BEN-GURION UNIVERSITY | THE WAY FORWARD

training to medical students, equipping future physicians for AI-driven healthcare systems, and a program for researchers on applied AI research on women’s health. External participants can enroll in the INSTITUTE’s AI for Leaders, Executive Training, AI Basics, and Executive AI Healthcare programs. The INSTITUTE’s reach continues to grow. It has won tenders to provide AI training and implementation to local municipalities and is in advanced negotiations with government ministries and the IDF for the development of tailored organizational AI programs, as well as with an academic institution in India, with the aim of exporting the INSTITUTE’S knowledge across the globe. Philanthropic support enabled the INSTITUTE’s successful launch and its ongoing efforts to build AI leadership and knowledge in Israel. Center for Sports Diplomacy Diplomatic platforms take many forms, with sport now serving as a leading vehicle for diplomacy. Sports diplomacy, which refers to the strategic use of sports, athletes, and sporting events by states and non-state actors to improve their image and reputation, promote their values and interests, and build relationships, is the focus of the new Center for Sports Diplomacy. The center examines the impact of sports in international relations, political science, management,

communications, emergency medicine, cultural diplomacy, and public diplomacy, as well as sports diplomacy’s ability to enhance traditional state-centered diplomacy approaches. The center’s establishment positions BGU as a leader in this growing field. This year’s World Cup hosted by the US, Mexico, and Canada served as a high-profile platform for sports diplomacy, bringing players from Iran, Israel, the US, and other countries together in a non political setting; articles by Ido Rakovsky, a journalist who is earning his master’s degree at BGU and performing research at the center, have appeared in mainstream media, shedding light on the use of sports to promote diplomacy, and his master’s research and the work of the center’s other researchers will add to the growing knowledge base in this area. Donor support enabled the center’s establishment and has been used to provide fellowships to the graduate students fueling the center’s research. Gordon S. Cohen Neurotech Hub Advancement of the multidisciplinary field of applied neuroscience is the focus of the Gordon S. Cohen Neurotech Hub, which is equipped with state-of-the-art mobile brain imaging devices, workstations, 3D printers, drones, robots, and brainstorming corners. The neurotech hub allows students to explore

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