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The perspectives of university spin-offs formation in Russian socio-economic reality
For maintenance of the accelerated development and increase of efficiency of economy, for perfection of social structure of regions each country needs qualified experts. At the moment education becomes more and more focused on individual interests and requirements of the separate individual, and what is especially important, on interests and inquiries of business. Thus, the formation of the regionally focused educational establishments is topical.
Changes in an education system have led to gradual introduction in educational process the so-called campus technologies, assuming development of a network of student's and academic cities, to development of the distributed educational institutions. The distributed educational institutions use new educational technologies, such as training with use the Internet, optical networks, systems of videoconferences, etc. The distributed university is a type of multilevel system consisting from scientifically-administrative kernels and networks of the educational centres united by flexible system of delivery of the educational resources. Management of such higher schools is based on use of network technologies, network communications and relations, and educational activity is focused on individual interests and requirements of the separate individual, and that is especially important.
This phenomenon was known at business level years ago. The distributed universities actually represent one of forms of the organizations – the network companies. In the modern world in quickly changing environment such organizations are capable to use optimum knowledge and also internal and external relations which the company has. Scales of growth of the network organizations, mass distribution and use of Internet technologies allows speaking about a world scale of network economy.
In comparison to classical type of hierarchically built bureaucracy these network structures unite two key distinctive features: fusion borders of the organization and a support on informal relations of trust. Thus expenses for overcoming of spaces it is compensated by expenses for connection to network resources and the organization of effective access to them. The support on informal relations of trust assumes the optimum organization of process of maintenance.
Transition to a competition on the basis of the intellectual capital and formation of economy of knowledge creation of such relations between employees who would stimulate them to an exchange of knowledge and experience with each other have demanded, and also formed requirement to share them with the organization as a whole. All above becomes competitive advantage and with the minimum costs to mobilize expert resources under a specific target.
Such possibilities cannot be got for money and in short terms – their creation demands no information purchase, but formation of relations of trust inside and outside the company. Thus, studying of the social aspect in network universities is connected as with mechanisms of successful realization of projects of modernization of centralized educational system (federal one in Russia). The social capital is a resource in which other resources in expectation of the future profits on investments can be invested. Just as investments of the capital into industrial sphere are capable to
make profit, and investment in the human capital is capable to increase the price of labor, the expenses necessary for creation of social communications, are productive. These expenses allow using possibilities of a social network for the decision of problems which could not be solved in another way or their decision would be less effective.
Universities have always been considered important players in the process of transferring knowledge and technology to the industrial sector especially for their contribution to regional development. This role has historically been dominated by the granting of patents by universities to outside parties, but this is not the only way to gather benefits from commercial exploitation of academic discoveries; the university spin-offs (USOs) may indeed be considered an alternative, surely efficient, way of exploitation of scientific research.
In Europe, the attention to this type of technology transfers is found both in regional politics, that perceive the USOs as an important mechanism of development of university-industry relations and creation of jobs and wealth in academic circles whose aim is to obtain the best results out of university research, as it was specified in the European Trend Chart on Innovation in 2002.
The significant increase we have witnessed in recent years towards these realities observed by researchers from many countries (Fici, Veld, Merkulova, Surlemont) is due primarily to the new role that universities are taking about commercializing their researches or in other words to their new, more entrepreneurial, approach. Secondly, it is linked to the lack of stable positions in universities, a factor that pushes the researcher-entrepreneurs to expand their possible range of activities beyond the mere academic role and, finally, it is important to underline that the increasing autonomy of universities will enable them to decide freely whether to endorse and support the development of USOs.
Actually, in modern Russia the bases for the successful development of this phenomenon have been created. It consists, first of all of the innovational infrastructure: Investment funds, Russian venture company, Bank for development and external economic activity (Vnesheconombank), joint corporations in the defence branches of industry, technological parks, business incubators, regional venture funds of investments into small business in scientific technical sphere. Before crisis the volume of venture investments amounted to 653 million dollars. Thus, the purpose of our research consists in analysis of conditions and elaboration of recommendations for the USOs development mechanism as well as assessment methods of their efficiency. The analysis based on the international and Russian experience is aimed also to verify the possibility of best international practices adoption in the Russian industrial tissue.
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