St Petersburg University holds the final of the Arctic Technology Competition "ArcTech Data Contest"
The Mikhailovskaya Dacha campus at St Petersburg University has held the final round of the first stage of the Arctic Technology Competition "ArcTech 2023". It is part of the Russia’s chairmanship of the Arctic Council. Twenty product teams and IT teams presented test versions of digital services in the fields of urban studies, ecology, and tourism to improve life in the Arctic. The jury included representatives of government organisations, large companies and experts from the Graduate School of Management at St Petersburg University.
Anatoliy Bobrakov, Deputy Minister of the Russian Federation for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic, addressed the participants in the competition with a welcoming speech: ‘The Arctic is a territory of the most considerable challenges. Yet, it is a territory of great opportunities to solve one of the most important tasks of Russia’s development, i.e. ensuring technological sovereignty. The ArcTech Competition 2023 has attracted an incredibly large number of participants from 51 regions of Russia. I am confident that the technological solutions presented at the competition will be in demand by companies and help develop the Russian Arctic.’
The Arctic Technology Competition 2023 at the Graduate School of Management at St Petersburg University is an opportunity to discuss the development of an increasingly popular industry, i.e. engineering management. In other words, we see that experts in specific areas of industry are as important as is an interdisciplinary integrated approach to working in the new conditions.
Nikolay Korchunov, Ambassador-at-Large of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Russian representative in the Committee of Senior Arctic Officials of the Arctic Council
According to Olga Dergunova, Deputy President — Chairperson of the Board of Directors at the VTB Bank and Director of the Graduate School of Management at St Petersburg University, graduates of the Graduate School of Management at St Petersburg University are already working in all largest companies in Russia for the benefit of the Russian Far East and the Arctic. They are also engaged in solving complex tasks, e.g. the implementation of large infrastructure projects and concessions.
The winners of the ArcTech Data Contest 2023 developed applications to increase the availability of quality medical care; track oil slicks and fires; and attract tourists to beautiful, but little-known places in the Arctic. According to the jury, there were many promising projects and companies expressed their interest in some of them.
The main goal of the ArcTech Contest 2023 is to ensure the transformation of scientific and technological developments into digital and engineering solutions for the development of comfortable living conditions for people in the Arctic and increasing the efficiency of the companies in this region. The programme includes three focuses. Among them are the following: "ArcTech Data" (fields: "Arctic Ecology", "Arctic Tourism", and "Arctic Urbanisation"); "ArcTech Science Pitch"; and "ArcTech Engineering".
‘The projects in the field "Ecology" were very diverse: from the development of integrated metrics for assessing physical climate risks to a system for detecting and monitoring environmental problems in the Arctic using remote sensing images. It was also pleasing to see how the participants were immensely interested in the issues of environmental care in the region and how deep they delved into the topic. Despite the time constraint, most of the teams presented, in my opinion, a well-developed MVP and a vision for further development. At the same time, each project was aimed at solving applied and relevant problems. As for the chances of how likely they are to be practically implemented, some solutions, depending on their degree of readiness and innovativeness, might be launched and be in great demand on the market. Several projects, as the jury said when they summed up the results after the defences, can be joined together to provide a more complex and comprehensive product,’ said Andrei Ivanov, manager of initiatives in the field of sustainable development at the Graduate School of Management at St Petersburg University and a member of the jury of the ArcTech Data Contest 2023 in the field "Arctic Ecology".
The St Petersburg University team is taking part in the field "ArcTech Science Pitch". They presented a research project titled ‘Organic electroactive polymers for batteries with improved safety and performance’. The organisers will sum up the results of the competition in this field in November.
The prize fund of the ArcTech Data Competition 2023 is 3 million roubles. It is conducted by the Eastern State Planning Centre; the Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East and Arctic; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and the Roscongress Foundation.