(Jerusalem, November 6, 2018)—The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI), along with the Bezalel Academy of Design and Azrieli College of Engineering, received a 20 million NIS ($5.4 million USD) grant from Israel’s Council for Higher Education (CHE) to establish an entrepreneurship and innovation center in downtown Jerusalem. This consortium, united under the name “JLM-Impact Consortium”, won first place for CHE’s request for proposals to boost entrepreneurial activity among the city’s students and academic community.

Yishai Fraenkel, HUJI VP and Director General: “We’re delighted to win this award—a feat accomplished through close teamwork with Bezalel and Azrieli. We plan to make our mark on this city by instilling a spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship. Every student and professor is a potential entrepreneur.”

Dr. Amnon Dekel, Head of Hebrew University’s HUJI Innovate: “We are deeply honored by the decision of Israel’s Council for Higher Education’s Planning and Budgeting Committee. This grant will significantly strengthen the JLM-Impact Consortium’s ability to infuse innovation and entrepreneurship into the daily life of our students and researchers, and to transform them into entrepreneurs who design meaningful and sustainable projects for the city.”

Prof. Raza Azhari, President of Azrieli College of Engineering: “This consortium will serve as a platform to advance Jerusalem’s diverse populations and will contribute to the social and economic growth of our city.”

Dr. Yuval Karniel, Rector of the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design: “Bezalel is proud of this award and proud to be partners with Jerusalem’s leading institutions to bring about real change in the entrepreneurial culture in Jerusalem and in Israeli society, as a whole. The combination of creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship holds great potential for the growth and prosperity of Jerusalem and Israeli society.”

Dr. Yaron Daniely, CEO & President of Yissum: “This major accomplishment for the Hebrew University adds to a record of national leadership in technology commercialization and new company creation by the University and Yissum. Yissum is looking forward to playing a critical role in enabling stronger and broader entrepreneurial activities across the campuses.”

Picture: (Left to right): Yishai Fraenkel (HU), Rafi Aviram (Azrieli), Ayelet Cohen (HUJI Innovate), Amnon Dekel (HUJI Innovate), Zvi Wiener (HU), Dor Lin (Bezalel).
Credit: Hebrew University