In Touch Quarter 4 - 2018

Feature
Technion launches
new funding campaign
Alan Aziz, CEO of Technion UK
In 1912 the cornerstone was laid for the Technion –
Israel Institute of Technology in a ceremony that
took place on the slopes of Mount Carmel, near
the port of Haifa.
It was the first institution of higher education to be
established in the area, which was part of the Ottoman
Empire at that time. The laying of that cornerstone
demonstrated a visionary understanding, even then, that the
success of the Jewish state-to-be would depend heavily on its
ability to innovate through technology; that the country’s only
significant natural resource was the brainpower of its people.
Fast-forward 100 years, and we can see how astonishingly
that vision has been realised. Today, the State of Israel is one
of the technology powerhouses of the world – commonly
referred to as the ‘start-up nation’ because of the number of
new businesses it has produced on the back of technological
innovations. And where do the majority of those talented
innovators and great ideas start? At the Technion!
Consider these facts:
• Technion graduates comprise the majority of Israelieducated
scientists and engineers, constituting over 70%
of the country’s founders and managers of high-tech
industries.
• Due to the ingenuity of Technion alumni, Israel is now
home to the greatest concentration of high-tech start-up
companies anywhere outside of Silicon Valley.
• Companies including Google, Microsoft, IBM, Qualcomm,
Yahoo!, Hewlett-Packard and others have established
their operations near, or even on, the campus where they
can take advantage of the Technion’s research power and
outstanding graduates.
• 80% of Israeli NASDAQ companies are led by Technion
graduates.
• Hi-tech industry now accounts for more than 54% of
Israel’s industrial exports, and over 26% of the country’s
total exports.
• 135 out of every 10,000 workers in Israel are scientists and
engineers. Compare that to the USA, which comes in
second place, where 85 out of every 10,000 workers are
scientists and engineers.
• Nine out of every 1,000 workers are engaged in R&D,
nearly double the rate of both the USA and Japan.
• Three of Israel’s five science Nobel Laureates are at the
Technion.
• The Technion is one of just 10 universities in the world that
has built and launched a satellite.
As a result of its many successes the Technion has earned a
global reputation for its pioneering work in nanotechnology,
life sciences, stem-cell technology, water management,
sustainable energy, information technology, biotechnology,
materials engineering and aerospace. It is also one of only
five similar institutes worldwide that include a medical
school, encouraging rapid progress in biotechnology, drug
development and stem-cell technology.
As Israel’s centre for high-tech education and research,
the Technion is vital to the nation’s economic progress; one
indication of which is the global campaign it launched in
June this year to raise $1.8 billion in support. The largest
fundraising campaign of its kind by an Israeli university, the
objective is to amplify its impact in a wide range of sectors.*
As the premier institute of its kind in the region, Technion
breakthroughs can benefit all the nations of the Middle East.
As a world-class research university, the Technion helps
advance the frontiers of science and technology to benefit
people around the world.
*www.breakingisraelnews.com/109413/israels-technion-launches-1-8-
billion-funding-campaign/
Contact: www.technionuk.org email: ceo@technionuk.org
Technion – Israel Institute of Technology
10 IN TOUCH • 4 th Quarter 2018