[Feature] Global tensions rile experimental university
In 2011, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology surprised many education observers by teaming up with Russia to found a new U.S.-style research university. Many Russian scientists looked on with envy as the federal government poured tens of millions of dollars into the Skolkovo Institute of Technology (Skoltech), part of a high-tech park on Moscow's outskirts that was a pet project of former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. Skoltech is still seeking to live up to its promise. The university is a beacon for the Russian diaspora: Russian returnees comprise nearly half the faculty. But Russia's deteriorating relations with the West have hampered efforts to recruit non-Russian faculty, and its hobbled economy is pinching funding. Author: Richard Stone