Rogozin: Russia to Create Own Version of DARPA

Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin. (Credit: A. Savin)

Via Russian Ministry of Education and Science

The Military-Industrial Commission (MIC) will soon consider a bill to create a fund that will seek innovative technologies to the domestic military-industrial complex (MIC), Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said.

“In the near future, the MIC for the government to consider the documents prepared by us to create an appropriate fund,” he said at a meeting with rectors of the leading technical universities in Russia.

The Vice Premier said that this fund will be analogous to the agency DARPA, acting at the U.S. Department of Defense.

“We are talking about creating some kind of predator, which will identify the university, research center of the most interesting, groundbreaking, innovative proposals, which could be used for the development of defense industry,” said the Deputy Prime Minister.

He expressed the hope that after going through all necessary procedures in the government bill is passed by the Parliament and approved by the Federation Council.

In turn, the head of Education and Science Andrei Fursenko said that his Ministry has prepared a number of innovations to resolve personnel problems in the defense industry enterprises.

“We propose to move from the reception of the target when the contract is concluded between the university and a specialist, a tripartite agreement: the employer-university-student,” said the Minister.

According to him, in the new scheme, the employer will not be easy to expect a professional, but in time he learns, will give him “some social support.”

“Most importantly, he will have to provide an attractive working place after graduation,” Fursenko said.

Thus, he says, will solve two basic problems with the training specialist for “defense”. Its low popularity of the faculties that prepare students for the defense, and the failure of graduates go to work in the specialty of the end of high school.

Fursenko said he hoped that the bill be passed before the basic law on education.