Date/Time
Date(s) - 02/28/2018
2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Location
Reitz Union Chamber Room
Categories No Categories
Universities are taking a growing role in technology innovation and by that become drivers for regional or national economic growth. An increasing number of universities are establishing strong entrepreneurship and innovation (E&I) profiles and reputations. A benchmarking study commissioned by the MIT-Skoltech Initiative to gain insight into the conditions and strategies associated with the most successful university-based entrepreneurial ecosystems, identified the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, as one of the top 10 esteemed entrepreneurial universities. Moreover, the Technion was ranked first among all universities operating in “challenging” environments. More recently the Technion was ranked by the Times Higher Education as number one in the world in digital education.
Indeed, Technion’s graduates are responsible for turning Israel into a “Start-Up” Nation by providing the professional backbone for the thriving Israeli high-tech sector. Since 1995, Technion graduates have established more than 2000 companies, of which 811 are still active today. More than 400 graduates established at least 2 companies each and 18 established 5 or more. These companies created, in Israel alone, 100,000 jobs and brought $30 Billion through merging and acquisition.
Several factors are responsible for the success of the Technion-based I&E ecosystem. First and foremost, the E&I culture is sown into the Technion fabric from its very beginning. From its foundation in 1912, the Technion’s mission was to provide service to humanity and to the State of Israel once it would be established. As such, basic and applied research, both essential to support I&E were seen as the two sides of the same coin. The Technion’s history clearly demonstrates that necessity is the mother of invention, as some of its historical landmark events, such as opening the Faculty of Aeronautical Engineering in 1954, the Faculties of Medicine and Computer Science and establishing the microelectronic Institute, all in 1969, were motivated by urgent national needs. Throughout its history, the Technion has understood that part of its mission is to find solutions to national needs. Thus, even though faculty members are free to conduct applied or basic research as they choose, they are ready to focus on issues of national and international priorities. Additional ingredients of success are involvement of students as researchers, innovators and entrepreneurs, support of risk-taking research, multidisciplinary collaboration, and institutional support of technology transfer. Recognizing that innovation will come from research teams interacting across disciplines, the Technion established several virtual multidisciplinary research centers in nanotechnology, energy, autonomous systems, life sciences and engineering, and integrated cancer research, that bridge between disciplines and faculties. Multidisciplinary research was also the principle of the academic structure of the Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute in New York that comprises 3 interdisciplinary research hubs in the connective media, healthier life and the built environment. In addition, the Technion offers entrepreneurship programs and incubators, fostering alumni mentorships and encourage students’ interaction with industry.