Viktor Vekselberg, Skolkovo Foundation President and Esko Aho, Executive Vice President, Corporate Relations and Responsibility, Nokia Corp. Board Member, signed a Memorandum of Understanding, where they agreed on the key focus on cooperation within the scope of the Russian Innovation Center operation.
According to the agreement reached, next year Nokia will open an R&D center in Skolkovo Innovation Center to become a part of the Company’s global innovation network. Such centers now exist only in seven countries of the world: United Kingdom, India, Kenya, China, USA, Switzerland and Finland. The scale of the center and the scope of objectives shall be comparable with the scale and scope of Nokia’s largest R&D centers in British Cambridge and Swiss Lausanne.
The Center’s projects will be aimed at scientific developments in the following areas:
- Mobile computations and high performance platforms
- Mobile sensors and solutions for data analysis, and related researches in health care, social networks and environmental monitoring
- Nano- and quantum technologies for future mobile devices and solutions
- Consumer trends and business models for mobile solutions.
The Center’s plans include Nokia’s further interaction with the leading Russian universities the Company has close cooperation with in the field of research and development.
In Skolkovo, Nokia will continue supporting Russian developers. Currently, Forum Nokia cooperates with over 200 Russian software developing companies.
Skolkovo Innovation Center participants will get access to Nokia’s venture capital in line with the agreements reached.
Nokia intends to participate in the development and implementation of the educational program based on the Skolkovo Technological University Facility.
“Given the attention paid by the Russian Government and the Skolkovo Foundation Management to the development of the project, we are sure that the Russian Silicon Valley will give impetus to the development of the country’s new economy”, said Esko Aho, Executive Vice President, Corporate Relations and Responsibility, Nokia Corp. Board Member. “Being a leader of the global telecommunication market, our company contributes its own share to the modernization of Russia’s economy and is ready to support in the future the development of the Russian scientists’ and researchers’ intellectual potential, and open to cooperation with new partners at Skolkovo”.
Viktor Vexelberg, Skolkovo Foundation President, noted that “the development of Skolkovo Innovation Foundation depends to a great extent on participation of global innovation companies, and the agreement signed today on cooperation with such telecommunications leader as Nokia sets a very high standard for the project. We are confident that in Skolkovo Nokia will use its unique experience of developing cutting edge technologies in cellular communication and be able to establish its business model based on fast innovation cycle – form engineering concept to commercialization”.
According to Key Partners Managing Director Roman Romanovskiy “the signing of the memorandum is the first step in the development of institutional interaction between Nokia and Skolkovo. Right after it a thorough work will be required on both sides to develop a road map, which will detail the structure and content, milestones, timelines and control and management mechanisms related to interaction between Skolkovo and Nokia as well as with each key partner”.