ASI and ITMO National Research University to support environmental and green economy projects
The Agency for Strategic Initiatives (ASI) and the ITMO National Research University have signed a cooperation agreement. The signatories were Alexander Smekalin, the Head of Regional Development Block, ASI, and Vladimir Vasiliev, Rector of ITMO University.
The ASI’s unit “Young Professionals” and the Center for Initiatives for Tourism Development, Ecology and Climate changes, together with the Greentech of ITMO (Faculty of Energy) and will provide for the projects’ implementation aimed at addressing global issues of improving environmental safety, reducing human impact on the environment and climate, as well as supporting projects of pre-university training and development of competencies in the field of environment and green economy among young people.
“An important field of cooperation between the Agency and the leading ITMO University is the identification, all-round support and practical implementation of most perspective technologies and solutions in the field of energy efficiency, energy saving, “green energy” development, waste recycling, decarbonization of real economy sectors, as well as solutions aimed at adapting to climate change. Such solutions tend to help in creation of an ecological and climatic friendly environment in all regions, that has already become one of the national priorities of our country.” said Maksim Evdokimov (Deputy Director, Initiatives for Tourism Development, Ecology and Climate, ASI).
“Thanks to the partnership with GreenTech ITMO, we are getting strong support for sorting out urgent challenges of environmental education, pre-university training of pupils, including within the framework of profi-guidance groups in such subjects as chemistry, physics and ecology (scool of young ecologists) on the basis of the supplementary education center for pupils – GreenTechSchool ITMO,” mentioned Yuliya Khanzhina (Deputy Head of Young Professionals Direction, ASI).
Representatives of Greentech ITMO have already taken an expert part in supporting the project of creation the cutting-edge educational and scientific center in Kamchatka, called “Oikumena”, as well as in the framework of the Green Economy track of the intensive Archipelago 2121 in Veliky Novgorod.
ASI is also going to provide information and partner support to GreenTech Start ITMO – a project, aimed to involve talented young people in solving scientific and technical issues of the enterprises, interested in development of power engineering and “green technology”. The project stimulates innovative business development by creating new products and solutions made by teams of students and postgraduates of Russian universities commissioned by customers. Such cases have already been provided by Splat Global, Jacobs Dau Egberts Rus, Sberbank PJSC. Students and postgraduates of universities from all over the country are going to be involved in the process of solution.
Igor Baranov (Director of the Megafaculty of Biotechnology and Low-Temperature Systems) has announced that ITMO’s GreenTech Start project provides the industry with an opportunity to get readily developed solutions to current issues, allows companies to choose the best employees among young professionals for further employment., The project provides experience in working on factual cases for talented and active young people.
“The Agency for Strategic Initiatives has great resources that allows, together with industry leaders, to implement major initiatives by comprising the efforts of universities, business and the state.” said Igor Baranov, he also mentioned that “Joint implementation of Greentech projects is going undoubtedly to lead to effective results in the near future.”
Cooperation plans also include development of cooperation with the Agency for the Development of Professional Skills (Worldskills Russia), including early career guidance, practical training programs for students and retraining of teachers; promotion of youth entrepreneurship and associated development mechanisms; the use of services and the implementation of projects of the NTI 20.35 University, as well as joint activities using the infrastructure of the Boiling Points network and the Leader-ID platform.