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From May 17th until May 19th the Spring School of Technology Brokers took place at the Raivola Hotel. It was organized by the EUSP Professorship in Public Administration, St. Petersburg State University of Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics (ITMO) and Russian Venture Company (RVC ). Participants included 50 representatives of universities and academic institutions from 11 Russian regions. Competitive selection was based on a project description for commercializing technology, or a letter of motivation. During three days participants learned about various aspects of the work that technology brokers perform.
The School combined theoretical, methodological and practical exercises. Sociologists presented the results of studies devoted to issues of technology transfer and the techno-broker’s role in this process (Anna Chernysh, EUSP) and also demonstrated possibilities for frame analysis, ethnomethodology and other social theory approaches as they are applied to technological brokerage (Viktor Vakhshtein, RANEPA, MSSES). Practitioners shared their views of the concept of technological brokerage based on their experience working with companies at various levels (Igor Rozhdestvensky, business incubator “Ingria”; Ivana Dementeva, State University for the Humanities), and led workshops in preparing business pitches. In addition, cases showing various strategies for working as a techno-broker were demonstrated — from the creation of a start up (Artur Gleim, ITMO, “Quantum Communications”) to the products’ promotion (Sergey Melchenko, ITMO) and various activities aimed at the commercialization of technologies (Mikhail Losev, “Medical Biological Union”). The last day was dedicated to lectures in the form of consultations. Natalia Lukovnikova (ITMO) led a workshop titled “Technologies of Foresight, Preparing Road Maps.” In a workshop titled “Fundamentals of Intellectual Property Management,” Natalya Polyakova (RVC) and Anna Kostyra (Ernst & Young) shared practical advice and answered questions from the audience.
According to participants, one of the School’s most interesting moments was the business game “Research Lab,” which modeled a transfer of technology from a university to a corporation. During the game, participants reconstructed the work of a university research laboratory cooperating with the government and a large business searching for innovative solutions. Teams got acquainted with various challenges facing university administration, heads of laboratories and their employees, corporate management, and various officials, and worked to solve communicative problems arising between them. Furthermore, the game showed what role technology brokers can play in the process of commercializing the results of scientific research, at what stage their work is efficient, and how they should conduct their work.
In concluding remarks, one of its organizers, RVC’s Coordinator of Academic Relations Sergey Kolesnikov, noted, “In our country we have observed a great deficit of educational programs and formats aimed at the “literacy” of young scholars in the sphere of commercialization of the results of scientific research. Existing programs for young researchers are mainly oriented toward scientific topics, but in recent years a number of educational initiatives for start-ups have emerged, which implies the presence of the participants’ own projects aimed at commercialization and certain business competencies. Meanwhile, it is the critical lack of knowledge and skills in scientific organizations that hinders the transfer of technologies from science to industry and business. Our School of Technology Brokers was designed to fill this gap. The fact that at the end of the School we immediately received several requests to repeat it in the same format in different regions in cooperation with industrial partners indicates that we have chosen a right format that effectively contributes to the academic community’s involvement in developing Russia’s innovative ecosystem.”
The School’s organizers and participants plan to continue actively disseminating the ideology of technological brokerage in Russia.
Further information: http://technobroker.ru
Lilia Zemnukhova, Anna Chernysh
