On December 19, 2024, the INNO Technopark in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, hosted the conference “Points of Attraction: Technologies. Partnership. Future” organized by Skoltech and the Agency for Strategic Initiatives (ASI) with the support of the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Innovation of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and the Agency for Strategic Reforms under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

The Point of Attraction project was presented to the President of Russia at the plenary session of the Strong Ideas for New Times 2024 forum organized by ASI and Roscongress earlier this year. The idea of creating centers of excellence to develop top-notch skills based on high technologies was among the top ten of 30,000 ideas submitted to the forum.

Point of Attraction aims to train and retrain human resources in high-tech sectors in EAEU, BRICS, and other partner countries. The centers will provide a platform for joint research and development, innovation, and international cooperation.

“The launch of the Point of Attraction in Tashkent marks a new milestone in the development of bilateral cooperation between Russia and Uzbekistan. Our platform will facilitate cooperation between the research, technological and academic communities of the two countries, providing a conducive environment for consolidating the best solutions aimed at developing advanced capabilities and promoting innovation. The project will help unlock human and technological potential, strengthen ties between our countries, and ensure steady progress in key sectors of the economy,” said Andrey Shket, the head of strategic partnerships at Skoltech.

“We are launching an international Point of Attraction to provide training and transfer of state-of-the-art technologies in high-tech industries in Russia and friendly countries. The center will meet the region’s public and private workforce and technology needs by working with universities and development institutions to identify and retrain specialists based on Russian technologies. This will provide companies with access to talent pools, innovation, and international cooperation, while helping the state to reduce labor shortages, balance the labor market, promote innovation, and strengthen international ties,” said Yaroslav Paunov, the head of the Human Capital Development Division at ASI.

The international conference, which coincided with the opening of the first center of excellence, was attended by representatives of DOM.RF, DOM.RF Technologies, Rosatom’s Corporate Academy, the Skolkovo Foundation, Human Capital Development, and VEB.RF. The participants reviewed the main goals of the center and discussed the prospects of joint work and ways of introducing cutting-edge technologies into the country’s economy. The opening was concluded with a thematic session presenting innovative Russian solutions ready for practical implementation in the region.

“Point of Attraction is a unique platform for sharing knowledge and opportunities. The fact that the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology and its endowment fund, as well as the Big Data Center, are involved in the project creates a unique opportunity for synergy between many of our academic centers. This project is valuable not so much for addressing the labor shortage issue for individual participants as for creating an environment for in-depth scientific research based on the exchange of technological excellence,” said the First Deputy Director of ASI at the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

 Source: Agency for Strategic Initiatives.