Moscow/Berlin – 27 February 2012 - For the first time, Berlin will host from 29 February to 2 March a visiting session of the Skolkovo Foundation’s Scientific Advisory Council (SAC) whose members include eminent scientists from around the world. The SAC’s visiting sessions are designed to establish or to strengthen scientific and business ties between the Skolkovo Foundation and both academic and business around the world abroad and in Russia.
The SAC is co-chaired by Nobel Prize laureates Zhores Alferov, President of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and Roger Kornberg, Professor at Stanford University (USA), but also involves high-profile scientists from Russia, Germany, the US and France. Two globally renowned German scientists Professors Dieter Bimberg (TU Berlin) and Detlev Ganten (Charité/World Health Summit) are members of the SAC. Dr. Siegried Dais, Deputy Chairman of the Bosch Board of Management, contributes his management expertise to the SAC.
The SAC’s plenary meeting will take place at the Technical University of Berlin with an opening address delivered by the university’s President, Prof. Dr. Jörg Steinbach. The council members will also meet Sybille von Obernitz, the Minister of Science and Economics of the State of Berlin and Russian ambassador Wladimir M. Grinin. On Thursday, March 1, the SAC delegation will visit the BiotechPark Berlin-Buch and WISTA research institutions in Berlin Adlershof.
“Berlin is home to globally renowned research institutions in various fields of science and has a long history as a hub for scientific excellence. Building bridges between researchers at Skolkovo and in Berlin will benefit both sides and we would be very pleased to leverage this relationship in the long-term,” says Alexey Beltyukov, a Skolkovo Foundation’s Vice President and Director for Planning and Development.
Mr Beltyukov will lead the visit together with fellow Skolkovo Foundation Vice President Dmitry Kolosov, Chief of Staff to the President and the Foundation Council.
The SAC plays a key role in determining the guidelines for scientific research at the Skolkovo Innovation Centre, a high-profile project boosting innovation in Russia in five future technology areas: Information Technologies, Biomedicine, Energy Efficiency, Nuclear Technologies and Space Technologies.
On Friday 2 March at 13.00, the Technical University of Berlin will host the concluding press conference officially announcing the cooperation between the Skolkovo Foundation and German academic institutions.
To register for the press conference, please contact:
Stefanie Terp
Technische Universität Berlin
Straße des 17.Juni 135, 10623 Berlin
Fax: +49 30 314-23909
Internet: www.tu-berlin.de/?id=157
E-Mail: steffi.terp@tu-berlin.de oder pressestelle@tu-berlin.de
The press conference will take place at Technische Universität Berlin, Hauptgebäude H 1035, Straße des 17. Juni 135, 10623 Berlin (close to subway station Ernst-Reuter-Platz)
About the Skolkovo Foundation
The Skolkovo Foundation has the mandate from the Russian Government to help accelerate the transformation of Russia from a resource-intensive to an innovation-based economy through strategic partnerships with leading scientists and corporations (currently numbering over 330 companies and start-ups.) The Foundation aims to strengthen the links between Russian and international science, technology, education, entrepreneurship and investment communities. To achieve this objective it is overseeing the creation of the Skolkovo Innovation Centre composed of five R&D clusters, a Technopark, the Skolkovo Institute of Technology (a new graduate research University established in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and Skolkovo city, located near Moscow. Together these entities will establish a vibrant eco-system of technology innovation and entrepreneurship. The Foundation is a non-profit organization founded in May of 2010 by the Russian Government with a grant of USD 5 billion. For more information: http://www.sk.ru/en/