Founded in 2011, Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Skoltech) is one of the leading higher educational institutions in Russia that aspires to offer world-class higher education with strong focus on applied research in the areas of science and technology. The institute operates with a mission to achieve academic excellence in target domains which includes: artificial intelligence and data science, photonics, life sciences, agro technologies, energy efficiency and ESG, cutting-edge engineering and advanced materials and advanced studies. Following the strategies, successfully implemented by pioneering young Korean universities like KAIST, Skoltech initially focused on high tech education for MSc and PHD. And with the team of world known professors and state of the art labs and research facilities, they have already gained leadership in target domains. With such recognition in the world of science, now Skoltech is planning to launch bachelor programs soon. Skoltech is a core of Skolkovo Innovation center and inspires entrepreneurial spirit among students and researchers by various innovation educational programs and start up support.
From the onset, Skoltech aimed to imbibe the culture of constant learning in their students and this has helped them to develop the problem solving and critical thinking capabilities of their students. Giving more insights into the inception story of Skoltech, Denis Stolyarov who is the Dean of Students at Skoltech says �We are a young university but despite this fact, in 2019 and 2021, we were ranked amongst the top 100 best young universities in the worldaccording to the Nature Index. With the assistance from Massachussetts Institute of Technology (MIT), we have been able to design our educational programs in a very unique way which allows us to offer job-centric education to our students. The structure of Skoltech is not usual with faculties but based on MIT model with Centers of research, education and innovations (CREIs). CREIs at Skoltech addresses critical challenges in numerous of arenas of science and technologies including AI and IoT, biomedicine, energy, space. Achieving academic excellence, ensuring constant improvements in teaching and research have been a top priority for us from the very beginning itself. Aside from that, through our training, we want to nurture the next generation of leaders in the STEM arena�. This constant endeavor to create industry-ready professionals has helped them to make significant contributions toward improving the quality of science and technology education in Russia.
Skoltech�s new campus has won 2019 Prix Versailles award for the world�s most beautiful campuses, a prestigious prize that is in association with UNESCO and the International Union of Architects.
A Wide Array of Courses to Choose From
To cater to the varied requirements of their students, Skoltech has created an impressive program portfolio which include MSc and PhD programs. In the MSc segment, they offer programs in data science and artificial intellegence, energy systems, life sciences, material science, petroleum engineering among many others. When it comes to PhD, students at Skoltech can pursue courses in engineering systems, life sciences, physics, and petroleum engineering to name a few. The language of instruction is English which makes all these courses more accessible for students from across the globe.
Skoltech acknowledges the prevalent industry academia gap and tries to find ways to bridge this gap so that students can enter the workforce much more seamlessly. To ensure this, the institute has incorporated special components into their educational programs which will help their students to be more industry-ready. Students at Skoltech has mandatory industry emersion programs for a month and during this period, students will go to world level hi-tech companies, work on realworld problems and find solutions for them. The institute also has a dedicated student career center which not only help students to achieve their career goals but it also offers plethora of opportunities for their students to gain valuable hands-on training to hone their skills. Aside from just offering education, Skoltech also generates value in the form of professional education, advisory services, industry-funded research, services of shared facilities, technology licensing and new companies established by the Institute�s scholars, engineers, students and alumni.
"Skoltech acknowledges the prevalent industry academia gap & tries to find ways to bridge this gap so that students can enter the workforce much more seamlessly"
Adding more about the unique educational structure of Skoltech, Denis Stolyarov states, �The basic structure of our programs is flexible which allows us to cater to the requirements of each student. In every program, we have a dedicated portion for electives which allows students to not only customize their learning experience but also experiment with new subjects and topics. Throughout our education, we prioritize on offering the right blend of theoretical and practical education to our students. We also lay major emphasis on offering business-oriented education to our students and we have entrepreneurship and innovation courses to help students understand how to commercialize technology. This will help them to start their own business ventures and manage it efficiently�.
Research-centric Education at its Finest
Skoltech acknowledges the growing importance of infrastructure in imparting world-class education and aside from fully-furnished modern classrooms, the institute has state of the art laboratories which helps both their faculties and students to conduct cutting-edge research activities. Both the infrastructure and teaching methodologies at the institute has also allowed them to nurture the culture of research in the campus. Aside from this, education at Skoltech encourages multidisciplinary learning which helps their students to acquire knowledge on a wide array of topics that will allow them to expand their horizons. The institute also help students to establish their own academic and career path by bringing in ample flexibility into their curriculum and teaching pedagogies.
Skoltech offer students a truly international learning experience during academic mobility at partner universities and provides a variety of opportunities like innovation workshop, industrial immersion and research internships in hi-tech innovative companies both in Russia and abroad. These programs enable students at the institute to acquire more valuable knowledge and realize their true potential. Skoltech aspires to offer world-class education to students from all walks of life and the institute doesn�t charge any tuition fees for their students once they clear their selection process. Aside from this, MSc students will also receive monthly stipends of USD 600 per month which will help them to cover their living expenses. To help international students through their transition period after they reach Russia, Skoltech will offer full relocation support for them. Owing to all this, the institute currently has more than 20 percent of their students coming from outside Russia. This has helped Skoltech to create a thriving community for international students at their campus.
Indian collaborations
Over the recent years, Skoltech has been able to create strong connections with a plethora of higher educational institutions in India. This includes having a cooperation with Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), which is part of the Ministry of Science and Technology of the Government of India. Skoltech and Delhi University have signed an agreement on cooperation in the field of scientific research. The ceremony took place during a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 6, 2021 in New Delhi. Skoltech is also a member of the Association of Universities of Russia and India (Russia- Indian Network � RIN). Also, over the past 3 years, Skoltech researchers have published 112 joint publications with scientists from India. All this has helped the institute to attract many Indian students to their campus who makes up 11 percent of all foreign students at Skoltech.
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