Through the thorns of development or the joy and pain of Russian electronics development

I will begin my story with the words of the classic – “All happy families are alike, each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way”; each direction of development has more sensitive places, and for some these same places are less sensitive, but the problems are the same. This article is not written to denigrate or scold, but to point out and highlight those problems that are poorly visible to a person who is not experienced in electronics development.

The main and most significant problem that permeates the entire development path is this is a massive lack of competence, and not any specific one, but from a larger number of individuals who are in one way or another connected with the development. Starting with the sellers of this equipment and ending with managers who must analyze the modern electronics market, formulate new requirements, promote initiatives, manage industries or projects, it is this state of affairs that has for a long time been and will continue to restrain the development of an entire industry in Russia.

Of course, as usual, the problem of a cracked house begins with the foundation.

First problem – these are universities:

1. Outdated and ineffective training programs.

2. A small number of practical classes and a small amount of equipment for work, which leads to a huge gap between theory and practice.

3. There is an extremely low number of specialists who know the current situation in the world of electronics and are able to convey it competently.

4. A small number of programs to popularize and attract everyone who cares about this industry.

Some of these problems are due to the huge bureaucracy, the lack of ability to expel everyone who does not have the knowledge and desire to learn, the lack of updating of the legislative framework regulating the policies of universities and the lack of understanding of a ready-made specialist and what he should be able to do.

Second problem – this is a “brain drain”, and this problem has become comprehensive both on the part of experienced specialists and on the part of those who graduated from university yesterday.

This problem is related to:

1. With a lack of prospects for the development of specialists. The main employer, whatever one may say, is the State – all kinds of research institutes, NGOs, factories, etc.

   Here development lasts from 2 to 5 years, developers generally do everything and, of course, the good old tradition of promotion through dismissal, so there is no need to talk about development here.

   PS Not every institution is like this, there are exceptions, but most institutions have such problems.

2. With the absence of government support, only programmers are supported in Russia, although the time required to train those who develop hardware for programmers and their volume of knowledge is higher.

3. Isolation from the global electronics development community and inability to implement global practices. In a dynamically developing area, this factor for specialists is extremely important for their development, and as a consequence, the development of the industry.

Third problem – this is not a competitive salary, the thesis is related to the lack of support. It can be interpreted in different ways, but in my opinion, as long as a young engineer only has enough money to rent a room and eat, people will leave or change their profession.

Fourth problem – this is an insufficient number of competent managers, lack of proper construction of the development structure, inaccuracy in setting tasks and organizing the development itself.

Now it’s time to give examples of situations where a lack of competence in development leads to what I wrote at the beginning, a lag in development and ineffectiveness in general of development in Russia.

At the moment, the “ballroom” story rules the roost. Let me explain for those who don’t know: for domestic developments, the Ministry of Industry and Trade assigns a certain number of “domesticity” points; the more points, the more tenders you can participate in and win. It would seem that everything is very correct, that’s how it is, but there is a nuance: these very points are awarded in a very strange way.

Let me give you an example.

A small module on a domestic controller, which will only adjust the brightness of the light bulb depending on the room illumination, will score approximately the same number of “domestic” points as a motherboard developed on Intel i9 with Gen 4, so 90% of “Russian” motherboards that you you can see on the market – these are purchased Chinese projects that are assembled and tested in Russia, as a result. Some specialists are looking for companies that continue to do this, and some are leaving the country. And it turns out that Russia’s initiative to start producing its own electronics is de facto funding Chinese developers and saturating other countries with developers of different stripes and the level of our experience.

As Korolev said, “If you criticize, suggest.”

The proposals are as follows:

1. Education reform:

   • Updating training programs taking into account modern technologies and market requirements.

   • Increasing the number of practical classes and providing laboratories with modern equipment.

   • Involving practitioners in teaching.

   • Popularization of electronics among young people through Olympiads, competitions and exhibitions, clubs, sections, social movements

2. Specialist support:

   • Creation of professional development and advanced training programs.

   • Increasing funding for research institutes and ensuring competitive salaries.

   • Promoting the integration of Russian specialists into the international community through conferences, joint projects and exchange of experience.

3. Infrastructure development:

   • Creation and support of technology parks and incubators for startups in the field of electronics.

   • Ensuring availability of production facilities and equipment for development and testing.

4. Governmental support:

   • Introduction of tax incentives and subsidies for companies involved in the development of electronics.

   • Development of programs to support not only programmers, but also electronics specialists.

   • Stimulating the localization of production and creating favorable conditions for domestic producers. (Not those who are engaged in buying Chinese projects, but those who actually develop electronics)

5. Improving the “domesticity” assessment system:

   • Reforming the “domesticity” scoring system to reflect real development contributions.

   • Increasing transparency and fairness in the distribution of government contracts.

These measures will help create favorable conditions for the development of electronics in Russia and increase the competitiveness of domestic developments in the world market.