Russia's "Silicon Valley"

[halohammer]

This is from e-mail newsletter that I found very interesting. There is a little bit more about Technopolis: Gusev on it's page. Mostly it's in Russia, though.

http://www.tehnopolis-gusev.ru/english/

One of the most important activities of the General Satellite Corporation today is the continued investment and development of the Technopolis Gusev technological project. In this article, we’ll explain the idea behind this project as well as talk about the global experience of innovative urban design, creation and the development of industrial parks.

Project Objectives:
To establish a radio-electronics industry cluster in the town of Gusev and create a new pole for innovative development at the federal level. The project provides for the launch of five high-tech industries, of which four have already been constructed and work. The idea of Technopolis involves the construction of industrial facilities as well as complex social infrastructure for a complete living environment.

Current Accomplishments:
Since 2008, Technopolis has been in operation.
As of today, Technopolis has the largest radio-electronics production in Russia and Eastern Europe with the company «NPO «Digital Television Systems» (DTVS), the production of antennas and housings for consumer electronics with the company Pankor, a factory for the manufacture of corrugated cardboard and packing and a house-building factory which will provide convenient and inexpensive cottages for the staff of Technopolis.
These capable enterprises ensure digitization of mobile television in Russia as well as already creating more than 1,500 new jobs.

Future Goals:
In 2011, Technopolis will begin construction for the center of development and production of microelectronics in the GS plant NANOTECH. The first step is to build a plant for packaging multichip microprocessors and is scheduled to begin creating chips with a topology of 45 nanometers by the end of this year. In 2012, microprocessors and printed circuit boards with 6-meter class accuracy are scheduled to be produced. By the end of 2013, Technopolis will have created a nanotechnology, scientific research and innovation center. It will operate on the basis of one of the leading Russian universities.

Negotiations on a joint program to train highly qualified personnel in the field of micro-and radio-electronics programming and mathematical modeling are carried out with the Immanuel Kant State University of Russia, Saint Petersburg State Polytechnical University and the Bonch-Bruevich Saint-Petersburg State University of Telecommunications.

January 28, 2011, an agreement was signed between the Saint Petersburg State University of Engineering and Economics and General Satellite Corporation to cooperate in facilitating the innovative development of the Russian Federation, including promoting the modernization of scientific innovation and the educational system for training and retraining of young professionals in the field of advanced technologies.

The contract provides for the establishment of a research and education program to train specialists in the field of microelectronics, nanotechnology and innovative entrepreneurship.

The scientific and educational basis will function within the framework of the Technopolis Gusev project area of scientific and technological development, implemented by the project investor General Satellite since 2008 in the Kaliningrad region. The agreement was signed by General Satellite President A. Tkachenko and O. Goncharuk, Rector of Saint Petersburg State University of Engineering and Economics.

Creating innovative cluster involves the construction of not only industrial buildings, but also objects social infrastructure. The house-building factory “Beliy Klyuch” will build houses for a permanent residence of Technopolis specialists that will create a unique social environment for innovation and attract intellectual capital. The first phase of residential settling is already planned for the end of 2011.

International Experiences:
The most successful project of such kind is Silicon Valley in California, USA. This technology center concentrates scientific and production companies whose activities are related to research and the implementation of electronic devices and biotechnological innovations. In Britain, Milton Keynes became the most successful project, which is located 75 miles to the northwest of London. In 2006, the city’s population reached 215,000, of whom 46% were under the age of thirty. The concept of the architectural design of the city states that no building can be taller than the tallest tree in the city. Milton Keynes has more than 1600 hectares of parks, a city surrounded by ancient forests and 160 hectares of lakes. The production zone consists of world-class industrial and commercial buildings.

Russian Experience:
The biggest projects to be implemented in the near future are: Innovation Center Skolkovo near Moscow and the coal-metallurgical center Uglenaukograd. Also, in the Kemerovo region, an experimental investment project of integrated development is a satellite city named “Lesnaya Polyana” where President Medvedev was present when the first stone was laid. This pilot project is an example of successful implementation of a new strategy for socio-economic development in low-rise buildings and entered a number of significant federal projects. It can also be noted that for every one ruble of budget investment, there are four rubles of private investment in the project. As for Technopolis Gusev, it is the first and only project of such scale that is supported only by private investments.

Andrey Tkachenko, the president of the General Satellite Corporation said: "In 2008 we began to build a high-tech industrial park in Gusev. Manufacturing plants, housing, infrastructure facilities including a community center for housing development, as well as communication and roads - all with a clean slate. These places where people live are not just dots on the map of our country; they are, first and foremost, a space for those people to life a comfortable life. Innovations that are being introduced into the real economy bring visible improvements in the entire socio-economic life of the region; successfully solving problems with jobs and housing."

What is a “technopolis”?
Technopolis is (from the Greek, “techne”, meaning the skill; and “polis”, meaning city) a modern form of territorial integration of science, education and highly developed production. It represents the integrated scientific, production, educational and cultural areas, all united around the science center. This concept of development of territories is tested and cost-effectively applied in many countries.