According to Mr. Prisyazhniuk, ITMO and Telecommunication Institute collaborated before — ITMO’s Bachelor’s, Master’s and PhD students participated in internships at the Institute.

The CEO also added that now, thanks to unmanned aircraft systems and data processing technologies, one can make a breakthrough in such fields as cartography and aerial survey. Furthermore, geoinformation technologies are in high demand by several Russian governmental agencies It is also a sought-after field around the globe.

ITMO and Telecommunication Institute are going to open a Unified Center for Geoinformation Urban Studies, which will serve as a base for ITMO’s Higher School of Geoinformatics. The center will be in charge of high technology production of research complexes for the agricultural sector based on drones. Also it will include a test site for unmanned aircraft systems and a school for engineers. The manufacturing facilities of the center will be up to 119,000 square meters.

"Thanks to the facilities of Innograd, it will be possible to create products with high added value and contribute to human capital, which is one of the most valuable resources for Russia," notes Vladimir Vasilyev.

According to the Rector, the location of the hub will make the collaboration very comfortable. Thanks to the infrastructure of Yuzhniy [St. Petersburg’s satellite town in the southern part of the city -Ed.], engineers and researchers will be able to live near their workplaces.

According to the project plan, the total area of Innograd will be about 1 square kilometer. The new hub will create up to 12,000 new workplaces. The Start Development Corporation will become the main investor of the project.