Thus in May 2007, MM wrote in this connection about creating the first Ukrainian technical park in Vinnitsa region. And in May 2008, several offline and online issues including our business project Prostobiz.com.ua spread the information about opening a scientific education-production complex ‘Silicon valley’ on the basis of the National technical university ‘Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute’.
What is the point? ‘Silicon valley’ is the most famous information-technology center not only in the USA, but all over the world. There precisely were created and developed Yahoo and Google. That is why ‘opening Silicon valley’ must mean an attempt to create similar IT-park in Ukraine. Of course, everybody starts with something small, but ‘at the initial stage within the project there have been opened 50 new vacancies’ – it’s too little to compare ourselves to the information-technology center of California. If ‘Silicon valley’ is only a name of the enterprise, I can register PE ‘Disneyland’ with the same success, and proudly announce opening the first Disneyland in Ukraine.
There has been in the world practice an experience of successful opening techno parks similar to American Silicon valley. Indian techno park called Electronics city is the city where taking land and infrastructure for rent is allowed only for the companies of IT-sector. The government of India was actively supporting and stimulating the city’s development by financial aid.
Similar situation exists in China too. A friend of mine who has to go on business trip to the Celestial Empire rather often tells that the government of China pours a lot of money into their ‘Silicon valleys’. And we speak not about investments put in hope of getting more money some time later, but about financial aid. Within the government programs techno park in Hefei received 2 billion dollars for development.
Thus, the governments of these countries have been actively supporting development of ‘Silicon valleys’ not by word, but by money. As a result, both India and China show significant achievements in IT-sector. Can it be possible in Ukraine? Do we need government support of creating technological centers in Ukraine?
My previous note in the blog received a bunch of comments – from extremely negative to supporting. Thanks to that blog I got acquainted with the new people – IT-professionals and just interesting interlocutors who were actively commenting the raised issue, and answered my questions. I would like to thank all people commenting in mails and personally. And even Vladimir whose furious flow has given food for thought as well.
One of people I communicated with, Evgeniy, thinks that ‘having current level of economic development all that Ukrainian government can do is not to interfere the development of private companies. Direct public investments in a branch are impossible at the present stage, we can only increase public order of preparing engineers of a certain technical direction, having appropriate applications from commercial structures, and give some benefits to software producers. Using experience of India and China is possible circumspectly as the costs of preparation and salary expectations of specialists are significantly different’.
It is a very reasonable thought, but I can’t agree with it 100%. Public programs of India and China showed good results. Even taking into account considerable difference between our countries, I believe the support from government could at least move from the dead point implementation of idea about Ukrainian IT-parks.
As it is known, silicon implants are used to enlarge breasts. The result might look beautiful, but, in general, the breasts swollen by silicon is a kind of a soap bubble, but not the real flesh. And Ukrainian silicon valleys appear to be simple inflated bubbles.
