From the 3rd to the 8th of November, the Russian delegation, including the ITMO University representatives, was visiting Brazil. The trip was organized within the program called "Collaboration across the ocean: Opening the innovative Brazil". The purpose of the trip was the acquaintance with the experience of effective management of the innovative structures in that country. Pauline Kachurina, the manager of the Office of the development of the project activities, who was the delegation participant, tells about the visit program and about the possible areas of cooperation of Brazilian research centers and the ITMO University.
During the six days in Brazil the members of the Russian delegation visited the three largest cities, which produce more than 75% of GDP of the country: Sao Paulo, Belo Horizonte and Rio de Janeiro. The delegation consisted of: Artyom Shadrin, the director of the Department of innovative development of the Ministry of economic development of the Russian Federation, the representatives of the Russian venture company OJSC, which became the general sponsor of the trip, and the rectors and staff from the universities from different regions of Russia.During the visit, the participants visited the University of São Paulo, Albert Einstein Hospital, the Fund of the support of the research and developments in the State of Sao Paulo, the Federation of industries of the State of Minas Gerais, the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and many other organizations which form the innovative infrastructure of the state.
In the opinion of Pauline Kachurina, the trip was extremely important in terms of the experience exchange and establishing contacts. "We are not only getting acquainted with the experience of one of the countries of the BRICS, but also analyzing it, evaluating the possibility of its usage in our country, discussing the questions of the further interaction between the University and the partners from Brazil" said Pauline Kachurina. "Political situation and the market conjuncture contribute to the development of closer relations between research organizations and business in Russia and Brazil. The Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation actively facilitates the contacts expansion. In addition, there is a number of activities at the federal level in Brazil at the moment, which are aimed at the supporting of universities. They are very similar to our "5/100"program.Combining the efforts to increase international ranking of our universities is also one of the objectives of the trip".
The program of the visit is very rich.The Brazilian side is not limited to the demonstration of their experience and developments.They also want to learn more about our achievements as the "Collaboration across the ocean" program participants.Colleagues from Brazil repeatedly stressed that they are extremely interested in the transfer of Russian technologies and in the strategic technological partnership with centers of Russian scientific excellence, including the ITMO University.Priority attention in Brazil is paid to the research in the field of ecology, agriculture (in particular, the issues of the harvest increasing), also to the directions like security, robotics development and the aerospace instrumentation.These interests largely overlap with the main areas of research activity in Russia, in particular, in the ITMO University.Pauline Kachurina sees this as a good basis for close and fruitful cooperation.
"We have a lot of potential in joint projects with universities, not only in Brazil, but also with other members of the innovation infrastructure of the country.For example, the Federation of the Industries of the State of Sao Paulo (FIESP) has its own program of the development of the 15 areas of technology during the next 15 years. Many of these technologies are the sphere of the expert activity for the staff of the ITMO University.This makes it possible to proceed to the implementation of joint projects in the near future".
By the way, Brazil only expands the boundaries of the international cooperation of the ITMO University.We are always open for cooperation with world leaders in the field of education and science.Currently, the ITMO University is actively involved in a number of students' and teachers' exchange programs, sponsored by such organizations as Centre for International Mobility CIMO, DAAD, Erasmus Mundus program and other.Our university is an active member of several international networks and organizations, such as European University Association, Baltic Sea Region University Network (BSRUN).The possible interaction of universities and research centers in Brazil with our university is another step to expand the presence of the ITMO University on the the international arena.
It is possible to become a participant of the Russian-Brazilian innovation cooperation. If you have ideas for joint projects, just send a letter describing the project at the address: ylpolina@yandex.ru.