"Innovation Initiative": awarding the winners
My boss's name is Ivanova
Ivan Okhapkin, STRF.ruOn March 11, the winners of the Innovation Initiative competition, which Procter & Gamble held jointly with Moscow University, were announced at Lomonosov Moscow State University.
The organizers were interested in scientific developments in two categories – "Microbiology" and "Chemistry of surface phenomena". According to the Vice-rector of Moscow State University Alexey Khokhlov, we are talking about completed studies of applied importance; in addition, it is possible to continue these works already within the framework of cooperation with P&G. The winners received cash prizes in the amount of $ 3,500, $2,000 and $1,000 for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in each nomination, respectively.
Before the announcement of the winners of the competition, the jury members said a few words. Chris Thune, Director of the P&G Innovation Center, noted that the company pursues a policy of so–called "open" innovations, and this competition is part of this policy. According to Thun, one of the elements of "openness" is that anyone can apply for consideration of his innovation through the company's website – www.pgconnectdevelop.com .
P&G employs nine thousand researchers (6.6 percent of the staff) and annually spends $2.2 billion on research and development (for comparison, the budget of Russian science for 2010 is about $ 5 billion), of which about half goes to outsourcing. Company contests are one of the ways of "open" search for innovations on the side.
Then Matthew Price, P&G's Vice President for Eastern Europe, took the floor, entertaining the audience with a brilliant English sense of humor in the tradition of Mr. Bean. "What is the key to success for the company? – he was interested in the audience, and he answered his own question. "The most important thing is that the boss is happy." It quickly became clear where Mr. Price was going.
"My boss is a very strict woman, and her name is Ivanova," the vice president of P&G revealed the secret. She lives in Moscow, is married, has one child, a washing machine, probably works, her family's income is 60 percent of the average European, Mr. Price boasted of detailed knowledge of the "slice" of his clients, who, as it turns out, are in his understanding the main boss. "Russian men are smart and demanding", "your consumers understand what a quality product is" – Mr. Price's compliments about other "bosses" have repeatedly entertained the audience.
Undoubtedly, the competition of scientific projects is a great occasion for advertising, and P&G took full advantage of it. As a result, the moment of awarding the winners came up, which turned out to be only six people.
All the winners in the Microbiology nomination had projects dedicated to antiseptics and antibiotics. The third place was taken by Alexey Ershov from the Institute of Gene Biology. Its development is microcin B–17, a peptide that prevents infection of food and medical products. The second place went to Igor Chmyr from the Research Institute of Biological Instrumentation with a preparation for disinfection of surfaces based on potassium fluoride peroxosolvates – safe derivatives of pharmacy hydrogen peroxide. The first place was taken by Maria Novikova from the Institute of Gene Biology. Her project is the same microcin, only now C–type, with the function of inhibiting bacterial RNA translation.
In the nomination "Chemistry of surface phenomena", the third place went to Mikhail Vagin from the Faculty of Chemistry of Moscow State University, who proposed thin polymer films for the electrochemical detection of proteins, the presence of which in the blood indicates the likelihood of various diseases. Nikolay Shapkin took the second place. His work is devoted to sorbents from zeolites for wastewater treatment (including heavy metals) with antibacterial activity. By the way, this is the only prize–winner not from Moscow - Nikolai Shapkin works at the Far Eastern State University in Vladivostok. The leader among the winners in this nomination was Konstantin Popov from the Moscow State University of Food Production, who developed chelating agents that effectively modify surfaces and remove heavy metal ions from them.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru12.03.2010