Putin calls for development of research infrastructure in Russia
NOVOSIBIRSK. Feb 8 (Interfax) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for the development in Russia of large international scientific centers like Megascience and participation in promising international projects.
"If we want to be leaders, maintain the global competitiveness of Russian science, we should undoubtedly go further. We need to continue developing research infrastructure, including Megascience," Putin said at a meeting of the presidential science and education council on Thursday.
Russia will continue working on large international projects such as the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland, the experimental thermonuclear reactor in France, etc., he said.
International scientific centers are already working in Gatchina, Troitsk, Dubna, and Nizhny Novgorod, he said. "Such infrastructure should become a basis for the implementation of large-scale research programs, a center of scientific cooperation for the entire Eurasian space," Putin said.
After mentioning the successful work of Russian scientists in international centers in France and Switzerland, Putin said that "we should have such centers of our own."
Putin supported the idea of scientists from the Siberian Department of the Russian Academy of Sciences to create such a center in Novosibirsk. "I believe it's a very good idea, we will think about and will definitely implement this project," Putin said.
"We should continue cooperating with other countries, increasing the openness of our science," he said.
"We need to propose instruments that will make it possible not only to attract outstanding scientists as laboratory heads, but also form powerful research teams in Russia," Putin said.
The mega-grant program functioning in Russia has proven effective, he said. "Mega-grant recipients who came under this program offer such projects to us, they are de facto provided with funding, the only thing left to do is to organize this work properly," Putin said.
Assistance should be given to the strongest scientists and research teams, he said.
"The key principle of state support is the specific practical result of the creation of globally competitive programs and breakthrough technologies," Putin said.
Putin also discussed the fundamental technological changes taking place in the world, saying that the leader will be the country that has technology, knowledge, and skills.
Russia should achieve a breakthrough in science, as well as in other areas, Putin said. "We need to stop supporting ineffective things, old approaches to the organization of scientific work, once and for all," he said.