IMAGE: GETTY; THE HEBREW UNIVERSITY OF JERUSALEM
BAR-ILAN UNIVERSITY
Promoting renewable energy
Hagit Aviv, executive manager of Bar-Ilan University’s new Center for Energy and Sustainability, talks about the work of the hub, which brings together researchers, entrepreneurs and professionals to translate research into real-world products
What was the vision behind the new center? We felt that, in many ways, the country’s interfaces between industry and academia were weak. We wanted to make the knowledge in the academic world much more accessible to the industrial world, which is going through significant energy changes, switching to renewable solutions and reducing carbon emissions. We believe academia can help companies through these transitions — the main goal of the Energy and Sustainability Center is to do just that.
How do you strengthen the ties between academia and industry, in practice? It can happen in various different ways, and we find a way to work with everyone in the manner they see fit. Companies come to us, we show them around some of the labs and tell them about our vision, and they may want to join us. Some companies bring us their challenges and
work with our professors to find solutions; some use our experts for consultations; some choose projects to fund, often owning some of the rights. Other companies don’t want to work on challenges at all — they just have the interest and means to support our initiatives.
What are some examples of projects the center has been working on? We have two professors working together to develop sodium batteries, which are the next generation of large energy storage. A different project is looking at whether growing potatoes under solar panels — which is happening on
campus — harms the amount or quality of the product. If a company wants to invest in a small renewable energy organization, they might come to our experts for advice, too.
Why do you think it’s important for students to have the opportunity to get involved with and learn from these projects? As a student, I never had the chance to experience the industrial world, and I felt I was really missing out on something. Even though I worked on interesting projects, I felt I needed to develop a product that someone would actually be willing to buy, a product that could be implemented in the real world. That’s what I get to see now. I see challenges
solved, I see the straightforward progression of an idea, I see us walk towards the future. Sometimes, with research, it seems like you’re aiming too far away, like you’ll only see your findings implemented in decades. Hubs like the new center shorten the gap.
What’s in store for the center in the future? I think if you speak to me in a year from now, you’ll hear about many more projects. And that’s what I like about it. Every month, we have new ideas, and we just
wish we had longer days to get everything done. I’m absolutely certain you’re going to see a whole different center, much bigger, in the future. The potential is endless.
Find the full interview at
israelacademia.che.org.il
Bar-Ilan University’s Energy and Sustainability Center will offer a few sub-projects, such as a School of Sustainability, which will host lectures, and bootcamps
2022 | Israeli Academia 9
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