The first conference for heads of Shenkar’s Research, Development, and Innovation centers

The Research Authority at Shenkar, an initiative by Shenkar President Prof. Sheizaf Rafaeli, was founded at the start of the 2020–2021 academic year, and under the leadership of the college’s vice-president, Prof. Shmuel Kenig, with the support of director of innovation, development, and strategy, Daniel Altman. The vision of the Research Authority is to make Shenkar the preeminent and most influential college for research, development, and innovation in industry, society, economy, culture, engineering design, art, and the ways in which they interact.

In addition to the patent committee, the Research Authority also includes the research committee, however most of its activity is focused on supporting the existing research, development and innovation centers, to expand the partnerships between the centers and set up new ones.

The research, development and innovation centers’ role is twofold: To contribute to the academic programs at Shenkar via engagement of the faculty and students, and to connect Shenkar’s academic community with the industries, economy, culture, society, and academic world outside Shenkar.

For the full list of centers, click here!

Each center is supervised by a steering committee drawn from among Shenkar’s department heads and senior staff and from key figures in industry, economics, culture, and society. Their role is to help formulate the annual plan and to strengthen ties with the non-academic world.

The first conference for the heads of the centers was held shortly before Passover, on March 24, 2021. Participating were Ms. Orit Efrati, chair of Shenkar’s board of trustees, and Mr. Zvi Yemini, chair of Shenkar’s executive committee. They opened the conference and concluded it. At the start of the conference, Prof. Shmuel Kenig presented the vision of the centers, their role in the academic life of Shenkar, and their contribution to industry, society, the economy, and culture. There was emphasis on the need for balanced activity, for fundraising, and for budgets from outside sources. During the conference, the heads of the centers presented the centers’ vision, the activity accomplished in the first semester, and the activity expected in the second semester. Following the presentations, reactions and recommendations were received by the heads of the centers, the chair of the board of trustees, and the executive committee. At the end of the conference, it was stressed that the centers must coordinate with one another in order to increase their ability to fundraise. In addition, it was announced that a new health-oriented center would be centralizing activities that interface with the health and medical sector. Responses to the conference were not slow in coming, and many heads of centers suggested convening the forum more frequently in order to share knowledge about the centers’ various activities and to strengthen cooperation.