The Arctic is on the verge of a digital breakthrough: SILA Union showcased the future of the northern regions at the Arkhangelsk Forum

The Arctic is opening a new page of development. At the country's largest discussion platform, the III Arctic Regions Forum, held in Arkhangelsk on July 31-August 1, 2025, key issues of the digitalization era were addressed, including how technology can transform the northern territories into a center of economic and scientific growth for the country. In this context, the SILA Union flagship platform demonstrates how modern solutions can address the pressing challenges of the Northern Region, providing more flexible and transparent business process management.

Arctic 2025: Key Vectors
The III Arctic-Regions 2025 Forum brought together leading experts, government officials, business representatives, and scientists to discuss the main issues of Arctic territories development.

For two active, eventful days, Arkhangelsk, the capital of the Russian North, became a place where participants generated ideas, discussed innovative projects, and identified strategic vectors for the digital transformation of the Arctic zone:

— Technological breakthrough in production — robotization and automation of Northern enterprises to increase efficiency and safety.

— Artificial intelligence as a pillar of sustainable development — new algorithms for environmental monitoring, risk forecasting, and infrastructure management.

— New generation campuses — innovative educational and research centers that train personnel for world-class Arctic projects.

— Northern Sea Route 2.0 — digital and navigation technologies for shipping and the development of a transport artery with

The most important venues at the Forum were the plenary session “International Cooperation: Partnership for the Future of the Arctic” and the business sessions “Digitalization, Automation, and Robotics: The Three Pillars of the Russian Arctic Zone Development” and “Interuniversity Campus: Science and Technological Entrepreneurship. Prospects for Development”. They were attended by Alexey Chekunov, Minister of the Russian Federation for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic, Alexander Kozlov, Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation, Roman Chekushov, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Mikhno, Consul General of the Republic of Kazakhstan in St. Petersburg, Alexander Tsybulsky and Andrey Chibis, Governors of the Arkhangelsk and Murmansk Regions, and Senator of the Russian Federation from the Executive Sakhamin Afanasyev, members of the State Duma, representatives of Rosatom State Corporation, PJSC MMC Norilsk Nickel, PJSC Gazprom Neft, JSC Transset, SILA Union, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, universities, and IT companies.

The participants emphasized the importance of sustainable institutional support for digital reforms and the importance of indigenous peoples' participation in shaping the technological agenda, and presented specific cases of implementing advanced solutions in remote northern territories, including infrastructure monitoring and social services. The experts' attention was also focused on the legal challenges in the application of domestic artificial intelligence in the Arctic. In this context, SILA Union noted the potential of robotics, process control and AI as drivers of sustainable development and adaptation of enterprises to extreme conditions.

A platform that changes the rules of the game
SILA Union is a technological solution, a foundation for sustainable digital development, which helps companies and regions to quickly adapt to changes, launch large-scale projects without unnecessary risks, and see the entire architecture of business processes.

SILA Union's modern solutions in the Arctic region can:

— improve the efficiency of complex workflows in a resource-constrained environment;

— make management more transparent and easier by eliminating manual work and duplication, and creating digital twins of the organization;

— to introduce innovations to improve the quality of life in the North;

— to create digital ecosystems and platform solutions for regional development.

At the Arctic Regions Forum, the speech by Elena Silkina, Managing Partner of SILA Union, during the strategic session “Digitalization, Automation, and Roboticization: The Three Pillars of the Russian Arctic Region’s Development,” was one of the key events of the forum. Elena presented the capabilities of the SILA Union platform, which can integrate processes, people, and technologies into a unified management architecture, which is particularly important for large-scale northern projects.

"The future of the Arctic lies in systemic digital transformation. Our solutions help to build a comprehensive strategy for the development of territories, from infrastructure and shipping to personnel training and scientific research. The Arctic is a challenge that we are taking on and elevating to a new level of development with the help of the advanced SILA Union platform," emphasized Elena Silkina.

Among the key speakers of the discussion were Vladimir Pushkarev, a Russian Federation Senator from the executive authority of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District, and Dmitry Khorunov, Deputy Minister of Digital Development of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, who spoke about the implementation of digital projects in the Arctic zone of the Krasnoyarsk Territory. Natalia Kovaleva, Head of the Department of Digital Technology Law and Bio-Law at the Higher School of Economics, Doctor of Law, Professor, also presented a report on the legal aspects of the implementation of artificial intelligence in the Arctic.

At the session, experts discussed the most important issues of sustainable development in Russia's Arctic regions: new information technologies, sharing experience in implementing digital programs in the Arctic, developing infrastructure for successful implementation of innovative projects, using artificial intelligence, practical cases of automation and robotization, and the importance of telecommunications infrastructure for business development and improving the quality of life in the Arctic.

Discussions that form the agenda

SILA Union representatives also took part in the business session “Interuniversity Campus: Science and Technological Entrepreneurship. Prospects for Development” with the participation of Ivan Dementyev, Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Arkhangelsk Region, and Alexey Aksenov, Minister of Science, Higher Education, and Scientific and Technological Development of the Arkhangelsk Region, where the focus was on creating innovative spaces for science and entrepreneurship.

Lyudmila Gontar, Head of the Aerodynamics Project Office at the Russian Government Commission, and Director of the Central Committee of the Federal Research Center for Engineering, shared her experience in integrating SILA Union into educational programs and training specialists capable of working at the intersection of technologies in the extreme conditions of the North.

Special attention was paid to the North-South project presented by Lyudmila Gontar and Natalia Kovaleva. The project, which includes SILA Union in its portfolio, has attracted widespread interest from experts and readiness for technological cooperation.

Results

The Arctic Regions Forum brings together thousands of Arctic leaders every year and serves as a launchpad for large-scale initiatives.

The event featured business sessions with industry experts, an extensive exhibition showcasing new technologies, a rich cultural program, and a glimpse into the region's unique heritage, as well as themed excursions into the Arctic's specificities and high-level official meetings.

In 2025, the forum's central theme was the development of international cooperation and strengthening ties between the Arctic regions, as well as strategic issues of federal importance for the development of the Russian Arctic regions. It was SILA Union that presented a process-based approach for managing changes and digital transformation in the region, demonstrating how modern technologies can already be changing the map of the Arctic.