Professor Mutanov: We need efficient mechanism of science development

 "The country in which the where science and innovations are on the second place will not be the first in any sphere", - he underlined.

 "At the current stage of state development science becomes a productive force as in relation to the economic development of the state as the society as a whole", - Rector of the D. Serikbayev East-Kazakhstan State Technical University, Professor, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Member of the Board of Directors of the Center for Engineering and Technology Transfer, Chairman of the Public Coordinating Council of the National Innovation Fund Galymkair Mutanov contemplates.

 "We will create nothing without science and the progress of society will not move as a whole. First and foremost we must understand this.

 Those countries which seek to be competitive start with generating ideas, scientific knowledge which is implemented into technology, and large technological projects. This is the role of science".

 What is the first thing we need to do before creating the system formula for development of the national science? You have a great experience received that time when Altay technological park and its research base were under construction. Now there is work on creation of the Zone of High Technology which was approved by the President. Why does it appear so difficult to put this idea into practice?

 Any scientific knowledge must be embodied in an end production; otherwise it will lose its meaning. That is why the issue of transformation of a scientific idea into an end-product should have an accurately developed mechanism, the mechanism of "transformation of knowledge into a final product. We should create an infrastructure in order to find application of this knowledge in practice and turn this knowledge into a final product. That is what technological parks do whereas the Zone is a more complex variant where a scientific and educational cluster is created. This is one of the forms the state will stimulate and support for research and innovative projects. The zone is clearly distinguished by its boarders and corresponding preferences and benefits are created inside of it. Then an investor will come to this Zone to create enterprises. That is the significance of creation of such zones whereas the technological parks are as some kind of the office for the implementation of the project, from idea to a final product. These is some sort of 'points of growth for new economy' with a corresponding status.

 Have you obtained such a status?

 Unfortunately there is no such law on Zones of high technology in our country i.e. everything depends on the legislative maladjustment. So truly speaking, there is no progress in this issue.

 The most dangerous and difficult thing is that many European countries, Japan and China have already passed this course. It is the third years as such zones are created in Russia. There they are called as technical-introductive zones with corresponding preferences, benefits and state support. They have already got a status and are on their way to certain results.

 We can take China as an example. Such program was implemented in 1988. There they create zone infrastructures; they have working technological parks which are connected with universities; and this is a normal process. In such a manner they have created completely another economy during these 20 years.

 In Russia such technical-introductive zones work with certain preferences whereas this year they have increased the statues of their universities and the last ones can create small innovative enterprises.

 In other words absence of the legislative base hampers implementation of the President's initiatives...

 The priority of present time is high technology and innovations. Here any country should create corresponding conditions. It is turned out that bankers and subsoil users prevail in our country. They could promote their interests and such laws that under present state of legislative norms the state in other branches of economy are still compound and almost impossible for diversification. If we study the situation thoroughly we can see that all the laws in our country support subsoil users.

 We propose, at first to hold a complete inventory for the legislative base as the time is changed including the changes in Kazakhstan itself. We should not be under the subsoil users' thumb; we should create favorable terms for implementation of high technology.

 The Altay technological park has been working since 2004. The themes of innovation projects are diverse, and we have a lot of international connections. What are the most interesting projects being carried through by the park other than famous energy-saving pumps which you presented at the exhibition in Orenburg in the time of the meeting of the Kazakh and Russian Presidents under the near-border forum?

 As for the new connections, we have met with Outotec Finnish Company. And this is due to our President when he held the Forum for Foreign Investors. We demonstrated our park and our possibilities to the guests. They were interested and during two years we were in communication with them. As a result the Research Base Center, laboratories, Engineering and Projecting Center and etc. will be created on the territory of existing plants. The Finnish side will provide us with their technology and the issue is on complex processing of all our wastes, raw material and so on. Europe needs our raw materials and is glad to collaborate with us in order to have access to our resources.