SkolTech Board of Trustees held its first meeting

The first meeting of Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (SkolTech) Board of Trustees, a key element of Skolkovo innovation center, was held on Monday. Board members have been determined at the meeting, RIA Novosti reported.

The board of trustees of SkolTech includes Deputy Prime Minister Vladislav Surkov; Skolkovo president Viktor Vekselberg; SkolTech president Edward Crowley; President, Chairman of the Board of Sberbank German Gref; the chairman of metallurgical group Evraz directorate Alexander Abramov.

The Board also includes the founder, managing partner and CEO of Flagship Ventures Noubar Afeyan; development director of the Institute for Global Policy Studies (IPS) at Purdue University (USA), Arden Bement; secretary general of the International Program for the advanced science Ernest Ludwig Vinnaker; a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology , a member of Schlumberger Ltd. board of directors John Deutsch; vice president of Chinese Academy of Technology Yune Pan; director of Kharkevich Institute for Information Transmission Problems RAS named Alexander Kuleshov; rector of Moscow Physical-Technical Institute Nikolai Kudryavtsev; chief technology officer of autoconcern Volvo Group, Jan Eric Sundgren.

The fact that the Board includes representatives of big Russian business, leading foreign companies and research centers, says about trust of our outstanding partners in our project and gives, in my opinion, an absolute guarantee that it will be successful, - Surkov told reporters.

These people are competent. There is absolutely no doubt that our daring project will succeed - said Deputy Prime.

Surkov said that the most important event of today's board of trustees, for him personally, is a sense of belief in what we do.

I can tell you that I am absolutely confident that SkolTech will be fully operational within a few years ... and a few tens of years - I hope that it will be world famous university, - said Surkov.

In turn, Vekselberg told reporters that the main issue of SkolTech establishment is how to fit the University into the existing system of higher education and research in Russia.

We must learn to frame ideas clearly because we create a fundamentally new type of institution. And it's not something artificially created, it is a call of the times- said the head of the Skolkovo Fund.

According to Vekselberg, there were some remarks at the Board meeting about the need to create new jobs for SkolTech graduates.

We would not want us to work to support the emigration process. It is necessary that these people who are, of course, interesting, priceless professionals could find jobs in Russia. This means that innovation would be in demand, - Vekselberg said.

Innovation Center Skolkovo should become Russia's largest testing ground for new economic policy. Special conditions will be created for research and development, including the creation of energy and energy efficiency, nuclear, aerospace, biomedical and computer technologies at the designated area near Moscow.