Technology Transfer in Russia

Isis Enterprise is engaged in a multi-year program to support the international commercialisation of technologies from within the Tomsk region of Siberia, Russia, in partnership with The Eurasia Consortium. Tomsk is one of the main educational, scientific, cultural and industrial centres of Siberia. With a population of just over 500,000, it is home to 7 local universities and several branches of Russian and foreign institutes and universities.

Each year, project participants are invited to apply to be part of the entrepreneurship training and support program. Successful applicants attend a week long intensive training course held in Oxford at the Said Business School by the Eurasia Consortium. Themes of the training program include:- “The Oxford Model of Technology Transfer; Entrepreneurial Activity and University Research; Managing High Tech Start Ups; Securing Capital and Investment, Managing Investor Relations and Expectations, Intellectual Property Management; Listing Start Ups.”

Following on from the Oxford training program, Isis offer practical advice and support to the project participants with the aim of identifying and brokering deals with prospective partner organisations outside of Russia. This involves ongoing contact from Oxford, supplemented with quarterly visits to Tomsk by Isis Enterprise consultants with the aid of patent attorneys, product designers and finance or business strategy experts.

As part of our ongoing efforts to support technology commercialisation, Drs Tim Cook and Steve Cleverley from Isis Innovation, and Dr Stuart Kewley (The Eurasia Consortium) delivered a two day Technology Transfer Masterclass to over 120 delegates in Tomsk, organised and funded by the Tomsk Regional Administration.

The two day masterclass saw the first steps in addressing a number of the long term deliverables identified by the Tomsk Regional Government as vital in the up-skilling of the regional economy, namely the harmonization of technology transfer in the region, the creation of a technology transfer ecosystem around Tomsk’s Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and the fostering of a culture of entrepreneurship amongst technology transfer professionals in the Region. The masterclass proved to be very well received by both the delegates and the Regional Government and supported the Regional Government’s aspiration of maintaining Tomsk’s status as the most innovative region in the Russian Federation.

Outside of Siberia, Isis has also been involved in supporting the technology transfer ecosystem in Moscow. Funded by the former state owned investment vehicle Rusnano and held at Skolkovo, Russia’s top business school, a similar technology transfer masterclass brought Oxford technology transfer expertise to the heart of Russia.

"There is significant commercial potential in the research within Russia," said Dr Steve Cleverley, Managing Consultant at Isis Enterprise, "through our education and support programmes, we are helping researchers to think more internationally and realise the potential of their innovations across the world".

For more information, please contact:

Dr Steve Cleverley, Managing Consultant
E steve.cleverley@isis.ox.ac.uk
T +44 (0)1865 280849