BGU | Fundraising Handbook

The Beer-Sheva Innovation District Truly transformational developments in Beer-Sheva like the construction of the ATP (Advanced Technologies Park) have emerged from the University’s partnerships and the hothouse of innovation evolving organically in Beer-Sheva under BGU’s leadership. These partnerships and the associated developments are shaping the ecosystem of innovation, changing the face of Beer Sheva, and creating an extraordinary trajectory of growth for the Negev. One excellent example of this is Beer-Sheva’s designation as an Innovation District, a distinction that provides a framework for innovation and orchestrated and inclusive growth which will be accompanied by tremendous investment and advancement. Jointly developed by the Prime Minister’s Office, the Beer-Sheva Municipality, BGU, and Soroka University Medical Center, the District will span nearly 650 acres. BGU anchors the Innovation District, along with Soroka, the ATP, and the IDF’s new information technology campus. 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.

Planning for the Innovation District moved forward in 2021 with a government decision setting the wheels in motion to establish both a desert tech center and a joint BGU/Ministry of Defense R&D center; funding was also allocated toward developing and landscaping the grounds of the Innovation District; examining land use and rezoning to enable new uses of existing land in the Innovation District; promoting digital health and cybersecurity research; and enabling BGU to absorb thousands of student-soldiers in the coming years. Resources were also designated toward positioning the Innovation District as the new home of a research center focused on issues of regional and urban development, and spatial and regional planning, to be established with MIT. Planning continues, with the aim of hastening physical development plans, establishing joint research programs, and strengthening the ecosystem. The 2023 establishment of Synergy7, a corporation spearheaded by BGU in collaboration with Soroka University Medical Center, the Merage Foundation Israel, Elbit Systems, and Dell, will empower the city and the Innovation District by creating a platform to promote and improve

ACADEMIC AND RESEARCH EXCELLENCE

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INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP