Skolkovo representatives have told the APEC business meeting in Hong Kong that the Skolkovo Innovation City project is a strong model for tech transfer within the Asian-Pacific region.
Russia plays host to the APEC summit of Leaders later this year and Skolkovo’s Chief Operating Officer Steven Geiger told the conference that the plan to build an innovation city outside Moscow was already a “living example“of tech transfer.
“Our innovation hub at Skolkovo is a showcase for Russian science and technological know how as well as an effective means to commercialize existing and future research,“ said Geiger at the Hong Kong conference. “We are here to advance collaboration with APEC member states and organizations”, he added.
“Over 21 major companies and a pipeline of over 300 start ups have registered with Skolkovo. Strong protection for intellectual property was one of the drivers of investment in the 4 billion dollar initiative by the Russian Federation, “said his colleague Conor Lenihan, Vice President with responsibility for international partnership who locates at Skolkovo.
Russia has for the first time taken up the Chairmanship of the Business Advisory Council of APEC at Hong Kong, China with two further meetings planned before the Vladivostok APEC Summit set for September of this year.
Russia is chairing APEC in 2012, with Ziyavudin Magomedov, the Chairman of the Board of Summa Group heading the APEC Business Advisory Council. Skolkovo Foundation President Viktor Vekselberg and Chairman of the Summa Group Ziyavudin Magomedov signed an agreement to work jointly on the technology transfer aspects of the APEC work program.
This work will also include the National Business Centre for APEC that has been established in November 2011 to promote Russian business interests in the region.