Skolkovo has teamed up with Tel Aviv University to research projects of common interest, expanding the Foundation’s reach in the academic world.
Skolkovo Foundation president Viktor Vekselberg signed a memorandum of understanding this week with Prof. Joseph Klafter, the president of Tel Aviv University, at a ceremony at the Hypercube outside Moscow.
“Our relations are reaching a new level,” Vekselberg said. “TAU has huge experience, knowledge and understanding of the process of how to turn an idea into a product and take companies onto the big stock exchanges,” he added.
Viktor Vekselberg, left, and Joseph Klafter at the Hypercube outside Moscow. Photo: sk.ru
That can assist Skolkovo because one of its principle goals is help Russian startups commercialize their innovations.
Speaking of the memorandum, Vekselberg noted “we would like this to cover concrete work between our students, researchers and universities.”
Klafter, for his part, said TAU has three priority areas - interdisciplinary, interactive and international. The agreement, he said, will help cement a fourth ‘I’ to the list – innovation.
“We have many agreements in place with many universities of the world, but if real work doesn’t stand behind them, they will simply gather dust on the shelf,” Klafter said.
“But if our common task is to create a hub to develop innovation and science, then Skolkovo and Tel Aviv University are simply made for each other,” he added.
The memorandum provides for commercial joint projects between research organizations and industry; supports collaborative research projects; and allows for student exchange programs and joint startups, among other things.
TAU has around 30,000 students who study at nine faculties covering natural and humanitarian sciences. Priority research areas include biomedicine, neurobiology, cybernetics, energy, and nanotechnology.
The Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology is entering its third academic year and has around 180 students. It is partnered by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.