BIU Establishes New Vice President Position for Industry Relations
The new position aims to strengthen BIU's ties with industry and technology sectors
The announcement came at the start of the 2024-25 academic year, marking a significant shift in the university's strategic approach to industry collaboration.
This new role will focus on developing project-based partnerships between academia and industry, promoting applied research at the university, and building networks with business leaders. The position is designed to create a meaningful dialogue between academic research and industrial needs. Through this dialogue, the university will be able to align its research directions with future high-tech industry challenges and update academic content to better prepare graduates for industry demands. The initiative also aims to increase successful placement of graduates in technology sectors while improving the university's international rankings in industry collaboration. A key objective is to expand both the scope and quantity of partnerships with technology companies.
Prof. Zeev Zalevsky, former Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, has been appointed to this position. His extensive experience in commercializing research through start-ups and patents (including over 100 registered patents and the founding of ten startup companies) demonstrates the university's commitment to bridging the gap between academic research and practical application.
The creation of this position represents a strategic move by Bar-Ilan University to strengthen its position as a key player in Israel's technology ecosystem. Through this initiative, the university aims to ensure its research and teaching methodologies remain responsive to the evolving needs of both local and global technology industries.
One notable example of the potential for such academia-industry collaboration is demonstrated through innovations like the "Optophone," an electro-optical sensing system capable of remote bio-medical parameter measurement, and CogniFiber, a startup developing high-speed photonic processors, which recently secured $5 million in funding.