"The idea was to leave the university with a real idea and ability to establish a venture that would respond to a global challenge that would affect people's lives such as in the areas of health, poverty and energy" says Omri Yaffe, one of the participants
Imagine a place where young and brilliant entrepreneurially oriented minds come from all over the world for three months where they are exposed to the most advanced technologies in the world, to the most inspiring and brilliant lecturers in the field of technology and science and receive tools and support to solve the global problems that affect billions of people in the world. This was exactly the experience that three young Israeli entrepreneurs who were accepted into the Singularity University project at NASA headquarters in California had the privilege of going through this past summer after winning the trailblazing competition by Ilan and Asaf Ramon initiated by the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ramon Foundation.
Omri Yaffe (29), Zvika Oron (29) and Hillel Mashal (32) are the three Israelis who joined 80 entrepreneurs from 35 countries last summer, including computer professionals, design and art professionals, businessmen, social activists, doctors and young scientists who have proven unique , creativity and comparative advantage in a certain field and were accepted to a university operated by NASA and Google.
"The idea was to leave the university with a real idea and ability to establish a venture that would respond to a global challenge that would affect people's lives such as in the areas of health, poverty and energy" says Omri Yaffe. For this purpose, Singularity University brought the participants together with leading entrepreneurs who broke ground in their field, such as Dan Berry, an astronaut at NASA who was in space three times, Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft, the head of technology in the White House, and members of the senior management of Google and NASA.
The participants also had the opportunity to visit places that are not open to the general public, including the NASA training and research area where the participants themselves landed a space shuttle using a unique simulator of its kind in the world, visit the headquarters of the internet giants Google and Facebook and see up close the work on tomorrow's technologies in the fields of energy, nuclear, and robotics , lasers, bio-technology and more.
Another dimension of the university was the opportunity it gives to make global connections with creative people who have brought about a change, even a small one, in their country, and have the potential to bring about a real impact in the future. One of the projects initiated by participants at the university tried to solve problems of the movement of medicines and food in Africa which, especially in winter, do not reach the villages. The participants developed the small drone helicopters that act like a remote control car to transport medicine and food and are trying to run it now at the UN.
Omri and Zvika worked within the university on a project called "Senstore" to establish a platform that allows developing and distributing medical devices in a cheap and available way anywhere in the world. "We brought the knowledge and experience from our start-up in Israel and there we gathered a team that specializes in medical devices, software, regulation and marketing that helped us develop the idea further" they say. In Israel, the two old friends are engaged in running their company LifeBeam, which produces a unique sensor that monitors physiological parameters in a dynamic and noisy environment. "At this point we are working with the Air Force and the IDF on a sensor that monitors body parameters such as breathing, pulse and blood flow speed," says Tzvika. "The sensor clings to a soldier's body, constantly measures the physical parameters and deters the military in emergency situations such as a soldier who has become dehydrated or injured."
Hillel focused at the university on a project that aims to provide cheap electrical energy to people in third world countries and built a model of a personal kit that allows private individuals to assemble a cheap and small solar system facility centered on photovoltaic cells that produce electricity at a basic level that allows, for example, to turn on several light bulbs and a television for a few hours. In Israel, as part of his master's degree studies in solar energy in Besha Boker, Hillel continues to work on a future type of solar cells that convert the sun's energy into electricity and are based on nanoantennas of the order of 100 nanometers (thousandths of a human hair). "Such cells are supposed to be more efficient and cheaper, and the hope is that they will make our world a better and greener place," notes Hillel.
Hillel tells about the greatest inspiration he received: "From astronaut Dan Berry, a humble and kind-hearted man, who was rejected for 13 years by NASA until he was accepted to become an astronaut, I learned the greatest lesson: not to give up on your dreams, to persevere and stick to the mission."
The three Israeli representatives say that the university has changed their vision and made it broader, long-term and interdisciplinary and all three, each in their own field, hope that the initiatives they are working on now will bring change and a real impact on people.
Do you also want to participate in NASA University? Registration for the "Pathfinders" competition of the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ramon Foundation for the next cycle of Singularity University is underway. Details on the competition website Registration ends on January 10, 2012.
Since 2011, the Ramon Foundation and the Ministry of Science and Technology have been holding the Pioneers Competition named after Ilan and Assaf Ramon. A panel of judges that includes key people from academia, the business, economic and social sectors, choose two groundbreaking, innovative projects each year that promise a real impact on humanity.
The winners receive a scholarship of approximately $30,000 each for the Singularity University summer program at NASA Headquarters in California.
The competition seeks to encourage entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation in Israeli society, to foster entrepreneurs, excellence, Israeli leadership and values. In addition, the Ministry of Science and the Ramon Foundation wish to raise public awareness of the fields of science and technology, the impact of these fields on the daily life of every citizen, their contribution to the economy, the cultivation of human capital and the reduction of disparities in society.
One response
Paul Allen, founder of Microsoft, not Apple.