Open Innovations: How Russia is Embracing Digital Ecosystems

At the VII Moscow International Forum “Open Innovations” the participants of the business session “Smart means sustainable. Smart city as an answer to global challenges ”discussed how the state should participate in the digital transformation of Russian cities.

The session was attended by Vladimir Yakushev, Minister of Construction and Housing and Public Utilities of the Russian Federation, Edward Lysenko, Minister of the Moscow Government, Head of the Information Technology Department of the City, Boris Glazkov, Vice-President of Rostelecom, Edwin Dinder, Vice-President of Huawei Enterprise Business Group, and other experts.

According to Vladimir Yakushev, Minister of Construction and Housing and Public Utilities of Russia, the introduction of new technologies into Russian cities is a priority task of the Digital Economy national project. The program consists of two parts: “Smart City” and “Digital Construction”.

“The stage at which we are now is the awareness and understanding of a set of necessary tools and technical measures,” said the Minister about the project “Smart City”. - There is an excellent accumulated experience in many countries. We understand what these projects are, but a specific link to the conditions of the Russian Federation is the work we are doing now. ”

Participants said that 38 cities in 33 regions of Russia agreed to become pilot sites for the project. There will experience services designed to help local people feel as comfortable as possible.

The project "Digital construction" involves the creation of a common base of buildings. This will help to quickly monitor their condition and to repair or replace equipment in time.

“Each building has its own life cycle, we want to see this life cycle in numbers,” said Vladimir Yakushev. “New technologies should help to do all this very quickly, efficiently and at the same time economically.”

The outcome of the session was summed up by the CEO of Rusatom Infrastructure Solutions, Ksenia Sukhotina:

“The development and digitalization of the urban environment is, first of all, the involvement of municipalities, business and residents in those processes where, due to digitalization, bureaucratic processes are reduced, savings in the city budget, and cost savings for residents. When combining these three components, all the processes of the “smart city” will motivate for further development, ”she is sure.