Partnership Announced: Saint Petersburg Electrotechnical University "LETI" and Finnish Company TEKLAB

Improving quality and cost-efficiency of training in nanomaterials world-wide

At the Moscow RUSNANOTECH 2011, ETU and TEKLAB announced their partnership in commercializing the NanoLab, a highly cost-effective nanotechnology education laboratory for trans-disciplinary training of nanomaterials synthesis and analysis at universities.

The novel laboratory solution NanoLab is optimized for higher education and eliminates the need to use costly research-class laboratory equipment for student training. The standardized educational content and special software developed by ETU allows professors and other teaching staff to devote more of their time to teaching and research, instead of developing their own laboratory assignments. TEKLAB’s workstations with integrated equipment represent the state-of-the-art in functional design, safety and technical performance.

Strong players in nanotechnology research and educational laboratory design have joined forces

As an internationally recognized nanotechnology research and education institution ETU has developed a cost-effective, multi-disciplinary Nanotechnology education laboratory. NanoLab enables efficient training and research activities based on standardized set of laboratory exercises. Moreover, ETU plays a leading role in standardization of nanotechnology education in Russian universities.

TEKLAB specializes in providing modular and multipurpose electric workstations and laboratories for industry and education.  TEKLAB has delivered more than 1 000 complete laboratories or workshops with over 20 000 workstations to more than 100 countries since 1981. TEKLAB possesses deep knowledge of customer requirements in demanding industrial and educational environments. TEKLAB's unique modularity provides a perfect platform also for nanotechnology teaching purposes. Moreover, TEKLAB's multipurpose and mobile possibilities enable theory lessons and laboratory practice in the same facilities, if required.

The NanoLab partnership is the first university-industry commercialization project in the framework of the Finnish-Russian Innovation Alliance on Nanotechnology funded by the Finnish Foreign Ministry’s Finland - Russia Neighborhood Programme and coordinated by Spinverse Ltd. The programme is supported by Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation between Finland and Russia.

NanoLab – a trans-disciplinary nanomaterials education and research environment

NanoLab consists of up to 12 workplaces, covering both nanomaterial synthesis and analysis. The workplaces can also be used for research projects by students and graduates, as well as for small-scale production for prototyping and proof-of-concept. So far, the workplaces cover gas phase processes (ALD, carbon nanotube synthesis), liquid phase processes (Langmuir-Blodgett, sol-gel technologies), electrochemical synthesis of nanoporous materials (Si, SiC, Al2O3etc), DNA amplification by PCR, as well as methods for analysis of nano-objects such as optical microscopy with probe diagnostics, scanning electron microscopy, atomic-force microscopy, ellipsometry, EPR-spectrometry and capillary electrophoresis on chip. NanoLab has been successfully tested within engineers training on Nanotechnology and Characterization course.

The NanoLab solution is built around ETU’s standardized educational content and software developed by leading scientist of each area of study, using both off-the-shelf and custom-designed hardware. TEKLAB unites all the components into one functional and logistical solution and ETU offers necessary technical support in installation, commissioning and user training. A NanoLab user community will help to gather customer feed-back and best practice experience and keep the NanoLab constantly up-to-date as new technologies, materials and educational methods evolve.

NanoLab will be available for deliveries from the beginning of 2012.

Professor Victor Luchinin, scientific supervisor: “We at ETU Nanocentre are proud of the NanoLab concept and educational content developed by our leading lecturers and researchers. The unified laboratory guarantees high educational standard and allows training specialists who can leverage their theoretical knowledge in practical work in research and industry”.

Mr. Esko Horelli, CEO of Teklab Ltd. “NanoLab allows TEKLAB to expand its solution portfolio from world-leading electronics laboratories to new materials related education and research and serve an expanding customer base in Russia and world-wide”.

Comments Mr. Pekka Koponen, CEO of Spinverse: “This partnership demonstrates how combining Russian science with Finnish commercialization expertise creates mutually profitable business. Spinverse is proud to have brought together world’s oldest Electrotechnical university ETU and the leading electronics laboratory vendor TEKLAB.”

For more information, please contact:

Prof. Victor V. Luchinin, Saint Petersburg Electrotechnical University “LETI“ (www.eltech.ru),tel. +7 (812) 234-1682, cmid_leti@mail.ru

Mr. Esko Horelli, CEO, TEKLAB Ltd. (www.teklab.fi), tel. +358 (40) 5588147, esko.horelli@teklab.fi