Online education, robots, and automatic cookers: what innovation means to Russians?

Less than a half of our compatriots (45%) know the word “innovation”. Every third Russian either never heard the term before, or has problems defining its meaning. These are the results of the survey of a representative sample of the Russian population (1,670 people aged 16 or older) conducted on 26–29 September, 2014 by Yuri Levada Analytical Centre (commissioned by HSE Institute for Statistical Studies and Economics of Knowledge).

To most of the respondents, the worldwide web and its various applications were the epitome of innovation — from online shopping to eGovernment services, online education courses, and making an appointment with the doctor.

The innovation threshold is constantly shifting, says Konstantin Fursov, head of the NRU HSE ISSEK’s Division for Assessing Results of S&T Studies. “E.g. members of older age groups see the Web as something new because it emerged right in front of their eyes. But to young people who grew up in the Internet era, it’s part of their everyday life”.

The survey was conducted among a representative sample of the Russian population (1,670 people aged 16 or older) on 26–29 September, 2014, commissioned by HSE Institute for Statistical Studies and Economics of Knowledge (ISSEK) to Yuri Levada Analytical Centre in the framework of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science’s project on promoting social sciences, humanities, and economics, and measuring social effects of innovation activities. The main results will be presented in analytical report.