OREANDA-NEWS. April 4, 2011. The Innovative Development Center (Innovative Center), which includes the department of research and development, the department for implementation of innovations, and also the department for management of innovations, has been set up at Rostelecom in line with the formation of a uniform management system of innovative and scientific research activity.  The center is to be headed up by vice president of Rostelecom for innovative development Alexey Nashchekin.

The functions of the center will include:  organizing all types of activities involving the company’s innovative development, including the analysis of cutting-edge global technological trends in the field of telecommunications; conducting expert appraisals of promising ideas and projects; performing scientific-research, design and experimental work related to the main areas of the company’s development;  marketing new products and services; creating experimental zones and model networks for testing new technologies and samples of new equipment.

The plan is for Rostelecom to partner in these areas with leading Russian scientific research facilities and institutions of higher learning, major global telecommunications companies, domestic and foreign suppliers of equipment, small and medium-sized innovative companies, high-tech parks and venture funds.

According to Alexey Nashchekin, “The formation of Rostelecom’s Innovative Center, which is to be assigned the role of a key business unit of the company, is in line with the Program of Innovative Development of the merged company.  Implementation of a uniform innovative management system at the company is the response to the mind-boggling pace of change on the telecommunications market”, Nashchekin noted.