TEL AVIV UNIVERSITY
Harnessing Israeli technology for good
Israeli technology is helping make strides in creating sustainable food systems, taking into account the environmental considerations along the entire food chain
Tel Aviv University’s Sustainable Development Lab, known as NITSAN, acts as a bridge connecting Israel’s world-renowned expertise in innovation with ground realities. The NITSAN Innovation Villages Program
– a first of its kind in Israeli academia – aims to help Israeli technologies in agriculture, water, energy and other fields contribute to sustainable development in low-income settings across the world through intensive fieldwork. Supported by the Boris Mints Institute for
Strategic Policy Solutions to Global Challenges, part of the university’s Gershon H. Gordon Faculty of Social Sciences, NITSAN is headed by Dr Ram Fishman, lecturer at the Department of Public Policy, and Professor Hadas Mamane, head of the environmental engineering program and director of the Mamane Water-Tech Lab. The lab works with local partners across Asia
and Africa, such as universities, foundations and NGOs, to identify relevant Israeli solutions; adapt them to local realities and needs; and develop policy to overcome socio-economic barriers to implementation. NITSAN members then lead a scientifically rigorous process to pilot the technologies in real-field conditions. Past projects have included solutions for
sustainable pest management in Kenya, provision of safe drinking water in Kerala and irrigation efficiency in Andhra Pradesh, India. The whole process aims to create integrated solutions that combine technology with an appropriate, cost-effective business model, designed for large-scale implementation.
24 Israeli Academia | 2022
Involving students Graduate students are an integral part of the NITSAN model. More specifically, the NITSAN Fellowship aims to connect the next generation of global problem solvers with situations of poverty and environmental degradation across the world, as part of the country’s first sustainable development experiential research program. NITSAN fellows take dedicated classes at the
university before heading to sites across Asia and Africa, managing every state of the projects with the guidance of faculty members and experts. They are expected to spend at least three months in the field — enough time to develop an understanding of complex local issues before testing technologies with a potential for impact. What’s more, students work with start-ups and innovators to develop interventions and business models. That’s all while receiving academic credit, in line with conducting research to form the basis of theses and dissertations. Around 20 students have already joined the
NITSAN program, working with eight Israeli agri-tech and water companies to pilot their technologies. The NITSAN Fellowship is open to Tel Aviv University graduate students from all disciplines, with scholarships available for exceptional candidates – though undergraduate students can also be accepted in special circumstances. The program is closely tied to the international MA in sustainable development, and candidates from social science, policy, data science, engineering and public health are especially welcome
ABOVE: Researcher at Tel Aviv University’s Plant Sciences Lab RIGHT: Students from the MA program in developing countries building irrigation systems in India
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