Technopark is ... The history of the technopark movement

The history of technoparks began in the fifties of the last century. It was at this time Stanford University, located in the state of California (USA), it was decided to surrender the vacant premises and unused land for rent. The contracts were concluded with a variety of organizations. They were both large companies and small firms engaged in high technology business.

All these organizations at that time carried out state orders. Smaller industries developed with direct contact with the university. This has benefited both sides. As a result, a community was formed, which later became known as the Silicon Valley.

Further implementation of the project

In order to completely build up the empty territory and debug the necessary infrastructure, it took almost thirty years. This was the first creation of the technopark. Silicon Valley became known throughout the world in connection with its achievements in high-tech areas of industry. Especially here, computer and information technologies developed.

Small firms that include two or three employees in their staff have grown rapidly, turning into companies with more than one thousand employees. In 1981, more than eighty companies worked in the territory where this technopark was located. These are such giants as Polaroid and Hewlett-Packard, the aerospace firm Lockheed and other industrial leaders.

Since the 80s in the US, technoparks began to appear in large numbers. They contributed to the development of those regions that were covered by unemployment and the economic recession. And today in America there is the largest number of these industrial-scientific zones. In number, they make up one-third of the world number.

Emergence of technoparks in Europe

A wonderful idea crossed the ocean in the 70s of the last century. It was during this period that the Scottish Edinburgh University established the Research Center. Similar organizations began to develop in Cambridge at Trinity College, in Belgium under the Leuven-la-Neuve, etc. The technopark movement in Europe was significantly intensified due to the crisis that erupted in the 1980s. It was then that in order to help the problem centers of the coal and textile industries, Margaret Thatcher ordered the creation of a whole network of industrial zones in the UK at the operating universities. This idea justified itself. And to date, in England, about fifty technoparks work successfully. There are they in other countries of Europe. On its territory such formations are about 260.

European technology parks, which include two thousand different innovation centers, used in their development overseas experience. This allowed them to go a shorter way of becoming. "Business incubators" in a short time won great popularity. Their services were used by small companies and private companies, as well as public sector organizations. What role did the technopark play in this? It was the link between industry and research.

Techno-park movement in the Middle Kingdom

The American experience in creating unique industrial zones was picked up by China. In this field, the country has achieved stunning success, attracting the attention of the world community. The accelerated development of knowledge-intensive industries in China became possible thanks to the active participation of the state.

Already in early 1986, the government approved a program for the development of technology and science. It identified the priority sectors that should include the technopark. The Center for Cosmonautics, Informatics and Electronics, Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, fiber-optic communications and energy-saving technologies for the project was to be located on this site. In addition, it was planned that the industrial and scientific zone will include the production of medical equipment.

Government Assistance

Two years later, a program called "Torch" was launched, which was the next stage in the project, according to which it was planned to build an industrial park. This was the next decision of the government of the country, whose goal was to commercialize and industrialize the successes already achieved in the creation of science-intensive technologies. The program "Torch" involved production capacity, the value of which exceeded $ 25 billion.

With the implementation of this project, such technopark zones were created that, apart from developing the latest technologies and promoting their products to the external and internal markets, played a huge role in attracting foreign investments and advanced developments.

The first Chinese technology park is the Beijing Experimental Zone, located in the province of Haidan. Since its opening, held in 1988, the country has already created 120 such formations. At the same time, fifty percent of them are working for government orders.

The Chinese government has rendered a huge help in the creation of technology parks. And it was expressed not only in significant amounts of financial injections. At the government level, preferential terms for doing business in these zones were also established. This reduction or complete exemption from income tax, benefits for capital construction, as well as the possibility of duty-free import of imported equipment.

The world techno-park movement

In the eighties of the last century the idea of creating scientific and industrial territories was experiencing a real boom. Technoparks began to be created not only in economically developed countries. Their construction has developed in Australia and Singapore, India and Malaysia, Brazil and Canada, as well as in many other countries.

The beginning of the construction of industrial parks in Russia

The creation of industrial and scientific zones in our country took up in the 80's and 90's. It was a difficult period when, in connection with the crisis that had broken out, the state ceased to finance sectoral and applied sciences. One of the opportunities to retain qualified personnel was the idea of creating a zone on which the technopark should be located. The Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Tomsk, the Ministry of Higher Education of Russia, the State Committee for Education, as well as large enterprises, became the founders of the first of such formations. This technopark was state property.

Later, there was a reform. Technopark became JSC. At the same time, the share of state property in its statutory fund decreased to 3%.

Post-Soviet period

Young technoparks in Russia were experiencing great difficulties. They were affected by the lack of management experience in the changed economic conditions. In these years, the industrial and scientific zones have not been able to make a breakthrough in the creation of new technologies. This was the time when any enterprise faced the task of surviving elementary. Technoparks in such conditions were considered as institutions that can receive state support.

In 1990, a program of the Ministry of Economics "Technoparks of Russia" appeared. It was calculated for five years. However, financing under this program did not allow buying real estate and organizing all necessary infrastructure. For allocated amounts, some universities deployed only commercial activities that were far from scientific.

The further work of the state

In the same years the Association "Technopark" was created. Before it was set the task of studying and adapting foreign experience to the conditions of Russia. In addition, the Association was supposed to conduct the propaganda of the creation and operation of technology parks as an effective link in supporting and developing small businesses of an innovative direction.

In this work, the Russian government provided not only material but also legislative assistance. However, there was an opinion that no tax breaks should be used by the technopark. Production in it must be carried out under the same conditions that prevailed throughout the country. It was assumed that otherwise such zones would easily turn into internal off-shores, where assets would be deduced.

By the mid-nineties the program "Technopark" in Russia continued to gain momentum. The number of such zones grew. Their creation took place on the basis of scientific centers belonging to the state. However, among these formations there was a certain stratification in development. The most advanced were the scientific parks of Tomsk and Moscow, St. Petersburg and Zelenograd, Chernogolovka and Ufa.

Technopark in Saransk

Proceeding from the accumulated world experience, it can be said that the technopark is a special economic zone with a rapidly developing science-intensive industry. That is why such units are under special government control, the task for their development was set by President Putin in 2005. Five years later, the development of a federal program for the creation of industrial and scientific zones in the sphere of high technologies was completed in Russia. For today in our country twelve technoparks have already opened. It should be noted that in December 2014 the implementation of the federal program was completed in full. It is assumed that the budget efficiency of all technoparks will be within 55%. At the same time, they will produce at least 12% of export products.

Another project

One of the objects of the federal program was the complex "Technopark Mordovia." Its construction was started after Putin signed a corresponding decree issued on September 12, 2008. The total area of this structure is about 6000 sq.m. On its territory are located companies that develop software, as well as those organizations whose activities are related to the information environment and the creation of databases based on modern technologies.

By the end of 2014, the second stage was put into production at the Technopark Mordovia. To date, fifty-one resident companies are successfully operating throughout the territory of the zone, providing 1,634 workplaces. The total annual revenue of the technopark is 1 billion rubles.

Technopark in Togliatti

The largest scientific and industrial zone in Russia is the Zhiguli Valley. This is an industrial park, built near the city of Togliatti. The area of this zone is 65,000 square meters. The main areas of work of the technopark "Zhigulevskaya Dolina" are telecommunication and information technologies, energy saving and energy efficiency, transport, chemistry, as well as developments in space exploration.

To date, there are 22 companies working here, the number of which should grow to hundreds in the future.