Digital Technologies Consortium

History

2021: Creation of a consortium

Kazan National Research Technological University (KNITU) and Softline have created a consortium for the joint development and implementation of digital solutions in the field of chemistry and petrochemistry. Softline announced this on November 17, 2021. It included the design institute KNITU Soyuzkhimpromproekt and the federal engineering company System Solutions. The areas of cooperation within the Digital Technologies consortium are focused on the development and achievement of the key goals of the Digital Chemistry strategic project. The project perimeter includes solutions from the Softline Digital digital laboratory, which received high marks during piloting at industrial customer sites.

KNITU has developed and presented a program, during the implementation of which the university plans to create a single digital open educational environment. In this environment, the management of data and the quality of education, the digitalization of all auxiliary processes, as well as the management of the level of quality of education and business processes of the university will be organized. Among the strategic projects included in the university's development program, the Digital Chemistry project was presented. In accordance with it, the university will develop and implement promising technological solutions, train personnel for the digital transformation of the chemical industry, including in cooperation with large international companies.

To implement the key objectives of the Digital Chemistry strategic project and expand the portfolio of domestic software products, which will include solutions created within the consortium, Softline plans to create investment-intensive areas with the participation of the university team and business representatives.

The project opens up opportunities for the university and its partners for cooperation based on the principles of industry 4.0. In particular, university specialists, together with experts from Softline Digital, will continue to refine the digital platform - a machine learning system that allows you to predict the results of processes and calculate optimal production management. Softline Digital Lab specialists have expertise that will allow them to use predictive analytics for complex technological industries to model and implement the digital twin of the industrial process.

Softline plans to attract both the consortium and students to participate in the projects. The provider has extensive experience working with students from various universities. Softline Digital specialists teach at the departments of Moscow State University, the Higher School of Economics and the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, teach diploma students on real projects. Digital laboratory experts are also actively involved in Olympiads and hackathons on Data Science and artificial intelligence. Such close work with universities is aimed at finding and attracting new talented personnel from leading universities in the country. Thus, KNITU students will receive not only theoretical, but also practical knowledge that they can apply in real production processes.

We are confident that within the framework of a consortium created jointly with KNITU, we will be able to combine the potential of science, education and production. On the part of Softline, an important resource is the digital laboratory, which is the center of our industry development and application of data analysis technologies based on artificial intelligence and IoT (Internet of Things) for the real sector of the economy. It is important to note that Softline Digital implements not only application projects. The specialists of the division have scientific degrees in the relevant fields, all developments are accompanied by scientific publications and participation in projects with leading universities. We expect that by joining forces, we will be able to develop solutions that have no analogues on the Russian market - this includes, for example, the study of the carbon footprint from the enterprise, based on the processing of satellite images. Thus, thanks to the rich experience of KNITU in the field of chemistry and petrochemistry, we provide a cumulative effect in the digital transformation of the industry. I will add that the Digital Technologies consortium is open to cooperation with other universities and industrial enterprises in order to develop a wide variety of industrial projects, create joint thematic laboratories, including those not directly related to chemical topics, "said Denis Klimin, Head of Corporate Clients Department at Softline.

We have set ourselves an ambitious goal of becoming one of the world-class chemical technology universities that cannot be achieved without consistent digital transformation. And we are pleased that our partner has become the global provider Softline - an expert in the field of digital transformations of both business and educational institutions. In cooperation with the company's digital laboratory, we intend to solve a number of problems, including creating and bringing to the market competitive solutions that meet the needs of the industry. On the part of the university, an important contribution to the consortium's activities is the participation of our Soyuzkhimpromproekt design institute, which has accumulated vast industry experience in projects for leading companies in the oil and gas and chemical sectors. The institute's portfolio of companies contains various petrochemical facilities that will use the development of the digital industry, "added Yuri Berkman, director of digital technologies and administrative services at KNITU.