Business Incubator as a Tool for Developing Regional Network Projects of Cooperation Between Schools and Businesses

The chapter describes the work experience of the Penza region (Russia) in support of innovative development in the region. A lot of work is being done in the region to involve young people in innovative technical and entrepreneurial activities. For this purpose, a comprehensive program has been developed in the region, in which schools and business enterprises, universities, and additional education centers cooperate. To coordinate this activity, a special department of youth innovation programs has been established on the basis of the business center. In particular, the objectives of the program include the support of projects of schoolchildren working in cooperation with specialists of enterprises – on the basis of the Centers for Youth Innovation Creativity, during STEM summer schools and other events organized in the region. The chapter describes the mechanisms for supporting techno-entrepreneurial projects of schoolchildren on the basis of a business incubator, and the conditions of the organization, the results, and effects of such activities are analyzed.