ISTOK-SOYUZ Featured in Leading Russian Publication on Innovation

Prospects for EU-Russia cooperation in science and technology are discussed in an extensive analytical paper published by the Russian Duma in its influential yearbook on innovative development.

Chairman of Board Oleg Luksha at the Russian Technology Transfer Network and Svetlana Klessova Director of inno, emphasize in their article appearing in New Economy: Innovation Insight into Russia that the European Union is a strong priority of Russia’s international cooperation orinetation in science and innovation. They provide a detailed analysis of practical aspects of R&D collaboration under EU Framework Programmes for research and technological development, a key component of this cooperation.

The authors refer to specific examples of successful projects under the EU Seventh Framework Programme ,such as ISTOK-SOYUZ.

ISTOK-SOYUZ (www.istok-soyuz.eu) was launched by the European Commission to extend the promising results of the previous ISTOK.Ru project to countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA) and to update its work in Russia. In particular, the project works to test pilot models for infrastructure to support the participation of EECA ICT researchers in FP7 as well as to increase the informational transparency of EECA scientific competencies through the development of the EU-EECA ICT Competence Platform, special actions to involve EECA organisations in European technological platforms, etc.

The project seeks to arrange events aimed at raising awareness, networking, and business tours; establishment and maintenance of the competence platform (www.eeca-ict.eu/index.php/competence) to collect and provide access to information on experts and organisations in the field of ICT available to everyone who looks for potential partners.

Of special interest is the experience gained by ISTOK-SOYUZ in terms of successful testing of a new pilot model for international infrastructure to support EECA participation in FP7, note the authors .

The yearbook New Economy: Innovation Insight into Russia (http://www.naukakom.ru/comit_papers/newecon_info/) has already been published for a third consecutive year at the initiative by the Duma Committee for Science and Research-Intensive Technologies and the Federation Council Committee for Education and Science. It serves as an important tool for such information exchange and as a discussion forum for leading Russian experts in the field of innovation.

The edition is Russia’s first experience of open debates on problems faced by the Russian economy in its transition to an innovative development model among legislators, heads of ministries and agencies, regional leaders, prominent scientists and business people. The very fact that the article by Oleg Luksha and Svetlana Klessova has appeared in such an authoritative national publication will help to raise awareness of the ISTOK-SOYUZ project in the Russian innovation community and at the top level of government.

The article “Prospects for the Development of EU-Russia Cooperation in the Field of Science and Technology as Exemplified in the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Union” (in Russian) is available  for DOWNLOAD HERE!

The complete issue of the yearbook is available at http://naukakom.ru/upload/file/IPR3-Book.pdf