Perm Engineering and Industrial Forum

2014 turned out to be very productive in the scientific and practical Forums on social and economic development and other issues related to the analysis of the situation in the Russian Arctic. It is enough to mention a few of them: St. Petersburg, 10—11 December 2014 — IV International Forum “The Arctic: Present and Future”; 12—15 November 2014 — II International Arctic Legal Forum “Preservation and Sustainable Development of the Arctic: Legal aspects”; Yakutsk, 26—29 November 2014 — International scientific and practical conference “The Arctic: Prospects of Sustainable Development”; Arkhangelsk, 8—10 October 2014 — International scientific conference “The competitive potential of the northern and Arctic regions”; Murmansk, 29—30 May 2014 — V All--‐Russian marine scientific and practical conference “Russia's national interests and the economy of marine communications in the Arctic” and etc. These Forums discussed the whole range of significant and important issues of the development of Russian Arctic and North.

It would seem that the Forum in Perm is not directly related to the Arctic. However, the problems of the new industrialization, the transition to the 6th technological mode, the training of engineers and the creation of new jobs are not just relevant and carry a powerful charge of innovation, but also have a direct effect on the future of the Russian Arctic and the North of the country, all units of the Russian Federation.

Issues discussed at the Forum and its recommendations are particularly relevant in relation to the rest of us experiencing financial and economic crisis, the need for restructuring the national economy, search for efficient market model and the use of scientific and technological capacity, high--‐quality training of engineers and the use of technologies of the sixth order. The emergence of new jobs, especially now, in crisis times, is becoming a priority in the everyday activities of the federal and regional administration.

In the speech of the Perm Regional Governor V.F. Basargin it was mentioned that the idea to hold the engineering and industrial Forum was not an accident [1]. Prikam’e (Kama region) could be called a mini--‐ model of the real sector of the Russian economy with its typical achievements and problems. The region has been the military and industrial center of Russia for centuries and now it is experiencing modernization. Here we have large scale investment projects of the “Perm scientific and production instrument--‐making company”, JSC “Proton--‐PM”, “Perm motor factory”, ”LUKOIL”, “Uralkalyi”, “Uralhim”

and etc. wit t e total

amount of several hundred billions of rubles. The region is active in creation of perspective clusters, IT clusters’ projects, chemical cluster, techno polis “Novyi Zvezdnyi” and “Fotonika”. It is expected that in the future the products of air and space companies, chemical industry, production of energy (both traditional and alternative), biotechnologies, IT and the leading position will be occupied by engineering, especially the one connected with industrial production [1].

Really dramatic changes occurred in Russian economy, in V.F. Basargin’s opinion, when specialist with economic and humanitarian education became the leaders. In Soviet times managers were mostly people with technical education, now they are educated managers. Scientists and people with technical education are the reserve of the present management processes. As the result we are facing a number of problems:

• I.    First . An acute need in professional engineers, technicians and middle level managers at

the workplaces. So, in the next few years only in Perm Region will feel a lack of more than 1,000 engineers a year.

• II.     Second . Fall of technological culture and discipline.

• III.    Third . The inertia of thinking of those professionals that have adapted to the existing control system, have lost the desire to look for new ideas and have forgotten reasonable risks.

• IV.    Fourth . Reducing impact of technical intelligentsia on the social processes.

• V.    And the most important , the backlog level of scientific and technological production in the

areas that the government has not been able to maintain or where responsible business has not come [1].

It is obvious that the future is for the engineering professions, connected with the development of the 6th technological order, which means the creation of a special type of products of the “new economy”. Understanding this, Perm Region created the regional system of the strategic forecast”; and the Program of the social and economic development of the region has measures for diversification supported by the entire regional cooperation and aimed at prioritizing engineering professionals instead of economists, lawyers and managers. “Today we are sure that during the period 2014—2020 Perm regional companies will need — I am giving absolutely accurate number — 7,785 engineers of a new type. Among them: 2,120 engineers — for machine building complex, 2,150 engineers — for chemical industry, 1,170 — for oil and chemical industry” [1]. New type of formation is going to become the military industrial complex, uniting the Suvorov’s college, other colleges, military institutions and departments of the national universities, established on the factories. This would contribute the close development of education and production and creates the proper environment for scientific and innovative activities.

The Forum set not only the task to create the unified system of engineer education, adopted for the requirements of the modern economy; train teachers for educating new engineers; to involve the scientists and technical intelligentsia in modernization of economy and management, but also to give a real chance for the country and its regions to set the tasks for training engineers and to understand their role in the Russian society. “Algorithm is clear in general. There is a technical forecast for the development of Russia until 2030. It allows evaluating the demand for engineers and technical specialists and to prepare the education system for fulfilling this demand--‐ to establish the adaptation system for new specialists and to provide them with the proper level of salary adequate to their creativity and ability to use perspective technologies — and as the result to bring up the status of “engineer” [1]. It is necessary to use the experience of the institute of “professional engineers”. The person with such a status has a license for the state responsible bodies. The license could be got only by using and developing new technologies, innovations and creative approaches. There was an idea to hold a competition

Engineer of Russia”. Some other interesting suggestions and ideas revealed at the Forum.

Modernization of the Russian economy, transition towards the 6th technological order — these topics were the most discussed at the round table discussions at the Perm engineering and industrial Forum. On the second day of work, the representatives of the state, leading Russian engineers and scientists tried to define the principles and condition of “new industrialization” at the section “Engineer or Manager?” They spoke about changes of the global trends, “great convergention”, and stabilization of the economic and demographic growth in the world, quality of the human resources: money, materials, space, people and information. The discussion was attended by Sergey Malkov, the leader of ANO “Center of strategic nuclear power” of the Academy of the military sciences; Evgeny Loginov, deputy director of the Institute for the market problems RAS; Sergey Malenko, director of the department for the civil rights and special programs of the Perm Region governor’s administration and other experts [2].

Materials of the other sections, final documents of the first Perm engineering and industrial Forum, held on the 6--‐7 of November 2014 are available at: /fotogalereya/itogovyj--‐buklet--‐ and etc. Published “Perm thesis — 2014” contains some significant statements:

• 1.    It is necessary to support the reorganization of the innovative clusters on the territory of the Perm Region.

• 2.    It seems to be important to recommend the development of an interbranch program aimed at forming the professional scenarios for the representatives of various social groups to understand the objectives of the 6^th technological order.

• 3.    The Forum participants agreed upon the necessity to create the supportive environment for intellectual production, including the processes of creative communication, analytical, expert and project activity; to coordinate applications for the use of experimental base, equipment and infrastructure

• 4.    The Perm region intends to establish a strategic center to decide the issues of strategic analytics and management assistance in order to meet the challenges of the 6^th technological order and to define the management structures and sources of financing for experimental projects.

• 5.    Also the Forum discussed the possibility to host the robo--‐technical factory, including the idea to buy a new factory by the Perm Region.

• 6.    In 2015 the second Engineering and technical Forum is going to be held again and its topic will be “new industry” and its planning [3].

• Global society meets the 6^th technological order

  The question of transition towards the 6^th technological order was widely discussed at the Forum and on the Internet in the “Perm thesis--‐2014”, where technological gap between Russian and the rest of the world within the 5^th (financial and information) order was the major issue as

well as the risk to stay in that situation and the real opportunity to become the semi--‐colonial state. So, the only decision is to move towards the 6th order without developing the 5th [3]. The 6th technological order makes the question of the “new type industry” extremely important for Perm and Perm Region. This fact means:

V Introduction of people-free technologies, robo-technologies and the relevant educational and migration policy.

V New organization of a “comfort creative environment” combining the global interaction and one area of living, like the CB--‐settlements.

V Making priority living and professional scenarios for different social groups.

V Complex production of goods (territorial clusters, cooperation)(so-called “engineering” approach)instead of “effective” global distribution of production and “spots and components” (“technological” approach); change towards small serials of production.

V Fast production of a “unique products” with the factory methods.

V Development of the IKT, bio- and nano-technologies of production; construction of materials, when production of material with the set properties becomes an important part of new engineering.

V Environmental care should be changed by the rational resource use, i.e. closed production cycles when using non--‐renewable resources [3].

Problems of technological orders were discussed at the other Forums as well. In 2013--‐ 2014, for example, there were “Technoprom--‐2013” and “Technoprom--‐2014”. On the 4--‐5 of June 2015 in Novosibirsk there is going to be the International Forum for technological development “Energy of technological development”1. On the web page Technoprom--‐2013 you can find the figure “6 technological orders” that allows to see the dynamics of technological development.

The concept of 6 technological orders is now widely recognized. The basic principle for this concept is the theory of “long waves” introduced by N.D. Kondratev (1892--‐1938). Academic RAS S.Y. Glazev connected the deep changes in techniques and technologies of production with the change of technological orders [4].

Picture 2. S.Y. Glazev. Change of technological orders and common economic development. URL:

The frame of the 6th technological order is forming now in some of the developed countries, first of all in the USA, Japan and Korea and is characterized by the use of “high technologies”. In Russia even the widening of the 5th technological order is an imitation. This happens on the basis of foreign resources and limits the opportunities to develop our own technological base [4]. The share of 5th order technologies is about 10% and it is only in the developed area of production: military production and air and space industry — as it was pointed out by academic RAS E.N. Kablov. More than 50% of technologies refer to the 4th order and almost 1/3 — to the 3rd order. Next 10 years we need to devote to the development of the 6th technological order and skip the 5th one [5].

Academic RAS S.Y. Glazev in his monograph “Strategy of the advanced development of Russia and the global crisis” (2010) explained the suggestions on modernization and advanced development of the Russian economy based on new technological order as a key element of the anti--‐crisis policy. The main problem for the Russian economy is the not adequate institutional structure that stops the development and reduces its capacity. “Existing structures, starting from the training system and ending up with the panning methods of the state scientific and technical policy, aimed at reproduction of the previous technological order and do not meet the requirements and abilities of the new kind of development” [4]. Perm Region is positive example of transition towards the 6th technological order, in my opinion.

Achievement of the 6th technological order is not the target for Russia. It is a question of survival, development of its economy, national security, and international status of the country and welfare of its people. “If we would not consider the will of some officials to keep the visibility of their importance, there were no obstacles on the way. Only a political will and some time are needed, of course” [5]. Unfortunately, the crisis 2014--‐2015 shows that there is only some time left for modernization and technological changes go on very slow. Russia is late with the establishment of the 6th technological order. Meanwhile, we are able to observe the origins of the 7th technological order based on cognitive technologies, when the human consciousness is the productive force like the science was [6].