Alexander Kuleshov talks about his role as the president of Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Skoltech), created in collaboration with MIT.
Alexander Kuleshov, who replaced Edward Crawley as the president of Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Skoltech) last month, has talked about his plans in an interview with Sk.ru.
Skoltech is a research university in Russia that was established in 2011 in collaboration with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Talking about his role, Kuleshov stated he is not planning any kind of revolution. He believes that teaching is key with a “maximum of knowledge with a minimal focus on skills”, pointing out that people with knowledge can pick up skills easily but not vice versa.
He also urged engineers and scientists to collaborate, saying: “All [of Russia’s] biggest projects that remain a source of pride to this day – our atomic industry, space exploration and so on – they were successful because engineers and scientists worked on them together.”
When asked what the university lacked, Kuleshov mentioned a Center of Advanced Studies, a place where those at the top of their field could nurture others.
Looking to his plans as president, he said: “A huge amount of work has been done, and I believe the first stage of Skoltech’s development has been successfully completed. Naturally, as with anything, there are certain questions, some glitches, some things to change: that is a completely normally working process.”
