We started to speak the same language

National Science Centre – Kharkov Institute of Physics and Technology (NSC KIPT) – is the longest established and largest Ukrainian centre of nuclear science and technology, and a participant in the British Closed Nuclear Centres Programme since it first began to function outside Russia. KIPT’s Deputy Director for Economics Vladimir Chizhov, is a regular participant in CNCP Conferences, and we asked him for his thoughts on the prospects for promoting the economic development of the Institute, what results had been achieved, and what outlook he saw for further collaboration with CNCP.

Vladimir, how relevant is support from CNCP for the Institute?

KIPT has participated in CNCP for the last four years. The disastrous 90s, when every Ukrainian scientist saw himself as a potential businessman, were followed by a period of reflection. And, thanks to CNCP, a systematic approach to the process of bringing scientific and technical advances to the marketplace emerged. Knowledge in the field of business-planning, marketing, and business English acquired through the Programme, led us to look differently on the products which we produce. For this we are extremely grateful to the CNCP specialists and to their leaders, Trevor Hayward and Patrick Gray. Moreover, the annual conferences and thematic seminars organized within the framework of the Programme – such as this Conference – provide us with an almost unique opportunity to exchange experience with colleagues from other former Soviet states.

What in your opinion has changed since KIPT first became involved in CNCP?

The fundamental change is that we have started to speak the same language. We have arrived at an understanding of what this kind of commercialisation of science means, and our British partners have come to understand the Ukrainian mentality and the difficulties facing countries whose economies are in transition. And this mutual understanding is what guarantees successful further work.
If the Programme started by focusing in Ukraine on the establishment of small business structures for the realization of scientific results, today, we are closer to a shared understanding that the commercialization of science may be achieved in a variety of forms – private business, spinning out to separate state sector enterprises, self-sufficient commercial businesses, or sub-units within the scientific centre itself.
Оne such commercial unit within NSC could be a business incubator, whose purpose would be to support operational functions relating to knowledge intensive production.

How, in your opinion, should a large institute, with a large stock of complex equipment, act so as to bring about sustainable development?

The successful development of any large institute develops out of many сomponents. That, and the struggle for support from government, participation in government tenders and international grants, the development of its own commercial activities, and the establishment of a sustainable circle of direct customers for the discoveries and products in question are the key factors. This last issue must be addressed by the Commercialisation Unit, which was created two years ago in KIPT with the involvement of CNCP. Scientists must do science and businessmen, business. The Commercialisation Unit is a bridge which unites these two banks of the river.

What are the tasks for the KIPT Commercialisation Unit and what are its prospects?

I see several tasks for the Commercialisation Unit. First, it should analyse what products and services we can offer, who needs them and how they should be positioned on the market. A start has already been made with this task through the establishment of a data base of commercially promising KIPT discoveries. Second, the Unit will, I hope, take upon itself certain specific functions involved in bringing already identified innovations to the market. Third, it must сonstitute the link between academic science and the purchasers of high technology products. The CNCP Programme can offer invaluable assistance for this work, above all through the opportunities which it provides for exchange of experience in the sphere of the commercialization of science and through its educational programmes.