On 5–7 December, Skolkovo companies representing the biomedicine, IТ,energy efficiency clusters visited Berlin where they got acquainted with the innovation infrastructure. They visited the largest technopark Adlershof and the biomedical technopark Berlin-Buch.
The program of the visit also included a number of meetings with key organisations engaged in business development and promotion, including the German Innovation Foundation, Technology Foundation TSB, Berlin-Partner and the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry office in Germany. As a complement to the general program, visitors also had an opportunity to visit innovation companies and laboratories, and hold individual talks with potential partners.
Anna Nikina, Head of Development for International Programs at Technopark Skolkovo, remarked: "Technopark Skolkovo has entered in the cooperation agreements with four science parks, two of which are in Berlin. It is important to implement these agreements for the benefit of the participants, and the visit to Germany is a good example of that, as two leading Berlin technoparks welcomed Skolkovo companies and developed their business program upon the individual needs".
I liked a good level of organisation and the sectorial, well pointed meetings. But, most important thing is that opportunities we never anticipated have arisen: available tools and ready-made, easy recipes have been revealed for starting international activities in GermanyKhabib Abdullayev, vice-president, Rikor Holding
Initially I imagined that it is possible to access to the German market just by sending a request to Skolkovo, and then, the tachnopark would gather customers by magic during the visit. Now I understand that the approach is different: the visit gave us a network of contacts that we are able to develop efficiently in order to promote our business. It was important to get some feedback in the local market, and the cost of access to the German market became clear. As a further step, we are considering opening an office in GermanyPavel Medvedev, director general, Server Design Bureau
It was a strategic visit for me and it contributed to my understanding and getting a feedback, which I managed to, as in Berlin I got an instant expert conclusion on our project which is very important for our subsequent commercialisation. Also, in spite of the fact that I did not set myself any promotion goals for this visit, we have received a project statement that, if developed, could be very promisingAnatoly Dolgolaptev, director general, Partnership of Energy and Electromobile Projects
It was a very useful visit. Meetings with the incubators and companies contributed a lot to the evaluation of the benefits and shortcomings of founding a company in one of the two leading Berlin technoparks. We are continuing correspondence with one of these companies which is consulting us on entering the German market. Thanks to Skolkovo and especially Anna Nikina for the excellent organisation!Igor Pivovarov, director general, HemaCore Labs
Аnna Nikinа Head of Development, International Programs T +7 (495) 967 0148 ext.2491 E an(at)sk.ru
Calendar of international programs: http://international.sk.ru