BGU | Fundraising Handbook

Increased research capacity and capabilities, and research excellence go together with investment in building the University’s research capacity driving research excellence. Such investment also improves BGU’s ability to become a talent magnet, capable of attracting the most promising faculty members, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers. A university capable of attracting outstanding candidates prioritizes research excellence, and the value it places on this is reflected across the University, in its strategic initiatives and budgetary decisions, such that it has top notch research facilities and strives to ensure that its infrastructure and equipment are always state-of-the-art. The latter requires almost constant investment. The process of building research capacity and expansion is dynamic and ongoing, also necessitating continued investment. Each new faculty member requires facilities and equipment to perform their research. Existing labs and equipment must be maintained and updated in response to technological advances and the needs of current research. Infrastructure must be maintained and developed to support the research performed now, and in the decades to come. Moreover, each capacity building initiative can have a domino effect and result in the need for additional funding. BGU has many well-known areas of expertise, including cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and data science; sustainability and climate change; quantum technologies; and Israel studies. There is a need to both build greater capacity in these areas and create new areas of expertise. The recruitment of a young researcher in a new area of expertise will increase the University’s research capacity and capabilities while raising its international profile, creating new opportunities for collaboration, and attracting undergraduate and graduate students. However, this recruitment places demands on the University, which must ensure that each new recruit has the facilities and equipment required to advance in their field. Growth in existing areas of expertise requires similar investment. For example, space and facilities at the Blaustein Institutes require retooling and renovation to accommodate new recruits and meet the needs of researchers in the critical areas of sustainability, climate change, and associated disciplines. To perform their research, our cyber team requires high performance computing (HPC) facilities. The vast amount of data and computational requirements

demanded by machine learning rely on the capabilities these facilities provide. BGU needs to keep up with the needs of today’s researchers and ensure that its research infrastructure and capacity continue to advance and meet the needs of new recruits and the University’s growth in coming years. State-of-the-art research requires state-of-the art research infrastructure and equipment, and thus there is a need to constantly invest in infrastructure development and purchase new advanced and specialized research equipment. BGU’s Commitment to Expanding its Research Capacity A university that attracts the best and the brightest shines above the rest. It has top-notch research facilities and state-of-the-art infrastructure and equipment. A talent magnet offers each academic the facilities and tools needed to advance in his or her chosen field. Research infrastructure ranges from HPC facilities capable of meeting the connectivity and computing requirements of today’s research, which can involve vast amounts of data, require large storage space, and demand extensive communication capabilities, to shared pieces of sophisticated and costly equipment, including electron microscopes and other microscopy devices that serve numerous researchers across diverse domains. In addition, individual researchers may require specialized equipment, unique to their field, in order to perform cutting-edge research. BGU is committed to ensuring that its researchers have the tools required to achieve their goals and take a leading role in their fields. Likewise, BGU is committed to becoming a talent magnet, capable of attracting the best and the brightest candidate, and ensuring that it has the top-notch research facilities and state-of-the-art infrastructure and equipment to do so. Ensuring that the Positive Trend in Research Output Continues BGU’s local and global standing relies heavily on its research output. The funding provided by Israel’s Council of Higher Education derives from the amount and quality of research published by our scholars, as well as the number of students enrolled. The University’s international ranking also depends on our research output. Our dramatically improved ranking in recent Shanghai Academic Ranking of World Universities is a testament to the current emphasis placed on research excellence and building our research capacity and

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ACADEMIC AND RESEARCH EXCELLENCE

RESEARCH CAPACITY AND EXPANSION