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Most of Israel’s nine universities have joint programs in other countries, from student-faculty exchanges and research to brick-and-mortar institutes.

On June 16, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and other dignitaries will break ground for the 12-acre campus of Cornell Tech, a joint program launched in 2013 by the Ivy League university and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa.

Last December, on the other side of the world, the Technion broke ground for the Guangdong Technion Israel Institute of Technology (GTIIT) in Shantou, China, planned to accommodate 4,000 undergraduate and 1,000 graduate students in engineering and science as well as a high-tech park for Israeli and Chinese companies.

These revolutionary partnerships are significant indicators of the growing involvement of Israeli academia abroad. Most of Israel’s nine universities have joint programs in other countries, ranging from student-faculty exchanges and research projects to brick-and-mortar institutes.

Research collaborations between individuals in Israeli and overseas universities have been flourishing for decades. However, institutional collaborations are a newer phenomenon, says Liat Maoz, deputy director-general for policy and research at Israel’s Council for Higher Education (CHE).

“This is part of a global trend,” Maoz tells ISRAEL21c. “In the past five years, many universities, especially in developed countries, are opening branches in developing countries such as the United Arab Emirates, China and India. In Israel, institutions are starting to look at activities abroad to promote academic relationships with the US, China, India and Singapore.”

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By: Abigail Klein Leichman/Israel21c.org