certain will, in the near future, replace the resource-based economy," he added.
Viljakainen added: "We have worked hard to get countries around the world to vote for us, and we are very happy that ISAP2016 world congress will get all key people to Russia, and to Skolkovo Technopark."
The winning bid video can be viewed here.
The IASP World Conference is informally known as the ‘tech park Olympics’ due to its size and significance in the global science community. It is one of the premier knowledge-sharing forums in the world of science and technology parks, facilitating cooperation and collaboration among the planet’s leading research and innovation facilities.
The 2015 event is being held at the Zhongguancun Science Park in Beijing, China.