Our Goal is Technological Leadership

On December 5–6, at the site of Samara National Research University, the innovative session of the Rostec State Corporation had been held. It was focused on the efficacy of scientific and technical cooperation between large industrial conglomerates and scientific organizations, universities, startups. Participants of the session told on how the system of innovation promotion is built, how engineering personnel of higher qualification are trained. The strategic goal is to ensure technological leadership for Russia.

Discussion included more than 120 participants. They were heads of divisions of Rostec, who are responsible for innovation development, employees of subsidiary holdings of the state corporation, as well as representatives of the Russian Academy of Sciences and leading universities of Russia.

Elena Druzhinina, Executive Director for Cooperation of Science and Business of the Rostec State Corporation greeted the participants of the session. She paid attention that the Samara region is the key region of presence of the state corporation, and enterprises operating in the region built good cooperation connections with universities.

Elena Druzhinina recalled about the most significant inventions of universities, implemented at enterprises of Rostec, having mentioned a complex technology of additive manufacture of parts for industrial gas-turbine engines, developed in Samara University and implemented at the enterprise of the ODK-Kuznetsov United Engine Corporation among them.

She noted that enterprises of the Corporation are interested in youth scientific laboratories and student design bureaus, as well as noted that at present new opportunities for involving the youth into science appear:

“At present the introduction of industrial postgraduate student is actively being discussed. Since 2025, a pilot project the site of which enterprises of the State Corporation will be used starts.”

At present research and production associations become one of prospective forms of enterprise interaction of the real sector of economy and universities. Elena Druzhinina expressed firmness in possibility of creating research and production associations with participation of ODK-Kuznetsov and Samara University.

Acting Head of the Department of Science of the Samara Region Mark Shleenkov noted that while actively participating in implementation of significant federal projects in the field of science and higher education, our region expands collaboration with Rostec.

“For the last three years, in universities of the Samara Region, three advanced engineering schools have been established, each of which has one or several industrial partners from the Rostec State Corporation,” informed Mark Shleenkov.

Mikhail Bakaradze, Deputy General Manager, Head of Priority Technological Area “Technology of Propulsion Engineering” of ODK, paid the attention on the fact that the United Engine Corporation is one of leaders of scientific and technical development both in Russia and in the world. He shared the strategy of innovation development of ODK and informed on inclusion in it such areas, as piston aircraft engines, microturbines, as well as hybrid and electric power plants, which are assigned by him to key areas of the future.

While telling about the development of tens of novel critical technologies, materials, and coatings for prospective aircraft engines, Mikhail Bakaradze noted a considerable contribution of the ODK’s partners in their creation.

“The priority of our innovation program is interaction with scientific organizations. In all our prospective projects, even at the step of creation of scientific and technical groundwork, at the step of research and development work, our industrial institutes, our basic universities, and institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences participate,” stated Mikhail Bakaradze.

A key theme of speech of Vladimir Bogatyrev, Rector of Samara University was the interaction of universities and industry in scientific and educational fields, as well as routes for their improvement.

According to the rector, only for the last three years, the scope of research works and research and development works performed in Samara University in the interests of Rostec amounted to about 800 million rubles.

Vladimir Bogatyrev emphasized how graduates can be engaged to enterprises of the state corporation, in particular in ODK. The rector analyzed factors that reduce the efficacy of such traditional mechanism of engagement, as target recruitment of students based on tripartite contracts, and called the Krylya Rostekha (“Rostec’s Wings”) program as a the most effective routes, based on which 155 students are trained in the university now.

“We observe that all these guys are “energized” to work in ODK, it is worth to note that they at senior courses are already employed in enterprises of the corporation,” noted Vladimir Bogatyrev.

The Advanced Aerospace Engineering School (AAES) became the effective mechanism of collaboration with enterprises of Rostec both in educational and scientific fields.

“All key decisions on the school development are made by the Council of the AAES, included representatives of our industrial partners, including ODK and ODK-Kuznetsov.” So, colleagues, this occurs with your direct participation. Today advanced engineering schools are the best variant in terms of training specialists, engaging graduates, and joint making of managing decisions,” emphasized Vladimir Bogatyrev.

The Rector told specifically about the analysis of such variants of collaboration, as innovation enterprises, as well as research and production associations (RPA) that are considered as the most prospective form of interaction of universities and enterprises of the real sector of economy today.

While analyzing such prospective form of collaboration, as research and production associations, the Rector noted its key feature: the University technically becomes a supplier of pilot lots of products for the state corporation and thus must have appropriate production facility for this. In other words, not all scientific divisions can collaborate with production workers based on this model. In addition, the considerable for the University volume of start investments can be a restrictive factor.

“However, Samara University has three divisions that we are ready to include into the experiment on creating RPA with Rostec: they are center of additive technologies, center on vibration resistance and reliability, as well as center of magnet and pulse technologies,” emphasized Vladimir Bogatyrev.

The program of the innovation session includes the speeches of Aleksandr Kashirin, Deputy Head of NTS, Head of Center of Open Innovations of the Rostec State Corporation, Aleksey Borovkov, Vice Rector on Prospective Projects of the St. Peterburg University of Technology of Peter the Great, as well as leading specialists of enterprises of ODK, Shvabe Holding, Center of Innovative Development of Russian Railways JSC, scientists of the Siberian Division of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology. Special attention was paid to development of unique technological competences (UTC) and practical application of the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ) at enterprises. The session finished its work on December 6.

Photo: Andrey Pavlov