The Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, or Skoltech, is a private institute located in Moscow, Russia. Skoltech was established in 2011 as part of a multi-year partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Globally, the university in 2023 was ranked # 702 in the world by US News & World Report. It was among the number 65 young university in the world according to Nature Index in 2021. That same year Skoltech entered the subject ranking in physics among young universities for the first time, and named a rapidly rising university. In February 2022 MIT ended its partnership with Skoltech in protest of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Stanislav Konstantinovich Smirnov is a Russian mathematician currently working as a professor at the University of Geneva. He was awarded the Fields Medal in 2010. His research involves complex analysis, dynamical systems and probability theory.