In Irkutsk Region, the UMNIK program final will be held for the first time, where young innovators of Angara can compete for Bortnik Foundation grants to develop their projects. On September 20, at the Young. Innovative. Creative conference, 20 selected developments will be presented, from software solutions and new materials to robotics and devices for industry and utilities. Five most promising authors will receive 200 thousand rubles a year for two years to bring their ideas to results.

Young innovators of the Angara region will receive funding for the development of their projects from the Bortnik Fund for the first time. For the first time in the Irkutsk Region, the final of the “Participant in the Youth Scientific and Innovation Competition” (“UMNIK”) program will be held. The conference “Young. Innovative. Creative” will take place on September 20 as part of the 13th Russian Venture Fair, where the best projects of the UMNIK program participants will be presented. The event is organized by Irkutsk State Technical University, the non-profit partnership “Technopark of IrGTU,” the Russian Venture Capital Association, the administration of Irkutsk, and the Government of the Irkutsk Region.
“In April of this year, the NP ‘Technopark’ of IrGTU received the status of ‘Permanent Representative of the Foundation for Assistance to Small Innovative Enterprises in Science and Technology,’ or more simply, the Bortnik Fund, which allows us to hold events under the Fund’s programs,” says Vitaly Ruposov, Director of the Technopark of IrGTU. “UMNIK is a well-proven methodology for training future entrepreneurs in the field of innovation. The program has very good nationwide practice; thanks to UMNIK, many worthy small innovative enterprises have emerged. Before becoming the Fund’s regional representative, we actively participated in its programs. Over the past three years, 4 innovative enterprises of IrGTU have received funding under the START program, and five UMNIK participants have become recipients of grants for the development of their projects.”
Vitaly Ruposov said that a total of 20 projects have been admitted to participate in the conference. The list of authors includes students, postgraduate students, and young scientists—representatives of Irkutsk universities, small innovative companies, institutes of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and Bratsk State University.
“The topics of the presented projects are quite broad: there are software products, there are works in the field of producing new building materials, nanotechnologies,” notes Vitaly Ruposov. “However, engineering-oriented developments still predominate—devices for the needs of various sectors of industry and housing and utilities services. For example, a robot for diagnosing oil pipelines, an intelligent lighting control system, a device for locating and monitoring tourists to ensure their safety, a universal compact machine for housing and utilities services, and others.”
All conference participants underwent a competitive selection process. A competent jury reviewed their applications and assessed the novelty and relevance of the idea, the technical significance of the presented product or technology, as well as the feasibility of the project’s commercial implementation. As a result, the authors of the best works were given the opportunity on September 20 to personally present their ideas to the conference’s expert council. The expert council includes representatives of the Foundation for Assistance to Small Innovative Enterprises in Science and Technology, business specialists, heads of small innovative enterprises, and scientists.
Five young innovators whose developments seem most promising to the members of the expert council will receive the main prize of the competition—funds for project development in the amount of 200,000 rubles annually for two years.
“For the first time, the Foundation for Assistance to Small Innovative Enterprises in Science and Technology is giving young people of the Irkutsk Region a chance to develop their activities in the field of innovation. With the grant funds, the competition winners will be able to bring to completion the research and ideas they are working on today,” emphasizes V. Ruposov.
Based on materials from the press service of the administration of the city of Irkutsk