Diakont is a full-service company that focuses on development and manufacturing of hi-tech equipment for enhancing security and efficiency in science-intensive areas of industry. The company was founded in 1990, and currently employs over 1,300 people. The company has its headquarters in St. Petersburg, and branch offices in San Diego (USA) and Arezzo (Italy). By 2019, DIakont Jsc also plans to launch a cutting-edge automated factory in Lucignano, Italy.
Among the company’s key areas of focus are equipment for nuclear power plants, robotic stations for diagnostics and maintenance, radiation-tolerant television systems and precision actuators.
“As of today, Diakont is developing four main business trends. Our business started with development and production of radiation-tolerant TV cameras, then we turned to robotics and control systems for turbines, as well as various manipulators for nuclear plants. It was about eight years ago that we equipped a steam turbine with a manipulator of our own for the first time. For now, we are actively developing our business in the field of actuators. We’ve built a factory in St. Petersburg, launched an assembly plant in Italy, and will soon complete the construction of an automated full-cycle factory for producing gears and actuators. When talking about the prospects of this undertaking, we can well note that we’ve been focusing on traditional power industry, as we already had sufficient competencies and experience in this field. Still, we are also developing in such fields as green energy and marine actuators. I believe that we can expect a most dynamic progress in this regard,” says Georgiy Morales, Chief of Sales and Product Development Department at Diakont.
He adds that actuators are also most relevant in the car market which has been rapidly growing in Asian countries. For this reason, the company is actively interacting with its Asian partners.
Collaboration with ITMO University
Diakont Jsc has been collaborating with ITMO University for over ten years already: according to Nadezhda Maltseva, Assistant Professor at ITMO’s Faculty of Control Systems and Robotics, the collaboration started with organizing tours and internships for ITMO students. Then, the partners signed a strategic cooperation agreement, and in the beginning of the 2012-13 academic year, Diakont’s CEO Mikhail Fedosovsky initiated the launching of an affiliated department at ITMO University.
The launching of an affiliated department allowed Diakont’s specialists to obtain new competencies by in-service training: most of the research tasks and practical assignments took place at the enterprise. Some of them continued their education on PhD programs, switched to conducting research or got better jobs. As for those who didn’t work at Diakont and joined the associated Master’s programs after their Bachelor’s studies, they got an opportunity to get practical skills at an operating enterprise and get employed by the company.
“For the last six years, Diakont has grown from a full-cycle enterprise to a R&D company. What is more, its research facilities were used as a basis for launching a technotronic security lab. Therefore, this collaboration resulted in getting a product that’s been introduced further on,” comments the assistant professor.
Network Master’s program: why hi-tech enterprises stake on multidisciplinary approach
Starting from this year, Diakont Jsc and ITMO University launch a new network Master’s program “Computational systems of technotronic security” which will be part of the “Digital technologies in Instrumentation” program track. Nadezhda Maltseva adds that today, the enterprise has a high demand for specialists who possess competencies in different fields, including cybersecurity, computer vision systems, industrial television and programming. It has been planned that a corresponding course will be launched by the beginning of next year. It will allow programmers to develop the skills necessary for working at an industrial establishment.
“The idea of a network Master’s program focuses on giving the students an opportunity to study while working, and applying their new knowledge right on the spot. They will start their practical training right from their first year as Master’s students, on September 1. The students will acquaint themselves with the enterprise’s products and areas of focus, which will also help them choose their future path: some may prefer to focus on design and engineering, others on programming tasks. Still, as it is an interdisciplinary program that we offer, the students will also get the chance to apply both their engineering skills and competencies in such fields as IT, cybersecurity, control and cyberphysical systems,” explains Radda Yurieva, assistant at the Faculty of Control Systems and Robotics.
She adds that the program will help specialists from different fields learn to understand each other and establish effective communication, as well as work on the different aspects of a project and analyse it from both technical and economic standpoints. Upon completing the program, some of the students will get an opportunity to introduce their results at the enterprise.
Institute of Intelligent Industrial Technologies
This year, Diakont Jsc and the School of Computer Technologies and Control launched a new subdivision, Institute of Intelligent Industrial Technologies, headed by Professor Mikhail Fedosovsky. The institute’s main objective will be the development of a new competitive off-the-shelf product that will make use of digital production technologies.
“The institute was based on our network Master’s program and the technotronic security lab. It was this groundwork that made launching the new institute possible,” comments Nadezhda Maltseva.
According to Georgiy Morales, if a modern company wants to meet the requirements of the global market, it has to focus on production automation, as it can make most processes cheaper. In this regard, Diakont Jsc has already initiated a project on building a fully automated factory in Lucignano, Italy.
“The institute’s specialists will be introducing the “three level factory” concept, where the first two levels focus on manufacturing standard components and building blocks, and the third is about assembling, testing and shipping the end product. The whole operation will be organized as follows: all of the competencies and intellectual property will remain in Russia, the business will be managed from St. Petersburg, and the production will be located where it’s most feasible. The main idea here is to reduce the time it takes to deliver the product to the end customer,” comments Irina Belyavskaya, deputy head of the Institute of Intelligent Industrial Technologies.
Future plans
As the company is actively developing the Asian market, there are plans for launching a similar factory in China. What is more, the enterprise has high hopes for its international communications department. In 2015, ITMO University and Diakont opened a representative office in Italy, and starting from this year, the enterprise will be conducting R&D, organizing conferences and launching collaborations throughout the EU. According to Irina Belyavskaya, this will help lay the groundwork for its new factory operation. In future, the students of the new network Master’s program will also get the opportunity to do internships in Italy.
