BGU | PRESIDENT'S REPORT 2026

43

PRESIDENT'S REPORT 2026

Women Scientists in STEM Day , held on March 10, 2025, in conjunction with the International Day of Women and Girls in STEM, recognized outstanding women doctoral and master’s students, as well as exceptional high school students, for excellence in STEM research. By bringing together emerging scholars and young students, the initiative strengthens the academic pipeline, promotes the visibility of women in science, and reinforces the University’s long-term commitment to inclusive research leadership. We also presented the Vice President’s Awards for Outstanding Researchers on July 13, 2025, and organized a retreat for civil environmental organizations in April 2026 to foster collaboration between academic researchers and environmental organizations. We expanded and continued the ERC Success Hub initiative, aimed at encouraging and supporting European Research Council submissions and strengthening BGU’s competitiveness in major international funding frameworks. We also actively promoted participation in the Council for Higher Education’s Personal Research Fellows Program, providing matching institutional commitments. Eight BGU researchers were awarded fellowships this year, reflecting the growing national recognition of our faculty members' excellence. A secure remote-access Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) Research Room was established at the Marcus Family Campus. The facility provides essential infrastructure for data-driven research using confidential CBS microdata and enables the integration of datasets across domains. As the only CBS Research Room in the south, it significantly strengthens the University’s capabilities in data-intensive and interdisciplinary

research and facilitates the integration of graduate students into advanced projects. In addition, the University launched a multi-year technical staff support program for outstanding research laboratories. The initiative provides sustained funding for technical and laboratory personnel, ensuring employment stability and increasing research productivity for the 16 researchers and technicians selected in the inaugural cohort. We also initiated a support program for researchers experiencing temporary funding gaps. Through these efforts across multiple fronts, the Office remains committed to strengthening research excellence, expanding interdisciplinary collaboration, and advancing BGU’s national and international impact. We look forward to building on these achievements in the coming year and continuing to support innovative and high-impact research across all disciplines.

Stop motion workshop with Shahar Marcus at the Department of the Arts. Dec. 2025 Opening of the Advanced Bio-imaging Laboratory at the Ilse Katz Institute for Nanoscale Science & Technology. Oct. 2025 L-R: Prof. Yuval Golan, Prof. Jelinek, Dr. Efrat Forti, President Chamovitz, Dr. Alexsandra Tsitrin, and Dr. Uzi Hadad