The Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation has summarized the results of the competition for the formation of regional centers for scientific and technological development of machine tool construction within the framework of the federal project "Science and Personnel for the Production of Means of Production and Automation." The winners are Omsk State Technical University (OmSTU) and Novosibirsk State Technical University (NSTU). Each of them will receive a grant of 9 million rubles. In 2026, two new centers will begin operations at the universities in the Omsk and Novosibirsk regions.
Tasks and Goals of Machine Tool Development Centers
Key tasks of the centers:
- ensuring technological leadership in the field of production of means of production and automation;
- coordination of interaction between educational, scientific, and industrial organizations;
- formation of a qualified industry request for research and development (R&D).
The centers are designed to become a link between fundamental science and the real sector of the economy, accelerating the introduction of domestic developments in machine tool construction.
Earlier, from February 16, 2026, the Foundation for Assistance to Innovations, together with the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, opened applications for the "Development-Machine Tool Construction" competition. Machine tool manufacturers can receive up to 30 million rubles for the development of new products. Both mechanisms—grants to universities for the creation of centers and direct subsidies to manufacturers—work to achieve the goals of the federal project on import substitution in the machine tool industry.
For the machine tool industry, the creation of regional centers on the basis of technical universities means bringing science closer to production. Universities will be able to accumulate requests from enterprises and form research programs for them. This should shorten the path from a laboratory sample to a serial machine. For students and graduate students, there are new opportunities to participate in real R&D.
