BGU | Fundraising Handbook

the University’s stature and contribute to its ability to serve as a talent magnet capable of recruiting outstanding students, researchers, and faculty members. BGU also prides itself on its long history of community involvement, which began with its founding and continues to this day. While traditionally, community service has taken the form of volunteering in the community, which we remain fully committed to, today our community involvement also encompasses our efforts to reach out to the community in diverse ways, providing services and opportunities for personal and professional advancement and new ways of strengthening the growing innovation ecosystem in Beer-Sheva and the region. Together, entrepreneurship and innovation are a cornerstone in these efforts, and they serve as the basis of the emerging Innovation District in Beer-Sheva, in which BGU plays a leading role. The Innovation District’s research and innovation specializations are cybersecurity, desert tech, and digital health, all of which are among BGU’s areas of expertise. In addition to its traditional role in higher education, upon its founding BGU was tasked with advancing the region and serving as a catalyst for its growth; like the Yazamut 360° programs open to the wider community, the Innovation District will strengthen the city of Beer-Sheva and the Negev, enabling BGU to fulfill this mandate. Today, in the aftermath of the Hamas attack on October 7, the need to cultivate entrepreneurship and innovation in Israel, and particularly the Negev, is greater than ever before. The path to recovery, repair, and growth of both body and spirit among residents, the devastated communities, and the fractured Israeli society, will in part be forged with new development projects and by recultivating the optimistic forward-thinking outlook Israelis are known for, and this provides countless potential applications for entrepreneurship and innovation. Their application in rebuilding the Negev will help heal and revitalize the region and take it to greater heights in the future. BGU’s (ever growing) Commitment to Entrepreneurship and Innovation Entrepreneurship and innovation are critical to BGU’s ability to raise its international stature, become a talent magnet, and maximize its impact. Likewise, they are critical to the University’s ability to advance the Negev and rebuild it in the aftermath of October 7. BGU has a well-established a track record in entrepreneurship and innovation, recognizing their potential in strengthening the University, the region it is part of, and its community

members, and it is committed to leveraging this track record to ensure the Negev’s revitalization. Furthermore, entrepreneurship and innovation are critical components of higher education today. The skillset required of Israel’s entrepreneurial leaders of tomorrow is diverse and dynamic, grounded in academic knowledge while encompassing a wide range of hard and soft leadership skills, many of which are not emphasized in the traditional classroom environment. Skills such as communication, problem-solving, collaboration, teamwork, and negotiation are essential for entrepreneurial success, and BGU graduates, regardless of their academic major, need these skills when they enter the workforce and advance on their career paths. At BGU we recognize that providing these skills are integral to academic success, and as such, these skills are integrated throughout our curricula and promoted by Yazamut 360°. Given the value of these skills to individual students and the communities and workplaces they are and will be part of in the future, BGU is committed to further integration of entrepreneurship and innovation in the fabric of life at the University. Moreover, entrepreneurship and innovation are powerful forces, driving creative and practical solutions for today’s greatest challenges and the challenges on the horizon. The entrepreneurial skillset and mindset provide a means of transforming ideas and dreams into real-world solutions, they foster brainstorming and exploration, bringing the seeds of an idea closer to fruition. Together, they dramatically expand our opportunities for impact in diverse domains. Entrepreneurship and innovation create new ways of fulfilling our potential and achieving our dreams, individually and nationally. BGU is committed to cultivating a culture of entrepreneurship and innovation to maximize the power of these forces for widespread benefit. Fulfilling This Commitment and Ensuring the Expansion of BGU’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation Efforts With plans to establish a new innovation hub in the Drahi Innovation and Entrepreneurship Building and the Innovation District fast developing, BGU is championing the expansion of its efforts to cultivate a culture of entrepreneurship and innovation. The University’s ability to do so will rely on the growth of Yazamut 360°’s programs and the development of the Innovation District.

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ACADEMIC AND RESEARCH EXCELLENCE

INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP