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Expert article 885 Baltic Rim Economies, 21.12.2011 Quarterly Review 5�2011
The "Triple Helix" of the Polymer Cluster
By Sergey Tsybukov
A working model of "Triple Helix" is started in St.
Petersburg. It is a modern mechanism of partnership
between government, business, scientific and educational
community to organize innovative development of the
cluster. For the first time several innovative financing
mechanisms, training, shared responsibility and risk
minimization are incorporated in a single project. This
model is unique and have no analogues. It was brilliantly
realized on the basis of one of the St. Petersburg Polymer
Cluster projects - the newly opened the Prototyping Center
of items from composite materials and coatings application.
Our interlocutor is Sergey Tsybukov, General Manager of
the LLC “SPA on plastic processing named after
“Komsomolskaya Pravda”:
- Sergey, what a prototyping center is and how the
“Triple Helix” model works here?
- The Prototyping Center is a transition from a prototype
model to the mass production. Our Prototyping Center of
items from composite materials and coatings application,
opened on March 15, 2011, was established to support
small and medium enterprises engaged in innovation
activities. This is a joint project of The Ministry of Economic
Development, Government of St. Petersburg, Polymer
Cluster and the St. Petersburg State University of
Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics (ITMO).
The Prototyping Center establishment was invested by the
polymer cluster, the St. Petersburg budget and The
Ministry of Economic Development. SPbSU ITMO provided
the part of the equipment to the Center through ITMO basic
chair, which is opened at the LLC Plant "KP".
The equipment is a significant component of the
successful Prototyping Center work. However, people who
work there are the most important component. In this
matter we were lucky enough to engage cooperation with
ITMO and the Higher School of Economics at SPbSUEF.
These departments prepare for us a team of specialists,
including post-graduates (science), engineers (production)
and managers (economy) with a basic technical education.
These guys have studied at ITMO and have participated in
research-and-development activities for the Prototyping
Center. Now they earn money using their R&D at the
Prototyping Center, write research theses and teach
students the practical work in our Base Department.
In the future, some of them will teach at the university,
somebody will be invited to work at the public office. Thus,
we can see a coherent string of logic: education at the
university - practical study (in part due to the city budget) -
work in the Center – knowledge and skills transfer to young
people - economy management. This is how the "Triple
Helix" works: when a company is able to order R&D to the
university, a university is ready to do this research, to train
personnel and to educate leaders who will implement this
research. The state co-finance the process, as its support
is indispensable at some steps. But all the invested money
is given back by raising taxes.
- Is it possible to find out more about results of your
work?
- We will report about it at the roundtable discussion
“Triple Helix” model benefits for Russia innovative
development” in the business program of the Forum
"Russian Industrialist - 2011". At this forum we will tell
39
about the basic department of ITMO established under the
Polymer Cluster, about our work experience, we will also
show samples, etc.
- What do you think about weak spots of the classical
technical education?
- We must eliminate the huge gap between the classical
technical university and the real research institute or the
real production. The weak spot of the classical technical
education is the situation when people come to work and
don’t understand how to make money on their knowledge.
Unfortunately, our project is one of the few in the city. And
they must be dozens.
- What is the current Prototyping Center load ratio and
what are its prospects?
- We already have more orders now than we can
execute. At the moment there aren’t companies in the city
with enough competencies to bring a project from concept
to realization in a limited edition. That’s why we think about
staff increase and new equipment purchase.
Now we have a large R & D with "Vodokanal of St.
Petersburg", where we implement new coatings, and a
project with CSRI named after A.N. Krylova on the use of
modern shipbuilding de-icing materials. We will continue to
work with Russian Railways, RUSNANO and other public
and private institutions. What about our city, we can offer
the latest technologies in anti-corrosion and other
protective treatment of the buildings elements (roofs, attics,
basements), resolve the problem of energy conservation.
Unfortunately, the Housing Committee continues to
consider our proposals. I hope that the gubernatorial
election will cardinally change the situation and the attitude
to Russian know-how.
I’d like to emphasize another near term prospect for the
Prototyping Centre development. An international company
TomasGroup, business consultant of leading companies in
the world, will conduct training on business processes for
our specialists. The experts of this company believe that
our Center (in case of specialization in nanotechnology for
structural materials and coatings creation) should become
the leader among 145 world's leading prototyping centers.
As a result, our project should become self-developing: we
begin to engage more and more resources and complete
the increasing number of tasks.
Sergey Tsybukov
General Manager
LLC SPA on plastic processing
named after ‘Komsomolskaya
Pravda’
Russia
The interview was written by Aleksander Kibalnik and it
was earlier published at “St.Petersburg in the Mirror”.
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