Questions to… Denis Kovalevich, Director of Technospark in Troitsk, Moscow:
«We are creating an innovation ecosystem»
– What is Technospark about?
It is a Nanotech Centre, which started functioning in mid-2012 in Troitsk, where there are 11 research institutes.
It was established through a public-private partnership with the state corporation Rusnano, minority shareholder. Main decisions are made by entrepreneurs, an unusual situation in Russia. The idea is to speed up the research process of our startups at the lowest possible cost, and then to sell them.
– How do you create a fertile environment for innovation?
We are building an entire ecosystem, through specific infrastructures like the Fabric of industrial design. We encourage engineers to create their own start-up specializing in design with composite materials for example, to meet the needs of other startups. So they have a market, an office on our site and a supervisor thanks to our partner, the largest industrial design firm in Russia. We have the same aim as Biolab or a prototyping workshop equipped with a pool of machines.
– What links did you build up to an international level?
We are partners of universities such as Louvain in Belgium or Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands and member of organizations like the European Photonics Industry Consortium (EPIC). Moreover, Technospark houses a German company, SICK, whose engineers design and manufacture sensors for industrial use, especially in gas equipment.
They are interested in synergies with our startups, for instance in the field of artificial diamonds.
