The Skolkovo Foundation and Oerlikon announced the official start of the “Skolkovo-Oerlikon Startup Challenge”, inviting Russian high-tech startup projects and innovative teams to join the challenge with their innovative solutions for additive technologies. The deadline for applications is 10 September 2017.
The Skolkovo Foundation is a leading Russian governmental institution to support technological startups. Oerlikon, a publicly listed technology company with a strategy to become a powerhouse in surface solutions and advanced materials, is well-positioned to lead the advancement of the industrialization of additive manufacturing. The scientific partner of the Competition is the Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University.
The winners of the Competition will have the opportunity to be potential suppliers of knowledge-intensive technologies or research to Oerlikon and will receive up to EUR 50 000 to continue working on their R&D projects and for traineeship in the company’s research projects. The winners of the Competition will also receive up to EUR 80K grant funding and the runner-up will receive EUR 50K, which the Skolkovo Foundation will provide once the Competition winners pass the relevant Foundation procedures.
“Additive technologies, as a part of Industry 4.0, is one of the key and promising fields of development of the Skolkovo Foundation. This competition, with hands on participation of a leading technology company, Oerlikon, is a unique and effective opportunity to systematically assess competences of scientific and startup teams in Russia and to financially support the most advanced teams, as well as accelerate the commercialization of ideas and technologies both in Russian and abroad,” noted Alexey Belyakov, Vice-President, Executive Director of the Skolkovo Foundation Space Cluster.
“Oerlikon is pleased to be partnering with the Skolkovo Foundation to launch this additive manufacturing competition in Russia. Technological innovation is key to our growth, and we are committed to be encouraging and supporting entrepreneurs in the field of additive manufacturing and helping them to convert their innovations into commercial reality. We look forward to an interesting competition and wish all participants much luck and success,” commented Florian Mauerer, head of Oerlikon’s additive manufacturing business.
“Additive manufacturing has potential to become before long the driver of new industry, and then the key component of Factories of the Future. In the last 15 years, market growth in this segment is 20-30%. Additive technologies (AT) are the unique tool for material embodiment of the most complicated digital models of functionally optimized structures we are developing for high-technology industries in the Engineering Centre (CompMechLab) of Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University. This is one of the critical areas to implement the roadmap of Technet (advanced production technologies) of the National Technology Initiative, and we plan to untwist it relying on the best solutions available and in partnership with global leaders. Arrangement for the contest with our Polytechnic University and the Skolkovo Foundation shows the Oerlikon interest in the additive technologies and their development in Russia. I warrant that participation in the contest is the excellent opportunity for Russian companies and developers to demonstrate their competencies and find their place in the global AT market.” noted Borovkov Alexey, Vice-Rector for Advanced Projects, St. Petersburg State Polytechnic University. “We hope that the Competition will also motivate and encourage more innovations in the exciting field of additive technologies.”
Applications for the Competition will be accepted from both individuals and legal entities until 15 September 2017 for the following five key areas in additive technologies for metal and ceramic components along the AM value chain:
(1) characterization and powder quality monitoring;
(2) software for design, management and storage of product data;
(3) post-processing and final processing;
(4) product quality control;
(5) next generation materials for additive technologies.
The submissions to the Competition will be evaluated by the Expert Board comprised of experts from Russian and foreign corporations, including Oerlikon, Rosatom and Rostec, and scientific experts from the Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University.
The finals of the Competition and the announcement of the winners will take place during the Open Innovations Forum, which will be held at the Skolkovo Innovation Centre from 16 to 17 October 2017.
Read more about the applications and the organisation details of the Competition at http://Oerlikon.sk.ru
About the Skolkovo Foundation
The Skolkovo Foundation is a non-profit organization founded in September 2010 by the Russian government with the objective of accelerating Russia’s transformation from a resource-intensive to an innovation-based economy. To achieve this objective, the Foundation is overseeing the creation of the Skolkovo Innovation Center, composed of more than 1,600 high-tech startups, Skolkovo Technopark, the Skolkovo Institute of Technology (Skoltech) - a new graduate research University established in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology - and Skolkovo city, located near Moscow. Together, these entities establish a vibrant ecosystem of technology innovation and entrepreneurship. The cumulative revenue of Skolkovo’s startups through June 2016 reached $1,6 billion. They brought in more than $350 million in investment, creating 21,800 jobs and filing over 1,900 patent applications along the way. By 2020 over 2 million square meters of residential and office space will be built in Skolkovo with 35,000 people working daily in the Innovation Center. For more information: http://www.sk.ru/en
More on Skolkovo Robotics http://sk.ru/events/3429.aspx
Press Contact
Skolkovo
Taisiya Yarmak
+79166948826
tyarmak@sk.ru