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Will a new tech innovation hub rise on the outskirts of Moscow? The Russian government is dropping billions–and hiring Cisco–to power their own innovation hub. The ultimate goal of the new innovation city outside of Moscow, dubbed the Skolkovo Project, is to create a smart, dynamic hotbed for technology ventures.
The Russian government put about $300 million into the project in 2011 and is expected to invest about $4 billion by 2013. The city already has a new academic institution modeled after Stanford and influenced by MIT, called the Skolkovo Moscow School of Management. Beyond the school, the Skolkovo Inograd (innovation city) is a planned innovation hub with big ambitions.
Skolkovo is more than a science or technology park: it is a full-fledged city, though it is a special city in which creativity is the rule rather than an exception; a prototype for the city of the future. The Innovation Centre plans to ensure optimal conditions for research and business as well as create a rich and aesthetically appealing urban environment that is equally convenient for both guests and residents. The city’ s main backbone elements will be the University and the Technopark. Alongside them will be a Congress Centre, various office and laboratory buildings, apartment buildings, fitness centres and stores
Fast Company Co.Exist blog published an overview of the Skolkovo Project.