Konstantin Eduardovitch Tsiolkovsky (1857–1935) was Russian scientist and inventor in the field of aerodynamics, aerospace engineering and the theory of aircraft, rockets and dirigible.

Additionally, it offers retraining opportunities for professionals from different industries and programs aimed at enhancing their skill levels.

More than 200 students from Great Britain, the USA, Germany, South Korea, Turkey, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Kenya, Morocco, Oman, China, Iran, and some other countries are studying at the university.

On the 31 March 2015 the Ministry of Education reorganized the Moscow Aviation Institute (MAI) by annexation of the Russian State Technological University named after Tsiolkovsky.

The main fields of MATI include the following: Short-term educational programs for foreign specialists from the aerospace industry (similar program MATI in cooperation with Khrunichev Space R&D Center is carrying on in the frame of the Russian-Britain Project for additional training of the students and specialists in aerospace technologies).