South Ural State University has become one of the four winners of a grant competition to create Industrial Robotics Centres. In total, universities and enterprises will be allocated 1.1 billion roubles to develop solutions in robotics, integrate robotic systems into industrial enterprises, launch academic programmes and train specialists.
A total of 28 applications from universities and companies from 18 Russian cities were submitted to the grant competition. Each contestant presented a program of activities for the Centre developed in accordance with the requirements and indicated the amount of funding required for its implementation.
"I would like to thank for the enormous support during the work on the application, which our university received from the Governor and the Government of the Chelyabinsk Region, as well as the Minister of Science and Higher Education Valery Falkov," noted Rector Alexander Wagner. "Our industrial partner, PAO ChKPZ and the Russian Robot Plant are participants in this project, and accordingly, integration solutions, developments, and academic programmes are planned to be fully focused on the products of the Russian Robot Plant."
Over the course of three years, SUSU will receive almost 319.3 million roubles, which will be used to purchase equipment and components, develop human resources, and design new technological solutions in robotics. In total, funds for the creation of the Centre will be received until 2027, after which the Centre should become self-sufficient.
"SUSU confidently holds the leading positions in the field of industrial robotics development in our region. We are actively implementing relevant academic programmes at the Faculty of Mechatronics and Robotics," said Alexander Wagner. "And the received state support will allow us to enter the real industrial sector, scale up our developments and become a full-fledged centre of competence in robotics in the entire Ural Federal District."
Industrial robotics is one of the main areas of the Intelligent Manufacturing strategic technological project within the frameworks of the implementation of the PRIORITY 2030 federal program. The reconstruction of one of the laboratory buildings is in full swing. It will house the machine park, three cells for the integration of robots and an open-space office for staff. In the future, it is planned to scale up the project at the premises of the World-class Inter-university Campus in the city of Chelyabinsk.