Test Your Knowledge in Governance of Science and Technology with Innovators' Club

The Innovators’ club was founded by the first year Master students from the Master’s programme  “Governance of Science, Technology and Innovation”. The members of the programme academic council and the leading experts from the Institute for Statistical Studies and Economics of Knowledge (ISSEK) were invited to participate at the very first meeting of the Innovators’ club which was held on 11 April, 2016.

The discussion was focused on the issue of State-Owned Enterprises being the main vehicle of innovation development. The participants tried to extrapolate on the definition of public sector and the role of government in the promotion of innovation and technology driven development. It was indicated that the world best practices are predominantly based on the leading role of the private sector in economy. However, several participants argued that in certain areas, such as nuclear energy and space technologies, government plays a crucial role, since private sector may be incapable to undertake such major investments or lacks interest in certain strategic areas of scientific research.

Ilya Borisov, the head of the team which supports a positive role of government, pointed out that government affiliated agencies have contributed greatly to the formation of innovation infrastructure in Russia. Without them it would be rather impossible to set up priorities in the innovation development. State institutions may also accelerate the development of innovative SMEs by using the instruments of indirect support. Gleb Cherdantsev, the head of the team advocating for a major role of private sector in the innovation development, argued that private companies are more flexible and more efficient than their state-owned counterparts. The pivotal role of the private enterprises is even more obvious under current conditions of severe international competition for global leadership in S&T.

Students’ statements were commented by ISSEK experts. Evgeny Kutsenko, head of the cluster policy unit, emphasized a necessity to develop private initiative. Private companies play a crucial role in shaping new technological reality and are more capable of breakthrough innovations than state sector. Pavel Rudnik, head of strategies and programs unit, argued that Russia can approach the world’s technological frontiers with governmental support only. Russian IPR institutions and financial system are not developed yet to actively support the innovation growth in Russian enterprises. Leonid Gokhberg, HSE First Vice Rector and ISSEK director, indicated that such fundamentals as high-quality secondary and higher education are crucial for the long-term sustainable development. 

Both teams and experts reached a mutual agreement that the key element of the innovation development is high efficiency of state policy aimed at supporting STI. For the further innovation development it is recommended to study the best world practices in the field of the innovation institutions development.

The team “For”: Ilya Borisov, Darya Kuzmina, Olga Perfilova, Sandra Bit-Varda.