An hour before Renat Batyrov discovered his project, the Skolkovo Technopark, had won hosting rights to the 2016 IASP World Conference of science parks, he was already being commiserated on defeat by an overconfident rival.
“You’ve lost and we’ve won. ... Come to me after the vote and I’ll tell you where you went wrong so you don’t make the same mistakes next time,” Batyrov quoted the official as telling him.
Skolkovo led a three-way bid with partner institutes from Russia – the Technopark Strogino and the MSU Science Park to host the world’s biggest and most prestigious tech park forum in two years’ time.
The winning Russian bid team celebrate on the stage in Doha. Photo: sk.ru
At the 2014 edition in Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday, the Russians enjoyed a landslide victory over Teknopark Istanbul and Utrecht Science Park from the Netherlands.
Fresh off the plane from the Middle East and looking relaxed in his sporty black jumper at the Skolkovo Innovation Center outside a freezing but sunny Moscow, Batyrov couldn’t help but crack a smile at the way things turned out.
“I offered them advice and our support, as it turned out,” he laughed.
The team had a bunch of proxy votes from other members but it didn’t even need them: The final count was 121 votes for Russia, 45 for Istanbul and 39 for Utrecht. In 33 years of the IASP World Conference that could be an all-time record.
“The girls exploded and screamed, but I tried to stay calm. It’s not right to gloat when there are two losing bids still in the same room,” Batyrov said.
That the victory came in the face of an increasingly complex political climate is testament to the work the team put in over the last few months to secure it.
Persuasive presentations in Doha from Skolkovo president Viktor Vekselberg’s advisor Pekka Viljakainen and Skolkovo VP Alexander Chernov were merely the final salvos in a campaign that took the Skolkovo bid to 30 countries to lobby each IASP member personally.
“But still, we were nervous. Right up to the last second,” Batyrov said. “We had strong competitors. Turkey, Istanbul, which is the fourth city in the world by tourism, with a superb atmosphere, weather, accessibility, and technopark. And Holland, which had the support of Europe and America,” he added.
Victory was celebrated into the early hours in the knowledge that Russia had finally joined the premier league of the technopark movement.
The IASP World Conference is informally known as the ‘tech park Olympics’ due to its size and significance in the global science community. It is the most prominent knowledge-sharing forum in the world of science and technology parks, facilitating cooperation and collaboration among the planet’s leading research and innovation facilities.
“The Turks had a very strong bid, very strong,” Batyrov said. “But the voters were swayed by the quality of our bid, and acknowledged the role of Russia in the world of innovations.”
Russian hospitality in Doha. Photo: sk.ru
But why does Russia even need a technopark conference?
“What does the World Cup give to football? What do the Olympics give to sport? They give a big boost to their sports in the host country. That’s the way it will be with us.
“It is going to provide a huge stimulus for the development of innovation in our country. Of innovation infrastructure, in particular. Tech parks, science parks, innovation zones. This culture will grow,” he said.
It will also perform another very important function, Batyrov added.
“We want to show the whole world what Skolkovo is,” he said. “To show the city, to show Russia from this perspective too. That it’s not all Russian nesting dolls and balalaikas and the Bolshoi Theater, but also Skolkovo.”
Skolkovo will also be able to position itself as the conduit for the other dozen-or-so Russian tech parks to enter international markets, just as Skolkovo can be used as a landing strip for international companies to access Russia, Batyrov said.
“We need them to understand that we’re not competing with them, we are working with them and all moving in one direction,” he said, speaking of domestic parks.
“It can be hard for the tech parks in the regions, say Yekaterinburg or Krasnoyarsk, to communicate with the international market. We can be their gateway,” Batyrov added.
As for the nature of the Russian bid, there is no doubt that it was Skolkovo-led, even though the Moscow State University and Strogino were also tied to it and offered strong support throughout.
Batyrov spearheaded the campaign from day one, chairing weekly meetings in Skolkovo offices.
Skolkovo Technopark chief Renat Batyrov. Photo: sk.ru
With the hosting rights secured, Batyrov can set about organizing the event itself. It is unclear exactly when, where and in what format it will take place. They could pin it to the 2016 Startup Village in the spring or to the global Open Innovations forum in the fall.
The center of attention will be the Skolkovo Technopark itself, which is due to be finished in the months preceding the conference. Satellite events could take place in the city center, at Moscow State University or at Technopark Strogino – that also remains to be decided.
What is clear, Batyrov said, is that the IASP 2016 World Conference will be the springboard the Skolkovo project needs to become a major world player in innovations and scientific development.
“We are not a leading force, we are a unifying force. We want all major Russian institutions to be a part of Skolkovo and help to create the ecosystem,” he said.
But how will he measure the project’s success?
“Simple. You could measure it by revenue generated. Or in the number of companies attracted, or by the geographical expansion of the innovation center,“ he said.
“But for me, success is when companies, startups, partners and others are forming a queue to get into Skolkovo. When the world’s leading media come to film a documentary about how students live here. Then I will be happy.”
The winning bid video can be viewed here.