en.Wedoany.com Reported - Softline Group (ПАО "Софтлайн", referred to as Softline), an innovation-focused investment and technology holding company, has signed a tripartite agreement with the Ministry of Information Technology, Communications and Digital Development of the Chelyabinsk Region (Минцифры Челябинской области) and South Ural State University to create a robotics capability center in the region.
Under the cooperation agreement, Softline Group will provide its proprietary domestic RPA platform, offer methodological support for educational projects, and assist in process analysis and robotics scenario development. The group will also provide test licenses, enabling students to operate directly within the information infrastructure of regional government agencies. This arrangement aims to help the region's state institutions accelerate digital transformation through process robotics while cultivating a pool of qualified talent capable of long-term maintenance of the implemented solutions.
According to the terms of cooperation, the Chelyabinsk Region's Digital Development Ministry will act as the initiator of departmental process digitalization tasks, while South Ural State University will serve as the core education and talent partner, responsible for training specialists and enabling students to develop software robots in teaching and practice.
The implementation of this project is expected to bring measurable strategic benefits to the Chelyabinsk Region. Results from similar projects show productivity growth by multiples. In public administration, citizen application processing times have been reduced by 40% to 60%, the proportion of routine operations has decreased, and the probability of human error has been minimized.
Based at South Ural State University, the region will establish its own training center for robotics and artificial intelligence. The use of a no-code platform allows students to participate in robot configuration without relying on external developers, thereby significantly saving budgets when implementing digital solutions and handling peak loads without expanding staffing. University graduates will build a talent pool for the public sector and business fields, forming a sustainable university-employer-region chain that retains talent in the South Ural region.
Igor Fetisov (Игорь Фетисов), Minister of Information Technology, Communications and Digital Development of the Chelyabinsk Region, emphasized that this agreement is part of the region's systematic development strategy as a technologically mature area: the government sets digital transformation tasks, enterprises provide tools and expertise, and universities become talent cultivation centers. This synergy brings significant competitive advantages to the South Ural region, accelerating the application of robotics in public administration while cultivating a batch of highly qualified talent in demand across government agencies, IT companies, and industrial enterprises. In the long term, this approach will consolidate the region's position as one of the leading centers for national digital transformation and technological independence.
Igor Kravchenko (Игорь Кравченко), Sales Director for the Russian region at Softline Solutions (Softline Group), stated that the cooperation will help ensure the region's technological independence and digital maturity. The capability center created jointly with the Chelyabinsk Region's Digital Development Ministry and South Ural State University can promote best practices in the field of artificial intelligence transformation. This project will optimize resources and improve the efficiency of daily work across various departments.
Alexander Wagner (Александр Вагнер), Rector of South Ural State University, noted that signing the agreement with the regional Digital Development Ministry and Softline Group is an important step toward achieving the digitalization strategic goals of the Chelyabinsk Region. The university's participation in implementing business process robotics technologies will contribute to improving the regional public administration system and drive the cultivation of in-demand IT talent with unique experience in advanced domestic solutions.
