Vesti-24 > October 7, 2009 > VESTI, 18:18 > Interview with the Minister of education and science of the Russian Federation Andrei Fursenko

PRESENTER: The serious barrier for Russia's serious engaging in nanotechnologies is deficit in personnel. Such an opinion was expressed yesterday by the president Dmitry Medvedev at the 2nd international nanotechnologies forum opened in Moscow. The need in specialists for our country is 100-150 thousand people. On how this sphere will be mastered in future, what conditions will be created for special education, my colleague Alisa Romanova has found out with the Minister of education and science Andrei Fursenko.

KORR: Andrei Alexandrovich, good afternoon! There is such an opinion, than Russia has nano-science, but has not yet nanotechnologies. What is your attitude to this opinion? Is it true?

Andrei FURSENKO, the Minister of education and science of the Russian Federation: One cannot exist without the other. There are nanotechnologies. And the exhibition which you have seen, it shows that there are many developments, which are on productive level now. Let us remember new composite materials. The same light-emitting diodes. There are many interesting things in the medicine. The other thing is that, unfortunately, the scale of these commercial projects is not sufficient for such a country as Russia. And, I think, it does not correspond the level of knowledge, science which exist in Russia today.

KORR: Today the president opens the exhibition. He spoke that in perspective in 2015 with the possible volume of investments and the size of nanotechnologies market in Russia, the country would need about 100-150 thousand people, specialized in this very sphere. How is this figure real? Do we have this personnel? And where are they trained, where are nanotechnologies taught in Russia?

Andrei FURSENKO, the Minister of education and science of the Russian Federation: Firstly, nanotechnologies are interdisciplinary subjects. And that is why people who work today in the field of pharmacy, biotechnologies, new materials, creating new devices, they are simultaneously, it is possible to say, nanotechnologies. And there are tens of thousands of such people in Russia, I think. The other thing is that fast development of this sphere demands new quality of personnel. That is why some of these people will be trained, and are being trained already today, practically starting from school. And some people, I suppose, will be retrained. These are people who have good fundamental education in the field of natural sciences, at this very different sciences, and who will be interested in this new direction. And, perhaps, through magistracy, perhaps, through some special courses they will get new knowledge, master new base of devices and transfer to this sphere.

KORR: Are there any nano-biotechnological faculties on the basis of known economic universities?

Andrei FURSENKO, the Minister of education and science of the Russian Federation: There is, maybe, the first faculty of nano-bio-cognitive technologies, which has been created in Moscow physics and technical university together with Kurchatov institute. A very strong faculty of new materials, practically a faculty of nanotechnologies exists in the university. In Moscow engineering and technical institute this direction is developing very fast. In the Institute of steel and alloys, which is represented at the exhibition very well, too. I have named Moscow universities. I can name universities of other regions, There are some, there is Polytech is Petersburg, Saint-Petersburg mountain institute, in which there are works on nanotechnologies. There are very strong schools in Tomsk, at this as academic schools, academic institutes, as in universities, in polytechnic and state universities. There are very interesting works in Belgorod. There people from different regions of Russia have moved, from Tomsk, so some people have got back from abroad, and this direction is developing very fast there. So if I start to list places at which there are chairs, faculties, oriented at nanotechnologies, there are tens of them, which put a net on the whole Russia.

KORR: But today there are many talks in general connected with nanotechnologies, during which many things have been said about brain drain and possible coming back of the specialists, who work in countries leading in the sphere of nanotechnologies, about their coming back to Russia. How is it possible? And how can we attract them by these scaled projects?

Andrei FURSENKO, the Minister of education and science of the Russian Federation: I have cited several examples. Why are those people coming back? Rather normal everyday conditions are created for them. But the main thing is in good equipment and in a very good work with this equipment. At the same time I can say that the state is making certain concentrated efforts. Recently the contest on granting those our compatriots, who are ready to work simultaneously in Russia, has been finished. The condition, which we put in these grants, is simple: so that a specialist would spent at least 2 months a year in a Russian scientific institute, would work with young people at the university. I can say that more than 100 grants have been given. The contest was - 8 applications for 1 place. It means that the interest of our compatriots to this joint work, and, I think, it will grow.

KORR: I have the last question to you. Recently Barack Obama has made a statement, a rather sensational one, that America can be driven out of crisis only by science. We are now, speaking about the crisis, talk about the banking system, the financial system, about investments and so on. And there is a feeling, that we are forgetting sciences a little. For Russian conditions, how much is this situation possible? Is science possible, scientists, can they help to drive Russia out of financial difficulties?

Andrei FURSENKO, the Minister of education and science of the Russian Federation: You know, when Barack Obama spoke that science could drive out, he meant not only, perhaps not so much, a fundamental science, though money should be invested into it. He meant what went after the fundamental applied science. These are innovations, this is commercialization of technologies. As you heard, the situation with it in Russia is worse a little, than in the USA. And Rosnano, this is one of the instruments, which will let change the situation. You know, that in spite of the very crisis situation, financing Rosnano has not been lessened. Moreover, yesterday the resolution of the government was signed, that Rosnano would attract additional money from the market. Such a right was given. It means that in Russia as well the decision of the country leaders is that the innovative development path is the path on which we will not just go out of the crisis, we will built our post-crisis economy. How shall we build it? There are many instruments? And including those, of course, through direct state financing. But we should simultaneously control efficiency of investments together with the increase of financing. It does not mean that each ruble should bring real commercial profit. But it means that each ruble, invested to the fundamental science, should give a new quality of our researches. If we manage to do it, then, I think, we will not envy the USA, but the USA will envy us.

KORR: Thank you very much for this interview.