On July 7, the second day of the Innoprom-2026 international industrial exhibition, South Ural State University, in the presence of Chelyabinsk Oblast Governor Alexey Teksler, signed a number of cooperation agreements. The university’s partners include a consortium led by LLC “Metran Project”, PJSC Rostelecom, Softline PJSC, and the Government of the Chelyabinsk Oblast. In pursuance of the agreements, projects will be developed in the areas of industrial robotization, the digital transformation of government agencies, and the creation of a domestic testing ground for predictive automatic control systems.
A four-party agreement has been signed by LLC “Metran Project”, SUSU, the D.I. Mendeleev All-Russian Institute for Metrology, and Scientific and Research Centre of Applied Metrology – Rostest. The document formalises the initiative of creating a testing ground for predictive automatic control systems. The parties are joining forces to conduct R&D, standardise and metrologically support domestic hardware and software systems utilising artificial intelligence methods.
“The signing of this agreement is a milestone event for our university. The creation of a unique industrial testing ground—in cooperation with colleagues from Metran Project, the D.I. Mendeleev All-Russian Institute for Metrology, and Rostest—marks a brand-new stage in the development of domestic instrumentation. For SUSU, this agreement is strategically important. We are bringing together the university’s strong scientific foundation, the fundamental metrology leaders of highest competence, and the practical experience of the real economy sector," noted Rector Alexander Wagner. “We are glad that SUSU will be part of this big project. Joining efforts will make it possible to create a single professional space, the results of which will be beneficial for the development of the entire instrumentation industry.”
Special attention was given to information security and integration of solutions with existing control systems at industrial enterprises. The main goal of the project is assistance in the development of domestic instrumentation and strengthening Russia's technological sovereignty.
A cooperation agreement was signed by SUSU Rector Alexander Wagner and Director of the Chelyabinsk branch of PJSC Rostelecom Yevgeny Makagonov. The document formalises the parties’ intention to jointly develop robotic systems for industrial automation. The project involves three parties: SUSU is developing the software, the Robotics Factory of the Chelyabinsk Forge-and-Press Plant Group is manufacturing the equipment, and Rostelecom is acting as an integrator, ensuring the implementation of the solutions at enterprises. Pilot projects are planned at factories in the Chelyabinsk Oblast, with subsequent expansion throughout Russia.
“Robotics is becoming a key growth engine in the Southern Urals. Our distributed network and experience in digital production systems allow us to connect the capacities of Chelyabinsk Forge-and-Press Plant and the scientific and human potential of SUSU into a single chain—from development to operation. This is a systemic response to the challenge of technological sovereignty, where each participant strengthens the others. We are interested in the rapid development and competitiveness of domestic robotics. Thus, Rostelecom will contribute not only as an integrator, accumulating experience in the implementation and use of robots, but also as a solution provider improving the efficiency of smart machine production.”
Another agreement is a tripartite one. SUSU Rector Alexander Wagner, Minister of Information Technology, Communications, and Digital Development of the Chelyabinsk Oblast Igor Fetisov, and Director of Regional Sales at Softline PJSC Igor Kravchenko signed a strategic partnership agreement.
“Our partnership will contribute to the region’s technological independence and digital maturity. Together with the Chelyabinsk Oblast Ministry of Digital Development and the South Ural State University, we are creating a competence centre that will allow us to replicate best practices in AI transformation. The project will optimise resources and enhance the efficiency of government agencies’ day-to-day operations,” said Igor Kravchenko, Director of Regional Sales at Softline Solutions (Softline Group).
The document envisages the creation of a regional competence centre for robotic process automation (RPA) at SUSU and the training of qualified specialists for the digital economy. Students of the university will be involved in the development, testing, debugging, and implementation of software robots in the activities of executive bodies of the Chelyabinsk Oblast as part of their educational process and practical training.
“The signing of the agreement with the regional Ministry of Digital Development and Softline PJSC is an important step in implementing the strategic digitalisation objectives of the Chelyabinsk Oblast. As a national research university, it is crucial for SUSU to ensure that our scientific competencies and expertise find direct practical application. The university's participation in the implementation of business process robotisation technologies will make a significant contribution to joint efforts to improve the region's public administration system and will provide a strong incentive for the training of sought-after IT specialists with unique experience in working with cutting-edge domestic solutions,” noted Rector Alexander Wagner.
All three agreements were signed as part of the Innoprom-2026 business programme and are aimed at developing industrial cooperation, import substitution, and training personnel for the digital economy.