Year-end results in Innopolis: new projects, budget support and ‘frozen’ technopark
Dmitry Medvedev has agreed to co-finance university in smart city for 1,2 billion rubles in 7 years of its existence
How much does University of Innopolis earn? Will it receive budget support from the federal centre? What projects are created in Tatarstan’s “Silicon Valley”? How will they change the world? Why did the construction of the second technopark delay? Is it necessary to launch it in general? What tax concessions await small businesses in Innopolis? Ex-Minister of Informatisation and Communications of the Republic of Tatarstan Roman Shaykhutdinov, who has become the vice prime minister of Tatarstan in Digital Economy this year, answered these questions at a meeting with the mass media on 25 December. Read more about it in Realnoe Vremya’s report.
University to be supported with public money
“Today the chairman of the Russian government signed a decree on the federal centre’s support for the project of Innopolis. The budget will support our university for the first time. And, as you know, it has existed without a ruble from the budget support during all these years. Now we hope that there will be support, but almost with 50% co-financing.”
How and how munch university earns
“If we measure in money, the university’s budget is about 2,5 billion rubles a year. It earns about 1,5 billion of them on research: companies order something, while it is necessary to do research, offer new ways of resolving an issue and find an industrial partner (we don’t make robots ourselves anyway) to complete the order.
By the way, there are very interesting developers from Kazan we are making a collaborative robot with now, which is the first in Russia. It can safely collaborate with humans. It will able to determine who stands in front of him by touch — a person or just a part of the environment. The platform of the robot, by the way, will be open, which other similar projects don’t have.”
Again postponed opening of second technopark to 2021
“The Popov Technopark is now 90% full. It is running out of space, at the moment there isn’t unbooked space. Though, of course, there is a small outflow — about 5% a year, but this city doesn’t suit everybody.
The second Lobachevsky Technopark will be built by the middle of 2021. Why has the deadline changed? Kazan Production and Construction Association participated in this project — at the moment when stadiums and other venues were built for the FIFA WC. Consequently, forces were relocated to the championship, and the construction slowed down.
As for changing the project’s documentation, which took place this year in the second technopark, as far as I remember, some consumer properties of the future venue improved.”
Investments show notable growth
“This year the growth of investments has been 7,2 billion rubles, which is 12,8 billion. It is investments made by companies to develop intellectual property, create jobs. The main growth is provided by two areas: firstly, performance per one workplace increases, secondly, new companies come and create jobs, plus, the companies that already came hire additional employees.”
Tax concessions for small businesses
“Small and medium-sized businesses have developed very actively in the city. The number of juridical persons has notably gone up: 282 juridical persons, of which 109 have been registered this year. There is also a small announcement: a project with a tax initiative will kick off in Innopolis soon. The town will attract not only with infrastructure but also tax concessions for small businesses in innovative entrepreneurship.”
More Innopolis citizens
“This year there have been by 973 citizens more in Innopolis, which is linked with new houses. We have had 203 babies: 57 of them were born to families residing in Innopolis. I will also add that only 30% of 4,451 people in the city are residents of Tatarstan, and the rest of the people arrived from all parts of the country and 34 countries of the world.”
New informative security project
“We discussed a new project at Kaspersky Laboratory literally yesterday: there will be developed a Russian operating system allowing launching any software safely. Huawei hired our university to create this technology (a container-based technology). And not information security but an information system, which will store everything, will need to be created, while Kaspersky Laboratory will do it. A glittering future lies with it.”
Another 5G operator in
“In January, MTS and Erisson will open a universal tower in Innopolis. But what is interesting here is that an element of the 5G network of another operator will be launched in the city.”
Digitalisation to help agriculture
“I can also note Teleagronom among our projects. I will explain: the progress of the disease in herbage can develop very quickly depending on the disease — the field can be lost within days.
The university developed algorithms and collected data that allow agronomists to understand very quickly — within a day — what disease attacked their land, how it is treated and how it can be beaten. Teleagronom was launched in Bashkiria, Tatarstan and Volgograd Oblast.
Also, one should pay attention to Aeronet centre (distributed unmanned aircraft systems) and its project Digital Land, which has everything linked with the supervision of subsoil, minerals production, deforestation, gas pipelines, fields and so on.”