3Q: Bruce Tidor on the MIT Skoltech partnership
In 2011 MIT launched a multiyear collaboration to assist Russian partners in building a new university on the outskirts of Moscow, the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Skoltech). MIT faculty have participated in developing Skoltech’s educational and research programs, which have a strong emphasis on innovation and entrepreneurship. The MIT Skoltech Initiative, the operational arm of the collaboration, has thus far involved more than 150 MIT faculty and 60 staff. The first phase of the collaboration has been completed, and the second phase launched on March 1. Bruce Tidor, a professor of biological engineering and computer science and the director of the MIT Skoltech Initiative, spoke with MIT News about the collaboration’s progress to date, the impact of the program, and what the future holds. Q: What has been achieved at Skolkovo through MIT’s involvement? A: When MIT began work on this project there was no university, there were no buildings,...