Graduates of the second and third cohorts of the Rothschild-Weizmann program for outstanding teachers in science and mathematics, set off * Eight million shekels will be invested in the restoration of polluted streams * 3GSolar has raised $2.5 million from the Chinese HuaXiang Group
The Miguel Scientific Research Institute signed an agreement with the Ministry for the Advancement of the Negev and the Galilee to establish a new project aimed at promoting biomedical research in hospitals in the north of the country. The purpose of the project is to expand the biomedical research activity in the Galilee and improve it through the allocation of dedicated research grants to the hospitals in the Galilee, the establishment of an infrastructure that promotes research, the sharing of knowledge between the hospitals and raising larger budgets for research. For the purpose of the activity, a research directorate was established which will work in collaboration with the hospitals to promote research activity in their institutions and for collaborations in multicenter studies and studies that combine clinical research and basic research with researchers from Miguel and the Academy. The research director will provide a comprehensive infrastructure of professional, organizational, and financial support that will be available to all researchers in the participating institutions for the purpose of promoting their research and will also support professional training courses that will be conducted in the hospitals.
The joint research director will encourage the doctors and researchers to submit new research proposals (in the clinical and non-clinical fields) and will work for research collaborations between the participating bodies. The directorate will also work for research collaborations between the hospitals and pharmaceutical companies, medical device companies, biotech companies and CROs. The hospitals will offer these member companies test sites for the new developments with a total of about 2,000 beds.
The annual budget of the project is NIS 4 million. Of this, 2 million NIS will be allocated by the Ministry for the Development of the Negev and the Galilee and 2 million NIS will be raised by Miguel from diverse sources such as: academia, grants from abroad (for example, the European Union), philanthropic sources, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, CROs, etc. According to the agreement between MiGAL and the Ministry for the Development of the Negev and the Galilee have now approved activities and budgets for a period of two years.
The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for the Development of the Negev and the Galilee, Sylvan Shalom, stated that: "This is the first time in Israel that a directorate has been established in Israel that will unite all the hospitals in the Galilee into a single research body. The directorate, under the management of the Miguel Institute, will allow doctors and high-quality researchers to be brought together under one roof in the hospitals in the Galilee and will make it possible to attract more outstanding researchers. The establishment of the directorate will attract leading pharmaceutical companies and research bodies from the country and abroad to carry out their research in the Galilee, a move that will contribute to the creation of many jobs and this will inevitably affect the issue of living in the Galilee. The vision according to which in the next decade about 300 thousand more residents will settle, is near and far. Just as Ben-Gurion University is thriving in the Negev and producing world-class research, so too will the directorate become a central nucleus of the best minds in the Galilee, which will bring about a revolution in the field of research and technology."
Zvika Rubinstein, CEO of Miguel: "As a scientific research institute operating in the Galilee, we see ourselves as leading activities to advance scientific research in the Galilee. The project was established out of the joint desire of the hospital managers and Miguel to unify activities for the betterment of scientific research in the Galilee. The new venture will work to realize the full research potential accumulated in the Galilee through joint research between these bodies and between them and external bodies. The model we will implement may turn the Galilee into an international center of excellence in the fields of biomedical research."
Economic Haifa is considering the establishment of a biotechnological incubator in Haifa
The Haifa Economic Society is expanding its activities in the field of life sciences and is considering establishing a biotechnological incubator intended for entrepreneurs engaged in research and development in the fields of life sciences. The company has begun procedures for locating potential international partners with knowledge and experience in the field of life sciences for the purpose of promoting the life sciences park established in Haifa.
Gal Peleg, CEO of the Economic Society for Haifa "As part of expanding our involvement in building strategic collaborations to promote the Life Sciences Park in Haifa with the leading research, academic and medical institutions, we are considering participation in a competitive process for the establishment of a biotechnological incubator that was recently published by the chief scientist. It is about establishing an incubator aimed at international companies with an annual turnover of over 5 billion dollars. The entry of a huge international company into Israel will result in the acceleration of activity in the field, and therefore we are considering teaming up with international bodies as mentioned with the intention of examining the establishment of the biotechnological incubator in Haifa."
For the past four decades, the Haifa Economic Company has been engaged in entrepreneurship and the establishment of large-scale economic projects in a wide variety of fields, such as high-tech and bio-tech industry, trade and business, profitable real estate, renewable energies, tourism, recreation and sports. The economic company established Mattam Park - The first and leading hi-tech park in Israel and the high-center business accelerator. These days the economic company is building the Sami Ofer Stadium and the Haifa Life Sciences Park in the southern entrances of the city.
Gal Peleg, CEO of the Economic Society for Haifa: "The society recently issued a call to international and Israeli bodies and companies that may be interested in establishing the biotechnological incubator to examine possibilities for strategic collaborations as part of the promotion of the biotech industry in Haifa. More details can be found on the company's website www.hec.co.il
The Life Sciences Park is intended, among others, for companies belonging to all types of research and development of medical devices, the fields of biology, the fields of biotech, bioinformatics, nanotechnology, agricultural engineering, medical research and more. We are convinced that the reputation, solidity and extensive experience of the economic company and industrial buildings our partners in the project will place the park at the forefront of the technological industry."
Graduates of the 2nd and 3rd cohorts of the Rothschild-Weizmann Program for outstanding teachers in science and mathematics, set off
The 60 graduates of the second and third cohorts of the Rothschild-Weizmann program for outstanding teachers in science and mathematics will tomorrow (Thursday) receive their certified degrees in science teaching from the Feinberg seminary at the Weizmann Institute of Science. The unique program, which aims to improve the quality of education in science and mathematics in Israel, gives high school teachers a master's degree in science teaching from the Weizmann Institute of Science. These graduates join 26 teachers who graduated from the first cycle. In the current year, 68, XNUMX additional teachers are studying in the program.
The assumption underlying the program is that it is possible to advance the education system in the fields of science and mathematics by fostering excellence in teaching. That is why the Rothschild-Weizmann program addresses a selected layer of teachers and works to promote their education in the fields themselves and in the teaching of the fields. In order to realize this vision, an intensive curriculum was put together in consultation and cooperation with the institute's scientists, which includes the expansion and deepening of scientific knowledge in all its fields, direct meetings with scientists and activities in the institute's laboratories, familiarization with scientific innovations, acquisition of innovative teaching approaches, participation in research in the fields of science teaching What is done at the institute and practical experience in leading unique educational initiatives in the schools. For the implementation of the program, the faculty of the science teaching department and many scientists from the various scientific departments at the institute were mobilized for the development and teaching of about 50 unique courses.
The Rothschild-Weizmann program, funded by a ten-year donation from the Caesarea Edmond Benjamin de Rothschild Foundation, was founded four years ago at the initiative of the institute's management and the science teaching department. The program is headed by Prof. Shimon Levit from the Faculty of Physics and Prof. Batsheva Alon, head of the science teaching department. A steering committee headed by Prof. Israel Bar-Yosef, Vice President of the Institute for Resource Development and Dean of Educational Affairs, outlines the conduct of the program.
The participants of the program, all of whom have a bachelor's degree and teaching experience, are selected based on recommendations and a personal interview, and they receive an exemption from tuition fees and a study scholarship. The studies take place over the course of two years at the center, two days a week, and the rest of the days the teachers continue to teach.
Two of the goals of the program are the establishment of an active community of participants and graduates alongside assisting teachers and the education system in implementing innovations in the teaching of science and mathematics and improving the quality of teaching in the classroom. The Rothschild-Weizmann program encourages graduates to continue their professional development as a means of achieving the long-term goal of influencing the education system in science and mathematics. To this end, graduates are offered follow-up programs, which include the creation and leadership of innovative educational initiatives, in collaboration with the science teaching department, with other departments at the Weizmann Institute of Science, and with the Ministry of Education. The success of the Rothschild Weizmann program is already evident in the testimonies accumulating in the schools, about the successful activities of the graduates of the program in the education system.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection continues to restore streams: eight million shekels will be invested in the restoration of polluted streams
For the first time, priority will be given to weak authorities and cities in the periphery in order to turn the stream into an economic lever that will strengthen the local communities along its length. The budget will finance ecological restoration and infrastructure works that will turn the stream into a recreation and leisure center for the general public. The rehabilitation works in the current lot will be completed within 3 years
The Minister of Environmental Protection, Gilad Erdan: "In addition to the Kishon and Yarkon restoration works that are already underway, we have expanded the river restoration project to the outskirts as well and are cleaning up streams that have been polluted for decades and returning them to the public as recreation and leisure centers for the whole family"
The eight million shekels are added to the approximately 170 million shekels that the ministry invested in the restoration of streams such as Nahal Alexander, Nahal Taninim, Nahal Yarakon, Nahal Tabor, Nahal Shakma and more. This is in addition to the historical project to restore the Kishon River, whose cost is estimated at 220 million shekels, and the project to restore the Nahal Beer Sheva and turn it into a metropolitan park, whose cost is estimated at 300 million shekels.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection publishes a proposal for grants in the amount of NIS 8 million for the restoration of polluted streams throughout the country. In this way, the rehabilitated sanctuaries will turn from a hazard into an economic lever that will encourage local tourism and a natural resource that the residents will be able to enjoy. The restoration is expected to be completed within three years.
The budget was allocated after comprehensive strategic work conducted by the ministry and examined the consequences of the restoration of the rivers on the population close to it. Therefore, it was decided to give priority in the budgeting to the restoration of the streams that are in weak municipalities and peripheral municipalities. The restoration will allow for the encouragement of local economic entrepreneurship, local tourism and the increase in real estate value.
The river restoration works will include educational activities and the connection of the local community to the river, the return of local vegetation, infrastructure works, the training of bicycle paths, and ecological restoration works will be carried out in the river, plantings along the river. In this way, recreation and leisure centers in nature will be created for the whole family throughout the country, precisely in places where the stream currently serves as a neglected "backyard".
The restoration of the stream allows for the preservation and restoration of unique habitats, the preservation of the country's landscape and nature, and the restoration of habitats that were and are no longer there. The restoration enables the existence of high-quality open spaces among the many built-up areas in our country.
3GSolar, developer of printed solar cells, raised $2.5 million from China's HuaXiang Group
The Ningbo Hauyou Real Estate company, which belongs to the HuaXiang group corporation from China, will invest 2.5 million dollars in the Israeli company 3GSolar Photovoltaics. 3GSolar develops a unique technology that produces electricity using photovoltaic cells in color printing.
HuaXiang group ranks among the 500 largest private companies in China. The group, which employs 10,000 people, operates in the automotive industry, auto spare parts and real estate. This is HuaXiang group's first investment in Israel and its first investment in the cleantech sector. So far, the Solar Partnership - an investment fund managed by Smedvig Capital and the Israeli Electricity Company - have invested in 3GSolar. Through KRT - a support program for start-up companies in the field of green energy.
Following the signing of the investment agreement in the Israeli company, the president of HuaXiang, Mr. Zhou Mingfen, visited Israel, accompanied by senior figures from XiangShan province in China. The visit was organized with the assistance of the company "Gilil Investments and Initiatives" (GIE). During their stay, the delegation visited 3GSolar's development laboratories and its people were informed about 3GSolar's development plans. In addition, the members of the delegation observed the electricity production operation of the photovoltaic panels on the roof of the 3GSolar office building and inside the offices.
Barry Breen, CEO of 3GSolar, stated that "the investment by the Chinese HuaXiang is intended to promote the continued research and development activity in the field of printed solar cells, including the development of glass and plastic cells. These cells have significant advantages over other solar technologies for applications such as buildings that incorporate solar panels instead of windows and walls and for generating electricity inside buildings, as a substitute for using batteries. The 3GSolar team is currently in discussions with business partners from the industry in order to develop, produce and market our advanced solar solutions."
Dr. Jonathan Goldstein, founder and president of 3GSolar, said: "The people at HuaXiang recognized that 3GSolar's technology is a competitive and inexpensive alternative to silicon panel technology and includes unique advantages such as: lower cost of energy production, ability to produce effective energy even in weather conditions extreme, and the ability to generate energy even in very low light situations such as during shadow and inside buildings."
