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The conversation addressed issues of establishing a university at Skolkovo near Moscow. Other participants in the meeting included president of the Fund for Development of the Centre of Research and Commercialising of New Technologies Viktor Vekselberg, Presidential Aide Arkady Dvorkovich, and First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Vladislav Surkov. At a meeting of Commission for Modernisation and Technological Development of Russia’s Economy, Edward Crawley, Susan Hockfield and Viktor Vekselberg signed an Agreement on Cooperation between the Fund for Development of the Centre of Research and Commercialising of New Technologies, the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The purpose of the agreement is to launch a modern education and research centre in Russia.

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President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev: Good afternoon, everyone,

I want to once again congratulate you all on the documents that have been signed. I think this is useful for the Russian side, and I hope that it will be beneficial for MIT as well, especially since there have been periods in the history of cooperation between Russian institutions and MIT when we also helped our partners and friends. (Speaking to Viktor Vekselberg.) I know that you have a document demonstrating this.

PRESIDENT OF THE FUND FOR DEVELOPMENT OF THE CENTRE OF RESEARCH AND COMMERCIALISING OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES VIKTOR VEKSELBERG: I do.

Ms Hockfield, Mr President,

I would like to present our partners with a historic letter that was written in 1876 by Mr John Daniel Runkle, then-president of MIT, after visiting the Moscow Imperial Technical School.

In essence, this letter thanks the director of the Russian institute, Viktor Della-Vos, because the organisational processes of the educational technological process he saw there would form the basis of MIT’s operation, since he felt they were entirely correct. Thus, the principles you acquired in Russia over one hundred years ago are now being returned to Russia in a new way, and speak to our extensive, fascinating reciprocity.

President of Massachusetts Institute of Technology Susan Hockfield: Thank you very much, this is a very keen reminder that our collaboration goes back over a hundred years and let’s hope it goes forward for another hundred years. Thank you.

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