WGBH, a Boston-based public radio and TV channel, has just published an in-depth article about the long-lasting relationship between the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Skoltech).
Skoltech is a private technology research institute working closely with Skolkovo, a state-backed international tech hub located on the outskirts of Moscow.
The matter is sensitive in the US since Skoltech and Skolkovo have raised espionage fears in the US national security community.
Thus, while “helping to soften Russia’s image on the global stage,” the MIT’s Russian partnership might have made it “vulnerable to technology transfer theft,” reports WGBH.
Established in 2011, the MIT-Skoltech partnership was extended in late 2019 for five years under a multimillion-dollar partnership. “The contract renewal was a dramatic reversal in an MIT-Russia partnership that appeared to be dormant. And, the extension came just three months after the [US] government announced it is investigating MIT’s compliance with reporting requirements for the Russian money it has received in connection with the project,” writes WGBH.
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