How is SKOLKOVO? Report from the innovation center

This project was called the toy Medvedev, promising the beginning of a journey to the "kazaniu the oil needle", the Russian Silicon valley, a Potemkin village with unlimited funding. Despite political and economic instability, the construction of the innograd in SKOLKOVO is actively continuing. And when we were invited to see how things are with the main scientific and technological project for our country over the last decade, we could not refuse such an offer.

Every visit to SKOLKOVO remembered a strange feeling: it is impossible to escape the feeling that you are in a Hollywood movie about secret laboratories, in which advanced technologies are developed. The feeling is enhanced by the abundance of inscriptions everywhere, and sound of the foreign language: the complex has a large number of specialists from around the world.

The Campus of the SKOLKOVO Institute of science and technology (SKOLKOVO tech) has acquired a concrete form, and the journalists learned this during a visit to the construction site. A three-dimensional model, which can be seen on the paper, began to be implemented, and if there is force majeure, a couple of years we will pay a visit to the finished building.

The Building was called "Eastern ring" and looks like the new Apple campus in Cupertino, is almost twice inferior to him in size. The structure of the main architectural offspring of the "Skoltech" to the philosophy of the Institute: representatives from all areas of research will work in a minimum distance from each other, and thus able to overlap to ensure close interaction between the different aspects of the work. For example, developers of new energy technologies could meet over lunch in the courtyard with the marketing expertise that will allow them theoretically already at the initial stage to understand how to use their invention in a commercial plan.

This solution is not innovative and was borrowed from Massachusetts Institute of technology (MIT), with which SKOLKOVO is actively cooperating since 2011. This Institute was selected as a strategic partner is not accidental, since it demonstrates the world's best performance and the speed of transition from theoretical ideas to a real business solution.

According to the draft, we will have another architectural masterpiece. It is developed by renowned architects Herzog & de Meron, who updated the Tate Modern gallery in London and the "bird's nest", which was memorable for the Beijing Olympics 2008. It is obvious that investors do not have spare money to "Skoltech" was more comfortable to work.

By the Way, are located near the cottage village for teachers and hostel for students, and they are too close to delivery. As planned by the developers, this will allow you to maximize not only health scientists but also the intensity of communication between students and teachers. This will turn "SKOLKOVO" in an isolated area, where the line between study and leisure will be blurred.

Despite the very obvious word "Akademgorodok", the leaders of the "Skoltech" insist that their centre this term does not apply. After all Soviet scientific cities were often closed and focused on specific tasks. "Skoltech" as open as possible (its territory will be free to attend for regular walks) and is not imprisoned under some clearly defined purpose. It is assumed that the innovation center will offer fertile ground for anyone who has promising ideas and looking for ways of turning them into a working business.

As for the crisis, then say that they have been a party, it would be wrong. However, the government is clearly not going to abandon such an important project and continues to Finance, as private entities, also interested in technological innovation.

Despite the General skepticism that prevails in the blogosphere in relation to this project, General background at the achievements of SKOLKOVO tech in the Russian and foreign mass media in General have been positive. The controversial investigation into last year's RBC, if you remove the emotional component, was focused more on political and economic twists and turns, and could not have affected something that was actually started.

The Main question on the work of SKOLKOVO is still one: where are the great scientific and technological advances, which promised the officials a few years ago? Of course, you don't need to be an expert in this field to understand that the specific results of this work ordinary people can only come after decades. For this reason, it is currently difficult to summarize the results and answer the question of when investments will start to pay off.

But a visit to the "Skoltech" cannot fail to inspire optimism and lead to the conclusion that the allocated money is being used efficiently. To learn more, I suggest you to visit the innovation center if you have the opportunity. And we look forward to hearing from Skoltech invitations to the opening ceremony.