Russia Beyond the Headlines 23 Mar 2012
The Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (SkTech) plans to establish Russia’s biggest endowment fund, projected at 16.5 billion rubles ($560 million) in 2012 alone. The country’s biggest state-controlled companies will provide the money – they are required to transfer 1 percent of their innovation budgets to SkTech.
Arkady Dvorkovich, economic assistant to President Dmitry Medvedev, said on March 20 that state-run companies will be required to transfer 1 percent of their spending on innovation development programs to the endowment fund of the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (SkTech). He said the fund would finance SkTech’s entire research program, and that some of the research would serve the interests of the contributing companies.
The Skolkovo Foundation and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology established SkTech in 2011. The institute will focus on not only education, but also research, according to Skolkovo Foundation President Viktor Vekselberg. Budget funds are now being used to construct the university building.