Johns Hopkins SAIS and Tel Aviv University launch cooperative degree program.

Joint Israeli-Emirati Water Research Institute to Open in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

A first of its kind agreement was signed this Tuesday in Abu Dhabi to launch a joint Israeli-Emirati Water Research Institute. It is the first official agreement of its kind when a Water Research Institute is being established as part of a strategic commercial collaboration between Watergen, an Israeli water from air technology company, and Baynunah, a sister company of Al Dahra Group, an Emirati agriculture group that specializes in food security, and will be working in close collaboration with the Moshe Mirilashvili Institute for Applied Water Studies at Tel Aviv University’s Water Research Center.

From Scientific Knowledge to Cutting Edge Possibilities

In attendance at the signing ceremony were: Dr. Michael Mirilashvili, Owner and President of Watergen; Prof. Ariel Porat, President of the Tel Aviv University; Prof. Milette Shamir, Vice President of Tel Aviv University; Amos Elad, Vice President for Resource Development and Public Affairs Division at Tel Aviv University, Prof. Dror Avisar, Head of Moshe Mirilashvili Institute for Applied Water Studies at Tel Aviv University; H.E. Khedaim Abdulla Al Derei, Vice Chairman and Co-Founder of Al Dahra Group; Mr. Eitan Na’eh, the Israeli Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, and other senior officials and members of the parties. Prof. Shamir stated: “Tel Aviv University has a strong commitment to excellence in research and to extensive international collaboration. Research at the joint water institute will build on our special academic strengths, and will open a path for collaboration with the U.A.E. in other mutual areas of research, as well as to student and faculty exchange programs.”   Tel Aviv University: A powerhouse in innovative water R&D

Producing Drinking Water from Air

Besides academic cooperation, Watergen and Baynunah laid the cornerstone for a Watergen production facility in the UAE. This joint venture will commercialize Watergen products in the United Arab Emirates, the Gulf States, and Africa. This joint venture has already been collaborating with the Abu Dhabi municipality, leading to dozens of Watergen devices being already deployed around the city for the benefit of its residents, forming the initial stage of one of this joint venture missions, namely to deploy thousands of Watergen devices all across the UAE. Watergen’s innovative technology enables to produce top quality pure and fresh drinking water solely from the air. Watergen devices use a standard connection to electricity or other alternative energy sources such as solar panels, and can produce up to 6,000 liters of top-quality pure drinking water per day. Today, Watergen’s devices are deployed in more than 80 countries around the world, and are located in remote villages, hospitals, city centers, public parks, schools, office buildings, and even in disaster struck areas. The partnership between Watergen and Baynunah expands the commercial footprint of Watergen in the region, while serving as a catalyst in strengthening the ties between the two nations. “The Abraham Accords has given countries in the Middle East the opportunity to improve and advance relations in various fields,” says Watergen’s President and CEO, Dr. Michael Mirilashvili. “Thanks to the agreements, we – an Israeli company – are able to cooperate with our Middle East neighbors to solve one the region’s difficult problems – water scarcity. Throughout history, conflicts have often been centered around controlling water sources. Today we are doing the opposite: building peace and a common future around a groundbreaking Israeli technology that will provide a plug-and-play solution which allows all residents of the UAE and the world an unlimited access to off grid, top quality and pure drinking water.” Featured image: From the signing ceremony in Abu Dhabi this week (Photo: Tel Aviv University)

“Synergy” between students, faculty is excellent as TAU prepares to welcome next cohort.

TAU students welcome to join week of activities and getting to know our friends at UD.

Israel and the UAE have been inching toward normalization in recent years. The historic, US-brokered peace deal that was reached between the countries in September 2020 leads the way for our countries to establish normal relations, including academic exchange. TAU quickly recognized this as a window of opportunity and we are excited to share that the very first “University of Dubai and Tel Aviv University Collaboration Week” is about to take place, and welcome all TAU students to join the event.

By Students & For Students

When Ido Montaniez, Head of Culture, Sports and Foreign Affairs at the TAU Student Union heard that fellow student, Oleg Ben-Avi, was in Dubai, he swiftly coordinated for Oleg to meet with the President of Dubai University’s student union, their student council advisor, as well as the head of Dubai University’s gaming club. Oleg became the first student from TAU to meet with students from the University of Dubai. Since that momentous meeting, a new and exciting relationship has evolved between students from both universities. Ido kept in touch with his contacts at UD, and already during their first meeting the idea was brought up: to organize a full week of virtual activities for students of the University of Dubai and TAU to celebrate the newfound connection between our universities, building on the relationship formed and to exchange knowledge. Subsequently, on the TAU side, Ido and Orit Coty, Marketing Director of TAU International, have been preparing the first initiative ever to be organized between TAU and an academic institution in Dubai, by students and for students. UD President Eesa Mohammed Bastaki, Ph.D is expected to make a statement at the event, as will our own TAU President Prof. Ariel Porat. The event has also opened for engagement between researchers from both universities, as some of the sessions will be co-presented by scholars from both sides. Prof. Hayit Greenspan from TAU’s Department of Biomedical Engineering will be presenting in a session on Artificial Intelligence and its Applications: Space and Medical Fields and Prof. Danny Ben-Shahar from the Coller school of Management will be giving an overview of the Israeli economy.

What’s Planned?

The sessions have been curated to offer something to students of all fields: March 21, – An Overview of the UAE and Israel Economies (14:00-15:00) – Dr. Genewew Bekele from the University of Dubai and Prof. Danny Ben-Shahar from Tel Aviv University give an overview of our countries’ economies. More details here and register on Zoom here. March 21 – Israelis Meet Emirates (19:00) – A stimulating cultural exchange activity including a joint panel discussing the Emirati and Israeli character; fun facts about UAE and Israel; “a day in the life” with videos, and an open discussion. More details here and register on Zoom here. March 22 – Artificial Intelligence and its Applications: Space and Medical Fields (16:00-17:00) – Dr. Alavikunhu Panthakkan from the University of Dubai and Prof. Hayit Greenspan from Tel Aviv University will lead this super interesting IT-Engineering session. More details here and register on Zoom here. March 24 – Environmental Day (19:00) – Fair trade and fashion, the animal industry and tree planting benefits and more will be discussed during this session. More details here and register on Zoom here. March 25 – FIFA Competition (19:00) – What better way to end our collaboration week than a FIFA match on PlayStation, Tel Aviv against Dubai? Click here to learn more and register.

What’s Next?

According to Ido, this will be the first time that UD cooperates with an Israeli institution, and they are now looking into sending a delegation to visit TAU campus this summer. Who knows, perhaps we will soon be able to welcome our first UAE exchange students here on TAU campus as well? The ‘University of Dubai and Tel Aviv University Collaboration Week’ is beyond doubt a brilliant way to embark on what we hope will be the beginning of a productive and lasting relationship between our universities.   Israel and the UAE have been inching toward normalization in recent years. The historic, US-brokered peace deal that was reached between the countries in September 2020 leads the way for our countries to establish normal relations, including academic exchange. TAU quickly recognized this as a window of opportunity and we are excited to share that the very first “University of Dubai and Tel Aviv University Collaboration Week” is about to take place, and welcome all TAU students to join the event.

By Students & For Students

When Ido Montaniez, Head of Culture, Sports and Foreign Affairs at the TAU Student Union heard that fellow student, Oleg Ben-Avi, was in Dubai, he swiftly coordinated for Oleg to meet with the President of Dubai University’s student union, their student council advisor, as well as the head of Dubai University’s gaming club. Oleg became the first student from TAU to meet with students from the University of Dubai. Since that momentous meeting, a new and exciting relationship has evolved between students from both universities. Ido kept in touch with his contacts at UD, and already during their first meeting the idea was brought up: to organize a full week of virtual activities for students of the University of Dubai and TAU to celebrate the newfound connection between our universities, building on the relationship formed and to exchange knowledge. Subsequently, on the TAU side, Ido and Orit Coty, Marketing Director of TAU International, have been preparing the first initiative ever to be organized between TAU and an academic institution in Dubai, by students and for students. UD President Eesa Mohammed Bastaki, Ph.D is expected to make a statement at the event, as will our own TAU President Prof. Ariel Porat. The event has also opened for engagement between researchers from both universities, as some of the sessions will be co-presented by scholars from both sides. Prof. Hayit Greenspan from TAU’s Department of Biomedical Engineering will be presenting in a session on Artificial Intelligence and its Applications: Space and Medical Fields and Prof. Danny Ben-Shahar from the Coller school of Management will be giving an overview of the Israeli economy.

What’s Planned?

The sessions have been curated to offer something to students of all fields: March 21, – An Overview of the UAE and Israel Economies (14:00-15:00) – Dr. Genewew Bekele from the University of Dubai and Prof. Danny Ben-Shahar from Tel Aviv University give an overview of our countries’ economies. More details here and register on Zoom here. March 21 – Israelis Meet Emirates (19:00) – A stimulating cultural exchange activity including a joint panel discussing the Emirati and Israeli character; fun facts about UAE and Israel; “a day in the life” with videos, and an open discussion. More details here and register on Zoom here. March 22 – Artificial Intelligence and its Applications: Space and Medical Fields (16:00-17:00) – Dr. Alavikunhu Panthakkan from the University of Dubai and Prof. Hayit Greenspan from Tel Aviv University will lead this super interesting IT-Engineering session. More details here and register on Zoom here. March 24 – Environmental Day (19:00) – Fair trade and fashion, the animal industry and tree planting benefits and more will be discussed during this session. More details here and register on Zoom here. March 25 – FIFA Competition (19:00) – What better way to end our collaboration week than a FIFA match on PlayStation, Tel Aviv against Dubai? Click here to learn more and register.

What’s Next?

According to Ido, this will be the first time that UD cooperates with an Israeli institution, and they are now looking into sending a delegation to visit TAU campus this summer. Who knows, perhaps we will soon be able to welcome our first UAE exchange students here on TAU campus as well? The ‘University of Dubai and Tel Aviv University Collaboration Week’ is beyond doubt a brilliant way to embark on what we hope will be the beginning of a productive and lasting relationship between our universities.

The new agreements between nations have created new opportunities – A TAU student meets students from the University of Dubai.

Oleg Ben-Avi, a third-year student in the Digital Society Studies Track at the Gershon H. Gordon Faculty of Social Sciences, was the first student from TAU to meet with students from the University of Dubai.

Connecting through Instagram

Oleg’s meeting with the Chairman of the University of Dubai’s Student Union, the Union’s Consultant and the Head of its Gaming Club, was coordinated by Ido Montaniez, Head of Culture, Sports and Foreign Affairs at the TAU Student Union, who says:  “We have good relations with universities in the UAE, and every day we form more ties. But our ties with the Student Union of the University of Dubai are especially close.” Ido recounts how he created the initial contact through the Instagram: “We conduct thorough research on every institution we wish to contact. If we find that a certain institution is especially active on a social network, we use that channel. Encountering too many obstacles in the University of Dubai’s formal channels, I turned to the social networks, and it worked,” he smiles.

Once the channel had opened, Oleg, a TAU Union representative on holiday in Dubai, was more than happy for the opportunity to make new friends. He shared his experiences with us:

•  What did you as a student gain from this encounter?

“As a student of Digital Society Studies (Sociology-Anthropology and Communication), I wanted to get to know their culture and social perceptions. At the beginning the conversation was a bit guarded, but gradually they opened up, and I found people who are not very different from us. They are cynical like we are, they enjoy free humor – as long as it does not offend their religion, but even this rule can be bent at times. They are in favor of criticism, and open to discussions and questions that can be challenging. For example, the standup performances of Achmed the Dead Terrorist are very popular over there.”

•  What insights did you gain from the meeting?

“I realized that the degree I am studying for can really be useful, today and in the future. I saw how active they are on the social networks, and how the technological revolution has helped Dubai grow and become a world power in quite a few areas. It was also clear to me that this meeting was only the beginning. They expect to establish numerous collaborations with us, between our universities specifically, and with Israel in general. My new friends just can’t wait to visit Israel. I played some Israeli music for them, which I thought was their style (based on what they had played for me) and told them that we have an enormous range of music genres. They loved it!” 

• What about a return visit to Israel?

“The Student Union is planning official visits, joint seminars and student exchange programs with its UAE partners. A full week of online events is planned for March, including both social and academic meetings between students. I invited them to Israel and promised to be their guide. I do hope they’ll take me up on it.”

^{Pic: Oleg, Ahmed, Matt and Abdullah at a café.}

TAU’s Foreign Office

Behind the scenes, planning meetings and collaborations between students, we also found TAU’s VP International, Prof. Milette Shamir, and the team at TAU International – responsible for TAU’s interface with universities worldwide, serving international students and proposing suitable programs.

“From the moment the agreements were signed it was clear that, in addition to forming new academic connections and collaborations, we must also define the role of academia in building bridges between nations and cultures,” says Prof. Shamir. “Ties between students are an excellent basis for all the rest. The spirit of Tel Aviv University, which places great emphasis on innovation and entrepreneurship, as well as the city of Tel Aviv – an international hub of entrepreneurship, go very well with the spirit of universities in Bahrein and the UAE, especially in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, where entrepreneurship and innovation also predominate.”

“One high-potential aspect of our connection with the UAE is the prospect of bringing over some of their outstanding students. Many young people from the UAE go overseas to study, and traditionally they prefer elite academic institutions in the UK or US. Now they can attend excellent universities closer to home, offering programs that can suit their fields of interest, and an environment that feels more like home. 20% of our students know Arabic from home. We are in the Middle East. We have hummus in our cafeteria.”

Featured image: Oleg Ben-Avi and his friends from the University of Dubai

TAU’s jumpTAU program helps bicultural teams found start-ups and friendships.

By Lindsey Zemler

“If you put a law student, a medical student, a social sciences student and an engineer in a room—it’s not the start of a joke. It’s the start of a creative idea,” says Yair Sakov, Managing Director of TAU’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center and its accelerator program, jumpTAU. 

The four-month program provides a framework for teams of TAU students and recent alumni to develop a business or social venture. In 2020, the Center, which promotes the integration of diverse communities into Israel’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, focused on bringing together Arab and Jewish students. 

Although Arab society constitutes more than 20% of Israel’s population, relations between Arab citizens and the Jewish majority are often characterized by ignorance, prejudice and fear. The same is true on Israeli campuses: “Connections between Jews and Arabs are happening in the workplace,” Sakov says, “but in academia we don’t see it enough.”

According to jumpTAU participant Lena Polevoi, a Jewish biomedical engineering student, having Jews and Arabs working together gave her team unique insights into developing a product. She acted as CEO of a student group developing a digital platform called Chatty, which aims to reduce loneliness among the elderly. “We discovered that loneliness is less prevalent among Arab seniors because they generally live with their families, while Jewish seniors do not,” she says.

 

Lena Polevoi. Photo: Yael Tzur.

Polevoi adds that she entered the program ready to learn as much as possible before graduating, especially in the field of digital marketing.

Similarly, Arab-Israeli Osaid Watted, a second-year mechanical engineering student, applied to jumpTAU to cultivate his entrepreneurial skills. He also wished to forge connections to the Jewish business world. Watted was part of the team that launched Game On, an online social platform for amateur athletes to find sports games to compete in. The team members’ different fields of study enhanced the business development process, he says.

The jumpTAU novice entrepreneurs received guidance from industry veterans and executives with decades of experience. All of the program’s volunteer mentors are TAU alumni. Most important, the mentors provided an entry point into the business world, which was a major advantage, especially for the Arab students; finding a job, for example, says Watted, would otherwise be very difficult for him, who has no experience or contacts in Israel’s business community.

Osaid Watted. Photo: Yael Tzur.

​In addition to networking opportunities, the program, funded by the U.S. Embassy and USAID’s Conflict Mitigation and Management (CMM) Program, provided additional benefits to participants, says Sakov. 

Jewish students gained a rare window into the Arab market through their Arab peers, a huge market opportunity locally and globally, he says.

Polevoi emerged from the program with new knowledge and skills and a refined direction in life. The experience led her to take a job in a solar energy venture upon graduation from TAU. She also became good friends with her Arab teammate and says that participation in the accelerator was an opportunity to get to know a new culture first-hand. 

For Watted, the experience provided enormous personal and professional benefits; “the entrepreneurial sense in me just grew, and I became more confident in my abilities, like how to actually build a start-up—it’s just priceless.” He now plans to start his own company, based on the values he was raised on: to provide an egalitarian and empowering work environment for disadvantaged groups within the Arab community, including Arab women. 

“Respecting each other and working with each other creates a feeling of tolerance,” said Watted. 

By the program’s end, two out of eight teams had raised investment funding for their start-ups to continue beyond the accelerator. Yet, to Sakov, securing funding is but “the icing on the cake.” 

“Professional collaboration is where humanity begins,” concludes Sakov. “When you work with someone, you trust them. All of a sudden, the label that says Jewish or Arab disappears, and you see the person behind it.”

featured image: jumpTAU students. Photo: Yael Tzur.