BGU | PRESIDENT'S REPORT 2026

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PRESIDENT'S REPORT 2026

Ophir Ben-Shoham receives a scholarship from the President of Israel Isaac Herzog and First Lady Michal Herzog. Photo: Office of the President

Prof. Idan Hod

Doctoral student Ophir Ben-Shoham received the President of Israel's Scholarship for Excellence and Scientific Innovation in recognition of his research improving clinical AI language models in medicine. Prof. Ziv Cojocaru, composer and head of the Music Division in the Dept. of the Arts was awarded the ACUM (Society of Authors, Composers and Music Publishers in Israel) Prize for Achievement of the Year in Musical Composition. The satirical Ig Nobel Prize in the category of Aviation was awarded to Professors Carmi Korine and Berry Pinshow, along with former students Francisco Sánchez and Mariana Melcón, for their landmark 2010 study on how drunkenness affects Egyptian fruit bats.

Prof. Yigal Schwartz of the Dept. of Hebrew Literature was elected to the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities. The 2025 Tenne Family Prize for Nano Scale Sciences was awarded to Prof. Idan Hod of the Dept. of Chemistry. Prof. Galit Nimrod of the Dept. of Communication Studies was selected to the committee that will draft the Convention on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights of Older Persons for the UN Human Rights Council . The Department of Nursing leads the country, with all 136 graduates successfully passing their national licensing examination with an average score of 91.

Prof. Yigal Schwartz

Prof. Ziv Cojocaru