The cornerstone laying ceremony for the "Guangdong Technion Institute", the joint venture between the Technion and Shantou University in China, was held today in the presence of the donating entrepreneur Li Ka-shing, the ninth President Shimon Peres, the Minister of Science and Technology Ofir Akunis, the Governor of Guangdong Province Zhu Xiaoden, the Mayor Haifa Yona Yahav, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry Prof.-Researcher Aharon Chachanover, Technion President Prof. Peretz Lavi, representatives of the Chinese government and with the participation of 5000 guests from around the world.
The cornerstone laying ceremony for the "Guangdong Technion Institute", the joint venture between the Technion and Shantou University in China, took place today in the presence of the entrepreneur Mr. Li Ka-shing, the ninth President Shimon Peres, the Minister of Science and Technology Ofir Akunis, the Governor of Guangdong Province Zhu Xiaoden, the Mayor Haifa Yona Yahav, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry Prof.-Researcher Aharon Chachanover, Technion President Prof. Peretz Lavi, representatives of the Chinese government and with the participation of 5000 guests from around the world.
In Shantau, China, the cornerstone was laid this morning for the establishment of the Guangdong-Technion Institute, a historic partnership between the Technion and the Chinese Shantau University, with the support of the Governor of Guangdong Province, the Municipality of Shantau and the Li Ka-shing Foundation (LKSF). The establishment of the new institute, which will be called GTIIT - Guangdong Technion Israel Institute of Technology, is the result of an unprecedented collaboration between the Chinese government and the Israeli Technion. On behalf of the Technion, the Institute will be headed by Research Prof. Aharon Chahanover, 2004 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry.
"In this era," said the foundation's chairman, Mr. Li Ka-shing, "no one doubts that technological innovation is an essential condition for a country's ability to create common wealth, and is the key to personal success. Creativity is the driving force of our time, advancing us into the future. Establishing a creative paradigm is not a simple challenge, and only through education and the rule of law can we guarantee a free, fair and fruitful future for all."
The ninth President Shimon Peres, who was one of the main guests of honor at the ceremony, said that "the establishment of the Technion branch in China is further proof that Israeli innovation is breaking ground and crossing geographical borders. China is one of Israel's main partners in the field of technology and high-tech. Today, over 1,000 Israeli companies operate in China, and I hope that the economic cooperation between the countries will only deepen. The two countries have a lot to share and learn from each other."
"This is an unprecedented achievement for the Israeli academy, which is practically opening an Israeli university in China," said Minister of Science, Technology and Space Ofir Akunis during the ceremony. "I see strengthening ties with China and deepening them as strategically important in all respects: economic, technological and scientific." Minister Akunis added that "one of the main goals I set when I took office is to strengthen and encourage cooperation between Israel and Asian countries, which greatly value Israeli innovation, Israeli science and our high-tech industry."
"Today we are laying the physical cornerstone for unprecedented cooperation, which contributes to the strengthening of relations between Israel and China and marches forward the Technion, Shantou University and education in China as a whole," Technion President Prof. Peretz Lavi said at the ceremony. "The combination between the Israeli spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship and the scale, power and tremendous resources of China is a solid foundation for a wonderful partnership. Together we are creating a unique and high-quality research institute, which will work for the well-being of the citizens of Israel, China and the entire world."
"I am very happy about the ongoing collaboration between the Technion and Guangdong Province, one of the richest and most important provinces in China, and Shantou University, a collaboration that will establish a Technion campus in Shantau," said Research Professor Aharon Chahanover, Vice President of the Guangdong-Technion Institute. "The Technion will contribute from its rich experience in training engineers who know how to apply what they have learned and turn this knowledge into commercial products focused on science and technology. The Chinese will contribute a lot of their diligence and devotion to the goal, qualities that we Israelis lack a little. Therefore, it is a cooperation that will be fruitful for both parties. I would like to express special gratitude to Mr. Li Ka-shing, and the philanthropic foundation he founded, for his impressive return to his hometown and his extraordinary contribution to its advancement."
"This week Shantou became the fourth city in China that is a twin city to Haifa," said Haifa Mayor Yona Yahav. "The economic cooperation between higher education and entrepreneurship, as exists between the Technion and Haifa, is a successful model that the Chinese wish to adopt in Shantou as well. We see great national importance in the cooperation and tightening of ties between Israel and China."
"I would like to thank the Israeli government and our colleagues at the Technion," said the president of the Guangdong-Technion Institute, Li Jiangge. "Cultivating human progress through science and technology is a common aspiration for China and Israel. The Guangdong-Technion Institute will carry forward the legacy of the Technion in Shantou, Guangdong and make it the 'Silicon Valley' of South China."
The establishment of the new institute in China was helped by a huge donation to the Technion in the amount of 130 million dollars from the Li Ka-shing Foundation, headed by the Chinese businessman Mr. Li Ka-shing. The donation, announced more than two years ago, is the largest the Technion has received in its history and one of the most generous in the history of higher education in Israel. This donation is dedicated to improving infrastructure and promoting the Technion's programs for the welfare of students and faculty at the campus in Haifa.
This announcement was issued jointly by the Ministry of Science and the office of former President Peres.
