Programs of the Foundation for Assistance to Innovation were presented to the heads of universities and specialized secondary school of Tatarstan. CEO of Technopark “Idea”, the representative of the Foundation for Assistance to Innovation in the Republic of Tatarstan Sergey Yushko spoke about the possibilities of these programs for both beginning scientists and experienced developers.
The Vice-Rector for Innovation Activity of the Kazan (Volga region) Federal University Andrey Artemyev, the Vice-Rector for Scientific Work of the Kazan National Research Technological University Aidar Sabirzyanov, the Head of the Department of Scientific Research and Innovations of the Kazan State Agrarian University Rustam Nizamov and other officials took part in the meeting.
Talking about the programs, Sergey Yushko noted that the Foundation provides financial support to young innovators and small businesses that are engaged in high-tech developments with the potential of commercialization. To date, there are programs that support developers from the “Idea” stage to upgrade equipment in already operating innovative companies. For example, the program “UMNIK” is aimed at supporting talented young people, focused on innovation. “UMNIK” is designed for young scientists aged 18 to 30 years, the best of which receive funding of 500 thousand rubles for two years.
The “Development” program allows existing companies to reach a new level by developing a new product or technology. Support is provided to projects in priority areas of science and technology development: information technology, energy saving, medical technology and pharmaceuticals.
Acquainted with the speech of Sergey Yushko, some representatives of universities noted that they are already working on these programs. For others, it became a discovery. Thus, Andrey Artemyev said that the School of the Young Innovator is functioning in the K (P) FU, which has become one of the interuniversity projects for preparation for the “UMNIK” program. In the course of free training, students of the school receive professional skills in the field of intellectual property patenting, marketing analysis, preparation of a financial and production plan, and learn about the ways of financing projects through contests and grants.
The Deputy Director of the Kazan Trade and Economic College Ilnur Batdalov told his colleagues that the technical school won a federal grant within the framework of the target program for the development of education for 2016-2020 with the assistance of Technopark “Idea”. A business incubator has been created for grant funds, which provides a reserve for small innovative companies. Here, during the training, students and teachers cultivate competencies to create a new product, a strategy for bringing it to the market, pricing, marketing, building a sales system, and much more.
