Erasmus+ Grant for Joint Brain and Data Science Program

Bar-Ilan University's Gonda (Goldschmied) Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center was recently awarded a €3.6 million Erasmus Mundus Joint Master’s (EMJM) grant for a groundbreaking Brain and Data Science graduate program, the first time an Israeli university has won this prestigious grant.

Visiting the Gonda Brain Center this week, European Union Ambassador to Israel Dimiter Tzantchev said, "I am very impressed by the multidisciplinary emphasis of this center, combining different fields for the benefit of humanity, and I am proud that the European Union chose to support this program. Twenty five percent of the Erasmus Middle East budget is awarded to Israeli researchers, some of them from Bar-Ilan. Your research and innovation capabilities place Israeli academia at the forefront of EU interest."

The Gonda Brain Research Center, under the direction of Prof. Alon Korngreen, led a consortium of five top-ranked European universities that submitted a funding proposal to the EU to establish this unique program to attract graduate students from around the world.

Addressing Amb. Tzantchev and university officials present during the visit, Prof. Korngreen said, "Neuroscience researchers have reached a point where analysis of vast amounts of data is required, but they don't have the skills to conduct this analysis. These developments drive the pressing demand for integrated brain expertise and data analysis in neurotech, technological innovation, health and education. This urgent need constitutes a unique opportunity for innovation in the form of an out-of-the-box educational track that focuses on the intellectual mobility of multidisciplinary researchers into the growing field of neuro-data science."

Bar-Ilan University Deputy President Prof. Moshe Lewenstein said, "This unique project presents a much-needed training program in neuroscience and data science intending to develop a multidisciplinary curriculum to cultivate researchers with in-depth knowledge in these two key areas. Students will be trained in basic neuroscience and data science during the program's first year while applying these skills to neural data analysis during their second year."

Prof. Rachel Dekel, Academic Director of the International School noted that Bar-Ilan has 50 partnerships with the EU's Erasmus program.

The grant will enable the partner universities to offer scholarships to exceptional candidates who apply for the joint MSc in Brain and Data Science through their home universities. EU scholarships cover the cost of a student’s participation in the program, travel, and a living allowance.

The new consortium includes the University of Lisbon’s Instituto Superior Técnico (Technical Institute), Portugal; University of Padua, Italy; Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (Free University of Amsterdam), Netherlands; University of Jyväskylä, Finland; and University of Zagreb, Croatia.