"Impact of Technology Transfer System on University Development"

On March 3, the round table discussion themed "Impact of Technology Transfer System on University Development" was held as part of the 18th Krasnoyarsk Economic Forum. The event was attended by representatives of technology transfer centres (TTCs), which received state financial support in 2021, as well as such centres established on a proactive basis.

Mikhail Shiryaev, UNN Vice-Rector for Innovation, Vladimir Paltsev, leading researcher of the UNN Engineering Centre, and Natalia Yakovleva, leading project specialist of the UNN Technology Commercialization Department, took part in the round table discussion on behalf of Lobachevsky University.

The round table moderator Alexander Fertman, Director of the Science and Education Department of the Skolkovo Foundation, noted the main areas of work of the TTCs: supporting research groups, launching new projects based on tasks from industrial partners, and staff development. Each centre should create a map of the organisation's internal competencies, and conduct an audit of the region's technological problems. The participants discussed the need for technology architects capable of linking science and business to develop knowledge-intensive entrepreneurship.

"During the discussion, the participants addressed the issues concerning the networking of technology transfer centres. Joint events to discuss topical issues, in particular, of import substitution and the challenges and threats posed by economic sanctions against Russia, and to share practices have already been planned for March and April of this year. Today, the work of TTCs and their networking across the country has become very important. We need an effective mechanism of interaction to combine the efforts and scientific potential of research groups of universities, industrial enterprises, representatives of the executive power of the Russian Federation," said Natalia Yakovleva.

Mikhail Shiryaev, UNN Vice Rector for Innovation, noted that the goal of establishing the regional Technology Transfer Centre at Lobachevsky University is to identify intellectual property created in the course of research and development projects carried out by UNN researchers, participants of the regional Research and Education Centre and other enterprises of the Nizhny Novgorod region, to create a system for transferring the research and development results in the form of competitive products, services and technologies and to commercialise such results. 

"This becomes an especially urgent issue in the changing market environment," Mikhail Shiryaev summed up.

In 2021, Lobachevsky University won the competition for grants from the federal budget in the form of subsidies to provide state support for the establishment and development of technology transfer centres that commercialise R&D products being developed by scientific organisations and higher education institutions.