Skoltech was founded on October 25, 2011 by a collaboration of nine Russian institutions and organizations:
On October 26, 2011, the newly created Skoltech signed a trilateral agreement with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Skolkovo Foundation to launch the first three years of a collaboration to build capacity in education, research, and entrepreneurship programs at Skoltech.
In the fall of 2012, Skoltech accepted 20 Master’s degree students into its first class for programs in Energy Science and Technology and Information Science and Technology. After a unique pilot program, 45 new M.Sc. students from Russia and around the world joined them for three programs in Information Science and Technology, Energy Science and Technology, and Biomedicine Science and Technology.