INNI of Israel, a combined initiative of Ministry of Trade and Industry, Israel and Forum for National Infrastructures for Research & Development (TELEM), Israel, is planning to set national goals and give preference for the advancement of nanotechnology at Israel.
After the declaration of nanotechnology as a national priority, during the past five years, the nanotechnology field has developed considerably in the country. Around 900 students are doing master’s degree in this field and 800 are doing doctoral program. In addition, the number of junior scientists, which includes even the post doctorates, has increased up to 320. Furthermore, about 88 scientists from other countries are working at different universities of Israel. Israel has published more than 6,000 scientific papers in the past three years, of which 1170 are collaborative studies of Israel universities.
Further, 625 associations took place between Israel industries and academia and around 170 industrial start-ups and patent approvals were achieved during this period. Additionally, 704 patents were filed for approval.
Due to the achievements during the first five years of the program, the funding was decided to be continued for the next five years too. However, the program will currently concentrate on the R&D of nanotechnology for industrial applications instead of focusing on building infrastructure for nanotechnology.
The nano centers of various universities in Israel have started employing industrialists to establish nanotechnology based industrial applications. The industrialists must identify the initial stage opportunities at the nano centers, create partnerships and must know emerging nanotechnological applications in the industries.
Source: http://www2.kenes.com/