Business Weekly - Cambridge, UK

The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) – established in 1724 and encompassing some 400 research centres around Russia – is sending a fact-finding delegation to Cambridge in late February to discuss the inception of a technology transfer hub in the area.

St John’s Innovation Centre (SJIC), which has helped organise the initiative and the visit, has received intimations from RAS that it is “very interested” in utilising Cambridge’s mature network as a “commercialisation conduit,” and a base for possible future expansion into Western Europe.

The six-strong Russian delegation, led by RAS vice-president Professor Valery Kozlov, will visit some of the East of England’s leading technology, biotech and support organisations, including Cambridge Consultants Limited, Laser Scan, Schlumberger, Aveva, Cambridge Entrepreneurship Centre and the Eastern Region Biotechnology Initiative.

The delegation will also visit venture capital boutique, Library House, investigating the possibility of establishing a dedicated RAS Innovation Fund, which will support the commercialisation of spin-off technologies and ventures.

SJIC’s Alex Smeets said: “The purpose of this visit from our point of view is to show the Russians just how strong this area is in commercialising technology.

“We believe we possess world-class support for technology transfer, not only in terms of the funding available, but also from the increasing number of companies in this area which have the resources and the worldwide reach to play a role. A base in Cambridge has international value.”

The RAS intends to pursue a four-pronged business model.

The RAS ‘Innovation Agency’ – as it is to be known – will sell consultancy to UK-based companies, providing access to research and expertise across a broad range of disciplines.

In particular, the RAS has identified a market for its software programming skills. It plans to provide cheap outsourced programming, competing with nations such as Bangladesh and India.

Smeets believes that the RAS’s ‘Cold War’ programming skills – it has world leading expertise in defence and nuclear technology programming- could provide a unique selling point.

He said: “Part of the purpose of this visit is for us to identify valuable nuggets of knowledge.

“The RAS has particular strength in the area of defence programming – a throwback to the Cold War. We believe there may be major commercial applications for this technology, and will be seeking to identify exactly what these are, as well as identifying new ones.”

The Innovation Agency plans to license its best technologies and also establish new companies, replicating the model used in the inception of coating technology company, Keronite, which has successfully blended Russian science with East of England know-how.

Smeets said that the project would move forward very quickly if the Cambridge visit yielded RAS’s seal of approval.

He said: “No deal has yet been signed, but we are confident that RAS’s visit will cement their interest in Cambridge. This will represent a major coup for the region.

“Not only will we benefit from direct access to the massive potential of one of the world’s leading research organisations, but I believe the initiative could create jobs and wealth in the long-run.”

In the short-term, Smeets said he envisaged that the RAS would establish a small operation at SJIC within the next few months.