Students from various Czech universities visited Bar-Ilan University (BIU) in August 2023 to learn about BIU’s award-winning, revolutionary research in energy and sustainability. The visit was part of the Czech Republic’s Neuron and IOCB Tech Internships grant program, which concentrates on the application, commercialization, and transfer of scientific understanding.
The students (mostly undergraduate) were welcomed to BIU by Prof. Moshe Lewenstein, BIU’s Deputy President, and Prof. Shulamit Michaeli, Vice-President for Research, who gave them an overview of the various STEM faculties and departments as well as some of the innovative research being conducted by some of the top scientists in their fields.
Ofer Dahan, Executive Director of the International School, provided an overview of the International School’s degree programs, which range from Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees to doctoral and postdoctoral opportunities, as well as student-exchange and study-abroad programs, all of which are taught in English.
Highlights of the day included a tour of three laboratories in different fields relating to energy and sustainability research as well as BIU’s solar-energy farm, a joint project between the Faculty of Life Sciences and Doral Energy Group, all of which fall under BIU’s Energy and Sustainability Center.
The first tour was led by Dr. Raphael Aguillon, a postdoctoral researcher in the Appelbaum Lab in the Mina & Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, which focuses on Molecular Neuroscience (the genetic and cellular function of the brain).
Then Dr. Roman Kapaev, a postdoctoral researcher in the Noked Lab (Department of Chemistry), introduced the students to various ecological-technology and energy-efficiency projects.
Students were also shown around the Emerging Nanoscaled Integrated Circuits & Systems (EnICS) laboratory in the Alexander Kofkin Faculty of Engineering by EnICS General Manager, Yehuda Rudin, before visiting the solar energy farm with Dr. Hadas Alon-Yehezkel from the Department of Chemistry.
Raising the Prestige of Czech Nation’s Scientists
The Neuron Foundation for the Support of Science believes that scientific knowledge is the driving force of every successful society. It was established in 2013 with the mission of increasing the prestige of Czech scientists and using their stories to support the national self-confidence of society. The Foundation builds on the best that the Czech Republic has given itself and the world – the discoveries of top scientists, their open minds, and their desire for research.
“The upcoming scientific generation represents the potential for the entire Czech society, and its support is key for us,” said Monika Vondráková, Chair of the Board of Neuron. “We believe that students from various scientific disciplines will gain a new perspective [through this program] on the usefulness of science for the real needs of society.”
