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Alexei Sitnikov joined the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Skoltech) in October 2011 and currently serves as Vice President for Communications and Community Development. In this position, he is in charge of developing the Institute's brand and communications with target audiences and stakeholders, organizing students' self governance and interacting with alumni. His responsibilities also include the formulation and execution of the Instituteā€™s communication and marketing strategies, international relations and public outreach. He serves as the Executive Secretary of the Board of Trustees.

Prior to joining Skoltech, Alexei served as Director for International Development at the Skolkovo Foundation, where he led the efforts to establish Skoltech in partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In his position at the Foundation, he also created an international network of partners from among a number of international academic institutions, non-profit organizations and foundations.

From 2005 to 2010, he served as Vice President for Operations and Development at the New Economic School in Moscow, where he led the establishment of one of the first and largest university endowment funds in Russia.

From 1999 to 2005 Alexei held the position of Program Coordinator for Russia at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University. For over nine years, Stanfordā€™s distance-learning program offered courses in social science and international security to several thousand students at universities across Russia.

In 2003, Alexei co-founded the Global Technology Symposium at Stanford University and served as its Vice President for Business Development until 2008. The Global Technology Symposium is the leading investment conference on venture capital, technology, and entrepreneurship in emerging markets; each year, it brings together selected opinion leaders in business, finance, technology, and policy-making to Silicon Valley, where they share insights into the opportunities and challenges of globalization.

In addition to his position at Skoltech, Alexei currently chairs the Young Professionals Working Group at the Expert Council of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives. Alexei is a member of the Public Council under the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, a member of the Board of Trustees at WorldSkills Russia and the National Technology Initiative (NTI).

He graduated with honors from the Department of History at Yaroslavl State University in 1995. In 1996, he received a Master of Political Science (with distinction) from the Central European University in Budapest. In 1997, he was awarded a Masterā€™s Degree in Political Science from Stanford University. Until 2001, he was enrolled in a PhD program at Stanford with specializations in Comparative Politics, International Relations and Organizational Theory.