Infrastructure for innovators
Profitable science
A contest of technical innovations was held in Moscow
Nikita Aronov, Gazeta
At the end of last week, the final of the third Technical Innovation Cup of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT) took place - a competition in which scientists are evaluated by investors. More than 50 teams of young engineers and programmers presented their ideas in the field of engineering and information technology. Some of these projects may soon become the basis for the organization of a small enterprise: the necessary infrastructure for this is already being created in Moscow.
The MIPT building in Klimentovsky Lane, a small hall filled with scientists, business analysts and Phys.Tech students. On the screen is a well-known picture from the first "Terminator": a look from the robot's face, each object he looks at is accompanied by a small text description.
"We have already seen this in science fiction films. And the augmented reality system that I propose will work in about the same way," the speaker explains.
An experienced developer of innovative technologies can easily be distinguished from an inexperienced one by the manner of presentation of the material. A beginner will dump a pile of calculations and formulas on you, and an inventor with experience will try to sketch out brilliant prospects for innovation in a few phrases. After all, innovation is not always a scientific breakthrough, but it is necessarily something practically useful, and it is necessary to rest on this benefit.
So it is with "Augmented Reality". The very idea of a device that, when hovering over an object, a house, for example, will give a description of it on the screen, in general, is not new. But Candidate of Sciences Andrey Artishchev came up with an original idea: there is no need to design any special device, but it is enough to write software for a mobile phone.
Indeed, in a modern mobile phone there is a GPS, a compass, and an accelerometer – everything you need to determine from the map what the phone's camera is pointing at. This idea can start a very profitable business, you just need to invest some money, about $ 1.2 million. By and large, such a device can seriously change the world around us, but this is not the most important thing, the main thing in the innovation competition is the potential commercial benefit.
From dating services to nanotechnologyThis presentation opened the final of the competition, which included 12 projects.
In the nomination "The best innovation in the field of IT", the prize was not "Augmented Reality", but another project – a device that will allow you to navigate the terrain by the signals of Wi-fi emitters. A real find for owners of laptops and phones without a GPS navigator. Other contenders for the victory offered ideas, perhaps less original, but potentially quite profitable: a program for dating on a mobile phone, a service for finding tutors and distance learning, a convenient way to store personal data on the Internet.
Seven finalists competed for the title of the most interesting innovation in the field of technology. From such advanced scientific developments as laser tweezers for manipulating micro-objects or new alloys with unique functions, to things purely pragmatic, like a cheap device for controlling gas consumption in a car engine or a laser projector for street advertising. But the first place went to the development of scientists from Troitsk near Moscow – the atomic nanolithograph. The point here is not so much in the current fashion for nanotechnology, as in the fact that the new device is able to significantly reduce the cost of manufacturing nanoobjects.
The winners received 100 thousand rubles for IT innovation, 150 thousand rubles for technical innovation. The amounts, of course, are incommensurable with the necessary investments in any of the projects, but this is also a good increase in the salary of a researcher. But the competition can open the way to future investments.
Help of angelsYoung engineers and programmers with interesting ideas now have three ways.
You can go the old-fashioned way with a proposal to a large company, often on bonded terms, or get grants, constantly reporting to the scientific and university bureaucracy. And finally, you can start your own business. This is not an easy way – you need business acumen, you need to make business plans and attract investors. But the prospects are also the widest.
In recent years, it has become much easier to do this. Domestic venture funds have developed, business angels have appeared (the so-called investors who are ready to finance an interesting project at the stage of a business idea), business incubators are working. Innovative enterprises are also supported at the state level. There is, for example, a 100% state-owned Russian venture company. And in the capital there is a special decree of the city government "On support of innovative activities of small businesses in Moscow".
The Faculty of Innovation and High Technologies has been working at MIPT for the fourth year, where students are taught to do business on science. And events such as the Friday cup at the faculty allow the authors of innovations to show themselves and make useful acquaintances.
"For me, the competition is an opportunity to understand what questions future investors will ask me," says Andrey Kuznetsov, who presented a gravimetric device for oil exploration at the competition.
Other visitors of the contest are business analysts of venture funds and business incubators. They came to establish contacts with the authors of promising innovations. During breaks, they hand out business cards, record phones. Of course, none of the participants of the competition will be offered investments right here on the spot. There is still a long work ahead: adjustment of business plans, technological and expert advice. But the first steps towards future cooperation are already being taken today.
Where to go to subsidizeTo date, there are more than 10 commercial venture funds and 9 state-owned ones operating in Moscow.
In particular, the First and Second regional venture funds for investments in small enterprises in the scientific and technical sphere of the city of Moscow are operating. They have 1.6 billion rubles at their disposal. Currently, seven projects are being financed for a total of 600 million rubles. There are also seven funds of a Russian venture company operating in Moscow.
There are three organizations of business angels operating on the territory of the capital. There are 21 patent organizations. There are 29 technoparks and two business incubators in the city: in the Zelenograd Technical training Zone, in the state-owned Moscow technopark Strogino.
The Moscow Department of Support and Development of Small Entrepreneurship (DPiRMP) offers small innovative enterprises financial and property support, as well as assistance in staff training.
The Moscow Agency for the Development of Innovative Entrepreneurship assists entrepreneurs in obtaining budget subsidies and grants. There are three types of subsidies for innovative enterprises in Moscow.
– Subsidies for the implementation of an innovative project (from 25 to 50% of capital expenditures for the purchase of equipment to pay for the services of third-party organizations, the purchase of raw materials, materials and components). The amount of the subsidy is from 250 to 500 thousand rubles.
– Subsidies to pay for the costs of patent and licensing work, branding and intellectual property protection (up to 50% of the costs of establishing patentable results of scientific and technical activities, conducting patent research, maintaining security documents in force, making changes to them, conducting an examination of the texts of license agreements, contracts, etc., independent scientific, technical and economic audit of an innovative project, etc.). The amount of the subsidy is up to 500 thousand rubles to finance the costs of patenting, registration and protection of intellectual property rights in the territory of the Russian Federation and up to 1 million rubles abroad.
– Subsidies to pay for the costs of a small innovative enterprise to participate in specialized events to promote products: exhibitions, fairs, conferences (up to 50% of the costs of drafting legal documents, participating in specialized events, renting exhibition space and exhibition equipment, manufacturing and design of exhibition samples, stands, posters, registration fees and services exhibition committee, insurance of exhibition goods, transportation costs, etc.). The amount of the subsidy is up to 250 thousand rubles.
The grant can be obtained from the Fund for Assistance to the Development of Small Forms of Enterprises in the Scientific and Technical Sphere, to which 1.5% of the federal budget funds for science are allocated annually.
As property support, entrepreneurs are provided with space in Moscow technoparks at preferential rental rates. In addition, there is a city program to provide small businesses with non-residential premises: next year, a fixed rate of 1.07 thousand rubles per 1 sq.m is set for all small businesses renting urban areas. m per year.
This year, the implementation of the Moscow program for advanced training of managers and employees of small innovative enterprises has begun. Various educational programs have been developed, while 70% of the tuition fee is compensated by DPiRMP. Young entrepreneurs are compensated for 100% of training.
The Moscow Small Business Lending Assistance Fund helps small innovative companies to attract borrowed funds and acts as a guarantor, guaranteeing 50% of the loan amount. During the crisis, it was decided to increase the amount of guarantees to 70%.
Portal "Eternal youth" www.vechnayamolodost.ru09.12.2008