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The universities of the Eurasian countries have accumulated a large number of inventions, patents, scientific developments, which are not introduced to the market and are not implemented in the form of final products due to a lack of investment. The newest direction of the information technology industry – deep tech – is designed to commercialize such achievements of advanced science. How can a scientific development from Eurasia find its investor? – this was discussed at StrategEast.Live panel discussion “Deep Tech in Eurasia”.
Ilona Gulchak, Partnerships Manager at Commercialization Reactor, Latvia, spoke about the organization’s business model. “DeepTech is engaged in projects based on advanced scientific achievements, which means that they involve long terms of reaching the final product and long payback periods. Scientists often do not know how to commercialize their projects, and this is where our reactor comes to help. For 12 years of work, we have invested in more than 50 startups, investments worth over $12 million were attracted. To select projects, we cooperate with more than 500 experts and 50 universities. Our model assumes that the scientist, whose idea forms the basis of the startup, can safely continue to engage in his scientific work, but at the same time becomes a shareholder of the new startup. ”
“Human capital is a locomotive of structural changes in the Ukrainian economy,” says Oleksandra Humenna, Acting President of the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, Ukraine. “We must, even at the university, begin to convert the skills of our students into intellectual capital, promote the entrepreneurial, leadership and fundraising skills. We have tools for this, such as seminars and hackathons, and there is legal support that we provide to student business initiatives.”
Jumat Kargin, Director of Technologies Commercialization Department at L. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, Kazakhstan, spoke about the national ecosystem, which includes new laws on the commercialization of science, about Kazakhstani venture funds and the Foundation of Science JSC created by the government of Kazakhstan.
Maxim Khomyakov, Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan: “Our university is a startup itself. Our first students graduate this year. Therefore, so far we are only working on creating a mechanism for the commercialization of our scientific research. One of the problems we face in the region is the level of research secrecy. Often this does not allow not only commercializing the development, but even publishing the work. Therefore, it is necessary to offer project developers different routes – to classical science or to commercialization. And it necessary to use first of all the potential of student startups.”
The panel was moderated by Tamar Japaridze, the Head of the Center for Entrepreneurship at Business and Technology University, Georgia.
The panel was organized in cooperation with Commercialization Reactor, Latvia.
StrategEast.Live is a series of online panel discussions launched by StrategEast in 2020 to continue the conversation on how technology can lead to an overall transformation in Eurasia. During these events, the esteemed guests put forward ideas that facilitate the further development of a knowledge-driven economy in the region.
