The first International Forum “Transport science: innovative solutions for business”, organised by Business Dialogue with support from Russian Railways, opened on 22 March 2011. The forum will run for two days, 22-23 March 2011, at the Renaissance Monarch Hotel.

The International Forum “Transport science: innovative solutions for business” has brought together at its venue leading specialists from the world of transport and representatives of the scientific and business communities in order to discuss innovative principles for developing the industry as a single entity.

The key themes of the forum are: strategic areas of development in scientific policy, scientific and technical solutions as a market product, global trends in innovative solutions for railway transport, priorities in innovative activity, and ecological factors in competition on the transport market.

Vladimir Yakunin, President of RZD, sent a letter of support to the event’s organisers in which he drew attention to the fact that the forum would significantly assist the development of mutually beneficial partnership between business, science, education and government bodies, and make a practical contribution to the development of transport science in Russia. Vladimir Ivanovich also commented on the situation in the transport industry today: “The transport industry’s requirement for innovative solutions is growing every day. This is a result of the need for accelerated technological development of railways in order to make them more competitive within the Eurasian transport system. Issues concerning the efficient application of the achievements of scientific and technical progress and the recognition of science as one of the fundamental components of an innovative economy are coming to the fore.”

Yuri Osipov, President of the Russian Academy of Sciences, noted in his letter of support that scientists, together with representatives of state structures and the business community, were due to discuss the new principles for a development strategy for the transport industry which were first drawn up at the Russian scientific and practical conference “Russia’s transport at the turn of the century”. The participants in the event would be able to examine the principles of organising and running transport systems, developing a legal and regulatory framework, seeking ways of commercialising the results of scientific and technical activity, and making transport science more attractive to scientists and business.

A press conference will take place as part of the event programme on 22 March, featuring Boris Lapidus, Doctor of Economic Sciences, Professor, Chief Executive Officer of the Russian Railway Transport Research Institute, Chairman of the International Union of Railways (UIC) International Railway Research Board (IRRB); Vyacheslav Solovyev, First Deputy Director of the Russian Federal Nuclear Centre (the All-Russian Research Institute of Experimental Physics, in Sarov), Director of the Institute of Theoretical and Mathematical Physics (ITMF); and also Jerzy Wisniewski, Director of the Fundamental Values Department of the International Union of Railways (UIC).