HSE’s Nizhny Novgorod Campus to Help RAS Institute of Applied Physics to Market its Developments

The HSE Centre of Entrepreneurship in Nizhny Novgorod has started working in close cooperation with the Russian Academy of Sciences Institute of Applied Physics (IAP) for the purpose of commercializing the latter’s research results. The Centre will help IAP’s scholars market their projects.

The Centre’s experts will carry out marketing research for each of the selected innovation projects and develop strategies to commercialize IAP’s intellectual property, as well as its business and financial models. They will seek out sources of investment, and ‘package’ projects for select investors.

‘RAS IAP is a globally recognized institution, which participates in such projects as CERN, ITER, and LIGO,’ says Eduard Fiyaksel, Head of the Centre for Entrepreneurship. He notes: ‘The Institute carries out research and is able to create marketable results. Furthermore, HSE in Nizhny Novgorod possesses vast experience in the marketing of innovation projects. This way, we can merge our competencies to produce a synergetic effect. As a result of such cooperation, we expect to see technology start-ups with high market potential’.

The first session, where scholars presented their developments, took place at the Centre on December 21, 2016. Some potentially marketable projects were chosen, such as Bodysonic (a device to measure the distribution of subcutaneous fat), a technology for express control of multi-component liquids’ quality, and Antievacuator (a device that sends a signal when a tow truck comes to collect your car). A search for investors for these projects will start in the near future. Furthermore, this work will involve students from Master’s programmes taught at the Faculty of Management (Management and Marketing), each of whom will have an individual mentor. The project’s implementation shall include regular sessions with experts and mentors.

‘The number of projects that IAP will generate is huge, but their marketing capabilities are underdeveloped,’ Eduard Fiyaksel explains, adding: ‘This means that we now see a large number of projects that require teams to be additionally staffed by people knowledgeable in marketing and management. These would be the ideal conditions for involving management and marketing students directly in project marketing.’

The organizers plan to carry out presentation sessions on a regular basis.