A management group of Kazan University’s small business enterprises undertook an internship at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland from 13 to 26 October, 2012.

The internship programme was intense. Daily lectures were combined with workshops done by business coaches, managers of successful innovative companies, representatives of other Scottish universities: University of Edinburgh, University of Glasgow, University of Dundee, University of St Andrews. The members of the delegation visited the largest research centres, technology parks, business incubators and IT-parks of Scotland (Edinburgh Bioquarter, Alba Innovation Centre, a business incubator of the University of Dundee, Institute of Medical Devices and Institute of Photonics at the University of Strathclyde, etc.).

During the visit Vice-Rector for Innovations Nail Kashapov took part in meetings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Such meetings are held twice a year. Among the invitees are prominent scholars, successful entrepreneurs from Scotland who founded startups based on the Scottish universities, the winners of Enterprise Fellowships (the grant program which was designed to support research and business ideas). Olga Kozlova, a graduate of Kazan University who currently works at the University of Heriot-Watt, is the grantee of Enterprise Fellowships.

Nail Kashapov discussed options for potential cooperation in science and education with honorary member of the Royal Society, Dr. David Ritchie and Dr. Derek Shepherd from Heriot-Watt University who owns a solid company in the field of wind turbines manufacturing. Dr. Ammar Zaher (the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow), a grant holder of Enterprise Fellowships in the field of energy development, has shown interest in cooperation with Kazan Federal University in the petroleum sector.

Mr. Kashapov also considered the possibility of signing a trilateral agreement of cooperation between Kazan Federal University, Tomsk State University and  University of Heriot-Watt in training specialists in the production of heavy oil.

As the result of the internship, it was agreed to sign a Memorandum of Understanding between Kazan Federal University and Heriot-Watt University. The signing of this document will establish cooperation between institutes and faculties of the two universities in the field of computer technology, oil and gas, physics and other sciences.