Innovations

Recent years have seen positive changes in the region′s innovation activity. During the period 2002-2007, the volume of delivered innovative products increased more than 9-fold, to reach 6.5 billion rubles. The institutional environment of innovative sphere is also changing.

Council for Scientific and Technological Policy, headed by the Minister of Economy of Kaliningrad Region has been set up in the region. Its members are representatives of the leading regional scientific and educational institutions. The regional scientific and innovation policy is to be developed as a part of Council’s activity.

Supported by federal authorities and international technical assistance projects, innovation infrastructure is being currently developed, its basic element being Kaliningrad Innovation and Technology Business Incubator, which includes Kaliningrad Regional Business Incubator, Centre of Innovations and Technologies and Technology Transfer Centre. The next step to be taken is establishment of a venture fund and a technopark.

Considerable innovative potential lies in the system of scientific institutions and training institutions of the region. One of the main regional universities, I.Kant State University of Russia (SUR), won the federal competition for implementation of innovative training program, which involves creation and complete equipment of five clusters of innovative training technologies as well as providing networking of these clusters with regional institutes and organizations.

Innovative Training Technologies cluster will provide a competitive environment for access to the university’s advanced hardware and software complexes by researchers introducing the most promising technological and training innovations. The cluster’s operations will be aimed at meeting priority scientific and technological challenges, performing direct transfer of scientific and research output to the training process, addressing the regional professional community needs and developing new students’ competences.

Information and Telecommunication Technologies cluster, involving not only R&D but also commercialization of innovative and training programs in the sphere of information technologies, computer security and protection of information and communication and telecommunication systems.

Biomedicine cluster deals with introduction of innovation technologies in the sphere of medical biochemistry, photodynamics and immunohistochemistry, including diagnostics and treatment of oncological diseases. Besides, it has been planned to introduce a complex of rehabilitation technologies for people with various disabilities and to extend their access to the university resources.

Baltic Ecosystems cluster is aimed at development and commercialization of innovative and training programs in the sphere of monitoring of the Baltic Sea environment, chemical spectroscopy and intensification of natural antioxidants studies.

Advanced Technologies and Materials cluster deals with research and development in the sphere of ionic-plasmic and nanotechnologies, photonics and holography and nuclear-magnetic spectroscopy.

Formation of innovative training clusters at I.Kant SUR will enable collective access to modern laboratory facilities, which will considerably extend the range of interdisciplinary research and strengthen competitiveness of certain regional industrial and service business groups. The work for improving the infrastructural capacity is being carried out by other universities of the region as well.

Scientific staff with advanced skills is being trained at postgraduate courses. Postgraduate training is carried out by four regional universities, the main fields of study being technologies, economics, pedagogy, biology and law.

Relatively high level of innovative development on a national scale is confirmed by results of participation of Kaliningrad scientists and experts in the competition of the "Start" federal program of the Foundation for development of small business in the field of science and technology.

Innovations at the region′s enterprises. Favorable geographical position of the region enabled local enterprises to establish extensive cooperative partnerships with representatives of Russian and foreign business communities, as well as perform gradual integration in international production chains, which resulted in active formation of a number of production clusters, the most significant of them being furniture manufacturing, television engineering the food-processing.

Budgetary funds remain the basic source of scientific research funding. However, since 2004 the share of costs effected by business organizations has increased from 24.6 % to 39.5 % in 2007.

There is also a trend for closer interaction of business and scientific institutions. Work results of the latter are increasingly focused on meeting current production needs. The applied studies’ share in the structure of expenditures made up 20 % in 2007.

Operating under conditions of globalization, the enterprises aspire to introduce advanced technological decisions which requires optimization of management structure and increase of production management level. Entering the European and international markets, many enterprises of the region introduce ISO-compliant quality management systems, which creates favorable conditions for managerial innovations, leading to improvement of the enterprises management system and their approximation to European standards.

One of the major results of scientific research and development is creation of advanced industrial technologies based on microelectronics or computer-controlled processes. In 2007, three organizations were engaged in these activities. Four advanced industrial technologies, new for Russia, were developed.

After the new edition of law on SEZ came into force, large businesses, that possessing considerable resources, announced their intentions to develop their own laboratory and research facilities and carry out R&D work in the field of their activities.

Information and communication technologies. In the recent years, global information-communication technologies (ICT) sector has seen rapid and steady growth. Russia was no exception. During the period of 2003-2008, enterprises′ spending on internal IT has notably increased, and demand for external IT services doubled.

Dynamic development of IT sector in Kaliningrad Region has led to generation of a considerable number of companies, from small firms, providing IT-support based on ready solutions, to software developers and computer game designers, who have already outgrown the scales of the local market and expand their operations to European and North American markets.

A lot of IT-companies provide IT-support to small and medium business. Their services also incude organization of ICT audits, introduction of Enterprise Resources Planning (ERP), Client Relationship Management (CRM), creation of websites, improvement of the personnel’s computer operation skills. At present there are dozens of such companies, the largest of them being Vnedrencheskii Centre DRV, Media Chase and Inok Informational Support Centre.

The major segment of the regional ICT sector is represented by software development companies, holders of unique knowledge and skills, who have proved their products’ competitiveness on both Russian and international markets. Their activities include development of Content Management Systems (CMS), Geographic Information Systems, plug-ins and software utilities for the world known brands, solutions for companies, trade representatives etc. The segment’s key players are Bitrix, MapiLab, CS Trade, Systemniye Technologii (System Technologies).

Computer game segment is also dynamically developing. For 18 years that has passed since the first computer game company had been set up in the region in 1992, the region gained the reputation of one of the most progressive regions in computer game design. Several Kaliningrad companies have managed to manifest themselves as serious market players. Games and applications from HeroCraft, KD-lab and Realore Studios have become popular with thousands of gamers throughout the world.

October 2008 Microsoft Innovation Centre was set up at I. Kant University. The Centre trains university and postgraduate students in advanced Microsoft technologies, arranges technology enterpreneurship courses and contests, performs R&D in the field of information technologies, assists young specialists and new developer companies in implementation of their innovative projects in the sphere of IT.

Eurika Award has been established in Kaliningrad region to support scientific and innovation activity. The award is given for achievements in science, technologies and innovation developments.