Marketing Strategy

R&D Market Strategy

At R&D market the University aims to hire and retain brightest researchers and increase University’s fundamental and applied research funding.

Research activities at SUSU can be grouped around four main disciplines, as depicted in the graph below. Research activities in these disciplines complement each other, nurturing a constant flow of fresh ideas and solutions to diverse scientific challenges. Furthermore, all of these fields of knowledge are inherently cross-disciplinary.

The University will focus its efforts on developing cross-disciplinary breakthrough research areas. These areas of research will produce the greatest number of scientific publications and bring the largest part of the University’s research budget in 2016-2020. These research areas include:

Asteroid impact avoidance (Engineering)
Alternative energy sources (Natural Sciences)
Data mining (Supercomputing)
Molecular mechanisms in the development of chronic emotional stress (Human Sciences)

In concentrating its resources on developing cross-disciplinary breakthrough research areas, SUSU follows the example of the Technical University of Darmstadt, a participating university in the German Exelence Initiative. The University has built up a strong academic reputation across the selected focus areas. The Technical University of Darmstadt stands out for the exceptionally high quality of its publications compared to a relatively low volume.

In Engineering, a critical breakthrough initiative is Aeronautical Engineering, in particular – development of asteroid impact avoidance means. Asteroid impact avoidance is a global challenge for humanity which importance for Chelyabinsk and SUSU is highlighted by the recent large asteroid impact1. SUSU is working on various space vehicles capable to change asteroid trajectory and prevent impact on the Earth, as well as the means to launch these vehicles into space. These research products rely on the University's unique experience in rocket science. This project is implemented together with Makeyev GRTs, a leading Russian rocket and missile manufacturer. Importance of this problem will also foster collaboration with other leading Russian and international organisations in this area, including the Central Research Institute of Machine Building (TsNIIMash), S.A. Khristianovich Institute of RAS, China National Space Administration (CNSA), the European Space Agency (ESA) and the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

The University prioritised the area of aerodynamics and supercomputer-aided modelling of aerodynamic problems. Currently, Russian rocket scientists make virtually no use of modelling, relying instead on a large number of real-life tests. This leads to overspending on R&D, delays in the development of new rockets and a large number of launch failures, which foster an unfavourable media image for the industry. Developing new technologies and bringing supercomputer modelling services to market will give new impetus to the industry and will turn SUSU into a leader in the field of rocketry and rocket design. To achieve the targeted market position the University engages in proactive marketing of its new modelling technologies, participates in high-profile industry projects and offers courses in modelling for rocket scientists. The target annual revenue in this market could potentially reach about RUB 100 million.

Funding for Aerospace Engineering

The University boasts substantial engineering competencies in instrument engineering, diesel engines, and the design of micro-electromechanical systems. Research in these areas is in high demand among Russia's leading heavy engineering enterprises. The University's customers include KAMAZ, Avtovaz, Uralvagonzavod, Urals Diesel Engine Plant, Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant, Urals Design Bureau of

Transport Machinery, Automotive Plant Ural, Kurganmashzavod, and others. In 2014, the total volume of R&D for industry grew more than threefold compared to 2010, reaching a value of approximately RUB 500 million.

A major breakthrough research area in Natural Sciences lies in the field of materials science. The University is working on developing alternative energy sources. One of the workstreams in this area is materials for solar cells (photosensitizers) helping to enhance the efficiency of solar batteries and reduce cost of energy generation. Studies in this field are very popular now and more than 6000 scientific papers are published annually. The University's research team has already achieved valuable results with both scientific and practical applications. Among the University's key partners in this area are the University of St Andrews and Imperial College London. Potential customers for photosensitizers include Oxford Photovoltaics, Dyesol, Exeger Sweden AB, 3GSolar Photovoltaics, and Fujikura.

Other promising areas of research in materials science include additive manufacturing technology for composite materials (3D printing), sorbents, metal-oxide monocrystals and other materials that enjoy widespread market demand. One distinctive advantage setting the University apart from other research centers is its pioneering use of supercomputing for materials properties modelling.

Funding for alternative energy sources

Besides materials science, the University is also engaged in other Natural Sciences disciplines. The most productive areas in terms of high-quality scientific results are geology and optical information technology. In geological sciences, the University works closely with the Institute of Mineralogy of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Miass, Chelyabinsk Region, while in the field of optics its most significant partner is the Institute of Electrophysics of the Ural Division of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Research work at the University is funded by domestic and international scientific grants. The University is striving to boost the total volume of international grants through a newly adopted comprehensive system to facilitate grant applications and fundraising from international sources.

In the Supercomputing, the major breakthrough area is data mining, a technique particularly essential for the comprehensive analysis of Big Data. The research findings in this area has a potential to revolutionize business models of organisations processing large volumes of information, including mobile phone operators, social media networks, banks to name a few.

The supercomputer is at the very heart of the University's research activities, as it can be used to process highly complex calculations in engineering, natural sciences and IT. Supercomputer is also used to provide University’s partners with calculation on a commercial basis. Currently supercomputing revenues constitute 16% of the R&D budget.

Funding for Supercomputing

A major breakthrough research area in the Life Sciences is molecular mechanisms of chronic emotional stress development. In light of the high incidence of chronic stress-related diseases in major cities and the lack of effective ways for relieving stress, these studies are of great importance for modern society. Although this subject is relatively new for the University, SUSU researchers have already published on this topic in top-rated journals and have established meaningful ties within the academic community. Stress studies represent one of the University's cross-disciplinary research platforms, as they call for joint work among psychologists, biologists, and specialists in measurement and tool engineering. The University is collaborating with leading research organisations in this area, including the Harvard Medical School, Leiden University, Edinburg University и New York University.

The achievements of the University's research team in this field provide grounds for optimism, namely the discovery of a drug tolerance mechanism in cases of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) related to abnormal hepatic microsomal oxidation. This is a global priority; to date no other research center with a focus on PTSD has succeeded in obtaining similar data. This breakthrough opens up the possibility of developing holistic approaches to PTSD treatment, encompassing the following:

non-medical therapy impacting hepatic microsomal oxidation (hypoxic training, moderate physical activity, etc.);
development of special medicines that are made efficacious through bypassing the damaged liver and brain-blood barrier;
elaboration of functional nutrition and diets to heal PTSD and depression.

These R&D outcomes will become the basis for innovative products that can then be patented.

Funding of Molecular Stress

Short-term plans include the establishment of a University-based research center with a dedicated focus on studies in this field. Establishing the center will require an upfront investment of about RUB 30 million, after which recruiting international scientists will require expenditures of about RUB 25 million per year. Starting from 2018-2019, the center is expected to attain sustainable financial self-sufficiency due to grant awards from local and international sources, and the commercialisation of innovations.

The University aims to modernise its facilities and provide researchers and students with most advanced equipment, essential to reach world-class level in science and education. SUSU has built powerful, up-to-date facilities that include over 10 world-class research and educational centers and laboratories equipped with unique research equipment. SUSU produces 80% of all educational laboratory equipment made in Russia and boasts the country's most complete and advanced educational laboratory complex.

List of University facilities and equipment

Laboratory description	Equipment	Unique characteristics
Supercomputer simulation	Tornado SUSU	473.6 TFlops (trillion floating-point operations per second) 244 place in Top-500 supercomputers of the world, 6-th in the Russian Federation
Supercomputer simulation	SKIF-Avrora SUSU	117 TFlops (trillion floating-point operations per second)
Research and Education Center for Experimental Mechanics and Aerospace Engineering	LMS calculation-and-experimental facility	The only one in the country complete complex used for frequency-response analysis and virtual structural tests and tests of aerospace engineering systems
Laboratory for testing of full size diesel engines	A set of HORIBA diesel engine hardware	The only facility in the country designed to test full-sized diesel engines with a capacity of 90-1,800 kW at stationary and transient cycles
Optical interferometry laboratory	Femtosecond laser	The only femtosecond laser available in the Urals region
Optical interferometry laboratory	Interferential testing infrastructure	Unique infrastructure for Russia. Lab’s groundwork is not connected with the groundwork of the building and surrounding area, which enables to use of interferential methods for creating photonic structures and light fields with complex distribution of parameters.

To increase the attractiveness of SUSU as a global research and educational center, the University will undertake the following efforts:

Building a 3,000-bed dormitory (the site has been allocated and the building plans drawn up)
Accommodating 20 research laboratories and technology clusters with premises of at least 40,000 sq. m by 2020
Constructing an Innovation Center
Developing a barrier-free environment across University
Improving utilities and enhancing the quality of property management mechanisms based on specific return from their use

The SUSU supercomputer ranks 349th in the TOP500 rating of the world's most powerful supercomputer systems. SUSU plans to make further investments worth more than RUB 1 billion in its supercomputer with the goal of breaking into the rating's top 100 supercomputers by 2020. Plans call for further upgrading the supercomputer's capacity in partnership with high-tech industrial companies. Estimated investment for this project totals RUB 250 million per year. Among SUSU's potential partners are Makeyev GRTs, Uralvagonzavod, KAMAZ, the Institute of Research and Development in Mechanical Engineering, RSC Technologies, and others. The University will raise the necessary funds either through direct investment or through the establishment of a target endowment fund for the supercomputer. If the University continues to develop its supercomputer further solely using its own funds, the results will not be so outstanding. It will only be sufficient to maintain the SUSU supercomputer in TOP500 ranking.