Global Technology Trends report presented at TASS news agency
Russian businesses and the government often invest in yesterday’s technologies, ignoring cutting-edge technologies and markets or not being aware of them at all. According to Leonid Gokhberg, HSE First Vice Rector and ISSEK director, Russia is present only in 3% of the global research fronts, and Russian contribution to publications devoted to these areas amounts to just 1%.
“Unfortunately, there’re several technology areas where Russia doesn’t just lack world-class experts but doesn’t even have people capable of understanding what’s happening around us”, noted Alexander Sokolov, director of the ISSEK Foresight Centre.
This is particularly sad because not infrequently, Russian experts cannot develop and commercialise technologies the resources for which “originated” in Russia. A typical example is perovskite and silicon batteries. The mineral perovskite was discovered in the Urals as early as in the 19th century, but no practical application was found for it for a long time. In 2009, it was synthesised in laboratory conditions in Japan for the first time, and a photoelectric cell was developed on its basis. The technology rapidly developed; efficiency factors of perovskite- and silicon-based solar batteries are already equal, but in terms of power (per watt), perovskite batteries are 2.5 times cheaper than silicon ones. “It’s a clear signal to investors who invest (or do not invest) in production of silicon-based solar batteries, in Russia and elsewhere”, noted Leonid Gokhberg.
Ruslan Saygitov, chief research fellow at the HSE ISSEK Foresight Centre, commented on where we should head in terms of developing medicine and health.
Businesses and the government who want to plan their industrial policies need an “early warning system” to discover technological breakthroughs. The Global Technology Trends project being implemented by HSE ISSEK is an attempt to set up just such a system.
This is an ongoing study which currently covers technology trends in seven major areas: information and communication technologies, biotechnology, medicine and health, transportation vehicles and systems, new materials and nanotechnology, efficient environment management, and energy saving. For each trend, evolution of the technology is presented, as well as its advantages and impact, market size, current development level in Russia, drivers, and barriers hindering further development.
“I’m glad this report is published; it’s the first data book in Russia offering clear facts and figures in each area”, noted Alexey Komissarov, director of the Industry Development Foundation. “Of course, life is going to adjust it, but that’s always to be expected. We’re definitely going to use it in our project evaluation work”.
Leonid Vodovatov, deputy director of the Strategic Development Department of Vnesheconombank (VEB), also believed that the HSE study “could be seen as an instruction manual”, in particular to identify projects the bank should support in the scope of VEB Innovation calls for proposals.
“It’s the first serious document which clearly states that information technologies is an absolute priority because they serve as an underlying platform for all other technologies”, noted Igor Agamirzyan, director of the Russian Venture Company. “All technological development is now based on merging digital and physical worlds”.