On November 27, a press conference was held dedicated to the first ceremony of presenting the National Prize in the field of future technologies “Challenge”. Gazprombank is one of the co-founders of the new award. In his speech, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Gazprombank Dmitry Sauers stated that the bank is ready to take part in creating infrastructure for the transfer of scientific ideas into the economy, as well as its readiness, together with major companies, to create an endowment fund to support science, R&D and technologies of the future.
“Gazprombank traditionally works on the development of national science and technology. In the early 2000s, we supported large knowledge-intensive enterprises, and now they form the basis of technological sovereignty. Another example is quantum technology. We started by supporting a group of scientists who were engaged in fundamental science, and now our country is one of the leaders in this field. The Challenge Award is a new stage in Gazprombank’s belief that science must be supported in its early stages. Our task is to provide a transfer, an “elevator” from the scientists’ idea to the product and the market. Therefore, we plan, together with other partners, to create a kind of incubator or accelerator of scientific ideas that will be commercialized tomorrow and will be needed by all of us,” said Dmitry Sauers.
He also added that the bank is considering creating an endowment fund together with partners: “Such a task is beyond the power of one organization, so large corporations need to unite and create transparent financing instruments. It is very important to start with a high-quality selection of ideas and build an infrastructure – from venture funds to classic project bank financing. Today, our common goal is to create technology leaders in new industries.”
The Challenge Prize is timed to coincide with the Decade of Science and Technology announced in 2022 and is designed to recognize fundamental breakthroughs, ideas and inventions that change the landscape of modern science and the life of every person. The prize will be awarded in the categories “Scientist of the Year”, “Engineering Solution”, “Perspective” and “Breakthrough”. The monetary component of the award is 10 million rubles in each category.
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