WORKING MEETINGS SUMMIT2006

The Symposium on Innovation at Bauman Moscow State Technical University (BMSTU) brought together business and university leaders from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the UK, and the U.S. on July 11 ahead of the Group of Eight summit in St. Petersburg.

Executives of the world’s large innovative corporations and leaders of major international universities discussed modern trends in global innovation development and the role of universities and corporations in an innovation society.

“The success of the symposium is another demonstration that Russia is no longer perceived as just another natural resources supplier. The symposium participants have recognized the huge potential of our tertiary education in professional training and research, which shows we are moving consistently to a knowledge-based society,” said Igor Shuvalov, Russian Sherpa and presidential aide.

“The practical value of the meeting is clear,” said BMSTU rector Igor Fedorov, “The point is that we meet frequently with Russian businesses and with our peers abroad, but always separately. Today we completed the first session involving all stakeholders in the international innovation community. I think this meeting will do a great deal to promote efficient public-private partnerships – international partnerships – in the innovation sector.”

The symposium adopted a letter to the G8 leaders with the vision of a policy to stimulate innovation development and strengthen partnerships between universities and corporations.

“I am very pleased to see that both the academic and corporate stakeholders have supported our proposal to recognize qualifications across national educational systems. In a global innovation economy, the mobility of human capital and removal of barriers preventing cross-border cooperation will only come through mutual understanding of educational outcomes,” Shuvalov said.

“It was a real brainstorming session, which is unusual for such high-level meetings,” said Laurent Valroff, director of Dassault Systems, “We have discussed approaches to education with universities before but after today’s panel we will be able to set out concrete programs for the training of high-tech specialists.”

“Our company has long been working with Russian universities and research centers on developing the national high-tech industries and promoting innovative projects there. We have a common objective with the government – to add innovative coloring to the Russian economic picture,” said Yevgeny Novitsky, an executive with AFK Sistema. “Today’s meeting is yet another proof that we are on the right track. To integrate into the global knowledge-based economy and make this country competitive in a modern world, we need to cooperate more closely on the international level.”

“All the participants agreed that the innovative future of our nations would depend on their ability to produce and apply knowledge. I think the main result of the meeting was a stated commitment to cooperate proactively on this,” said Kirill Kornilyev, IBM chief executive for Eastern Europe.