The Research Committee in the Office of the Chief Scientist approved 33 research and development programs within the framework of the R&D fund, with an investment of 86.8 million NIS, of which 7 projects amounting to 19.3 million NIS within the framework of traditional industry
The research committee headed by the chief scientist at TMT, Dr. Eli Ofer, approved 33 new R&D programs with a total investment of NIS 86.8 million, of which NIS 40.5 million are R&D grants from the chief scientist's budget.
3 programs in the field of electronics were approved by the committee with an investment of 11 million NIS (out of a requested budget of 21.6 million NIS), the state grants for these projects amounted to 4.6 million NIS.
4 programs in the field of electro-optics were approved by the committee with an investment of NIS 10.2 million (out of a requested budget of NIS 12.6 million), with state grants totaling NIS 4.5 million.
2 R&D programs in the field of communication were approved with an investment of 6.4 million (out of a requested budget of 12.3 million NIS), and state grants in the amount of 2.2 million NIS.
The committee approved 3 software projects with an investment of NIS 11.1 million (out of a requested budget of NIS 17.4 million), state grants for these projects totaled NIS 4.7 million.
16 projects in the fields of biotechnology, chemistry, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment were approved by the committee with an investment of NIS 40.1 million (out of a requested budget of NIS 52.7 million). State grants totaled NIS 20.6 million.
5 projects in additional fields were approved with an investment of NIS 8.1 million (out of a requested budget of NIS 12.2 million) and state grants amounting to NIS 3.9 million.
The Office of the Chief Scientist notes that among the projects approved by the committee, 8 projects were approved as part of the support track for traditional industry: the total approved investment scope for these projects amounted to NIS 19.7 million, of which NIS 10.5 million are state grants from the Chief Scientist's budget.
The support program for traditional industry as part of the R&D fund was launched in September 2005 with the aim of helping traditional industry enterprises to develop a new strategy based on technological differentiation, thereby creating competitive advantages for the enterprise in the local and global market. This initiative will allow the traditional factories to constantly promote and assimilate technological innovation processes. Since the beginning of 2006, the research committee has approved 52 projects of the traditional industry with an investment of NIS 78 million, of which NIS 42 million are state grants from the chief scientist's budget.
The chief scientist's office also informed that 4 projects were approved by the committee as part of international cooperation with France, Italy and Germany. The approved investment scope for these projects amounted to NIS 10.6 million, of which NIS 5.1 million came from state grants.
