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Pilot Program Establishes a New Model for U.S.-Russian University Cooperation: "EURECA" Conference Convenes at UCLA
01/18/12
EURECA is a U.S.-Russia partnership program that facilitates cooperation on university research initiatives, promotes commercialization, and supports entrepreneurship activities on Russian university campuses. EURECA is sponsored by the U.S.-Russia Foundation for Economic Advancement and the Rule of Law (USRF), in cooperation with the Russian Ministry of Education and Science. The program is administered by American Councils for International Education in the U.S. and the New Eurasia Foundation in Russia.
In his opening remarks to the EURECA conference, American Councils President, Dan Davidson, noted that “U.S. university-based research and development funding from federal and industry sources will exceed $60 billion dollars in 2012, the highest level in recent history, despite federal cutbacks in research overall. Russian R&D investment has grown at comparable rates, despite the relatively weak role of Russian private business in this area.” Sergey Borisov, a member of the USRF Board of Directors, Deputy Director of Russia's Sberbank, and Chairman of "OPORA," a non-profit group committed to strengthening enterprise in Russia, expressed his view that the country’s entry into the World Trade Organization would stimulate more Russian business investment in university research and commercialization efforts. Mark Pomar, President of USRF, added, “by connecting research communities to businesses and investors, EURECA aims to help Russian universities create marketable products from their academic research findings.”
During the 2010-2012 pilot period, U.S. and Russian university partners established new, and supported existing, technology transfer programs. Specifically, in the first year of the pilot, EURECA activities furthered student innovation initiatives and strengthened entrepreneurship programs and tech transfer offices. EURECA also helped Russian university partners present their research findings to private businesses and build links to regional governments.
During the conference, EURECA university partners from two Russian universities - the University of Information Technology, Mechanics and Optics (ITMO), and the Lobachevsky State University of Nizhni Novgorod (UNN) - and three American universities - UCLA, the University of Maryland at College Park (UMCP), and Purdue University - assessed their success in developing collaborative initiatives on the commercialization of university research and explored opportunities for expanded partnerships in research management and regional economic development..
After participating in EURECA’s 2012 networking conferences and U.S. study tours, several potential Russian university partners plan to join the EURECA program in 2013, after the completion of the two-year pilot. The conference provided opportunities for representatives from U.S. and Russian partner institutions to share their experiences with these potential, new EURECA university partners.
Andrey Kortunov, General Director of the Russian Council on International Affairs and President of the New Eurasia Foundation, noted that “the two Russian pilot universities represent two different approaches to EURECA’s future development. One is a strategic approach, aimed at altering Russian university culture. The other approach strives to promote intellectual property created at university labs in commercial market.”
U.S. and Russian university partners are planning new collaborative initiatives between research and industry, as well as new entrepreneurship programs for 2012.
Click here to learn more about the EURECA program:
http://www.americancouncils.org/program/4i/EURECA/
http://www.eureca-usrf.org
http://www.neweurasia.ru