Bar-Ilan University welcomed Bahrain’s first-ever envoy to Israel, H.E. Khaled Yousif al-Jalahma, Ambassador of Bahrain, in February 2022. During the visit, the Ambassador met with Bar-Ilan University’s President, Prof. Arie Zaban, senior members of the university administration, International School executives, heads of departments, and researchers from a variety of disciplines.
Ambassador Al-Jalahma believes that collaborating with Bar-Ilan University and other institutions in Israel is the logical next step in Bahraini-Israeli relations.
L-R: Abdulkarim Ebrahim Al Ansari, Deputy Head of Mission, and Amb. Khaled Yousuf Al Jalahmah, Ambassador of Bahrain to Israel
“The scientific agreement signed with Israel is just the beginning,” Ambassador Al-Jalahma said. “A group of Israeli entrepreneurs recently visited Bahrain and we witnessed wonderful chemistry between them and our Bahraini colleagues. We are looking forward to expanding our cooperation in many different fields,” he added.
“One of the places we are looking to advance in is research in all fields, so wherever we find the opportunities regarding research in any area, whether medical or other, as well as in producing joint publications, we’d like to develop these,” he said.
L-R: Prof. Amnon Albeck, Rector; Prof. Moshe Lewenstein, Deputy President; Mazin Abdulla Fulad, Third Secretary; Prof. Arie Zaban, President; Amb. Khaled Yousuf Al Jalahmah, Ambassador of Bahrain to Israel; Prof. Shulamit Michaeli, Vice President for Research; Shlomo Zohar, Chairman of the Permanent Committee; Abdulkarim Ebrahim Al Ansari, Deputy Head of Mission; Zohar Yinon, Chief Executive Officer
Prof. Zaban reiterated the importance of the agreement and mentioned how beneficial it would be for Bar-Ilan University (BIU) to initiate collaboration opportunities with Bahraini academic institutions. The university plans to put together a delegation to visit these institutions and develop academic and research partnerships – and to work with Bahrain’s Ministry of Education to have BIU’s degrees and other programs accredited.
BIU’s aim is to encourage students of excellence from Bahrain to attend BIU for their PhD studies and postdoctoral research as well as for their Master’s programs. BIU has developed two new international joint Master’s programs, launched in 2021, with top European universities – Chemoinformatics with the University of Strasbourg and Brain and Data Science with the University of Lisbon’s Instituto Superior Técnico.
An additional goal is to promote student exchange from both sides. BIU’s International School has exchange agreements with hundreds of universities worldwide, especially in Europe through the European Union’s Erasmus+ program, and is hoping to implement similar exchange agreements with the UAE and Bahrain.
Conversations with BIU’s International School. L-R: Physics student, Liran Cohen; Akbota Faizulayeva Erkebulankyzy, BA Political Science and Communication; Yael Toledano, Director of External Academic and Diplomatic Relations; Mazin Abdulla Fulad, Third Secretary; Ofer Dahan, Executive Director of the International School; Amb. Khaled Yousuf Al Jalahmah, Ambassador of Bahrain to Israel; Prof. Moshe Lewenstein, Deputy President; Prof. Rachel Dekel, Academic Head of the International School; Abdulkarim Ebrahim Al Ansari, Deputy Head of Mission; and Oz Nackar, Director of the Student Exchange Programs.
Bahraini Delegation Experiences Bar-Ilan University
During the Bahraini Embassy visit, Prof. Arie Zaban provided an overview of Bar-Ilan University for H.E. Khaled Yousif al-Jalahma, Ambassador of Bahrain, and his colleagues, Abdulkarim Ebrahim Al Ansari, Deputy Head of Mission; and Mazin Abdulla Fulad, Third Secretary.
Touring the Nanotech Center: L-R: Prof. Arie Zaban, BIU President; Amb. Khaled Yousif al-Jalahma; Abdulkarim Ebrahim Al Ansari, Deputy Head of Mission; Shlomo Zohar, Chairman of the Permanent Committee; and Mazin Abdulla Fulad, Third Secretary.
He mentioned all the different areas covered by the university from medical research, astrophysics, and engineering to Jewish Studies and the humanities. Prof. Zaban focused on the interdisciplinary nature of Bar-Ilan University and the importance of creating impact centers and research labs, which collaborate on a variety of projects, and spoke about a few specific areas.
Energy and Sustainability
Bar-Ilan University has opened a new Center for Energy and Sustainability, which will focus on creating comprehensive solutions to multiple problems in the fields of energy, sustainability, and the environment.
“We are number one in Israel in energy, mainly sustainable energy, which is my specific area of research, and I focused on this before I became president,” Prof. Zaban said.
“We are now developing a center that will include many disciplines like network science, engineering, chemistry, law, and others. It’s a very interesting approach that involves industry, government, startups, and researchers,” he said.
The aim of the center is to create collaborative research projects to respond to the growing need for energy while simultaneously ensuring a reduction of pollution and an increase in sustainable energy. It’s essential to have a multidisciplinary approach that includes the different disciplines so that our solutions are all-encompassing and avoid creating problems in other areas. Our center is made up of seven research clusters with a network of more than 50 researchers working together to create a sustainable future for Israel and the world.
Nanotech and Advanced Materials
The Bahraini delegation visited the Bar-Ilan’s Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, the Faculty of Engineering and its Neuro-Engineering and Regeneration Lab, the Institute of Archaeology, and various laboratories on campus.
Photo 1: L-R: Amb. Khaled Yousuf Al Jalahmah; Prof. Zeev Zalevsky, Dean, Faculty of Engineering; Prof. Arie Zaban.
Photo 2: L-R: Prof. Orit Shefi, Faculty of Engineering; Amb. Khaled Yousuf Al Jalahmah; Prof. Arie Zaban
While touring the Bar-Ilan Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, Prof. Zaban, discussed his background as an entrepreneur and the significance of developing startups based on scientific technologies developed in academic institutions.
L-R: Prof. Lior Elbaz, Mazin Abdulla Fulad, Abdulkarim Ebrahim Al Ansari, Amb. Khaled Yousuf Al Jalahmah
Prof. Lior Elbaz, head of the Israel Fuel Cells Consortium operating within the Department of Chemistry at Bar-Ilan, showed the ambassador a new hydrogen-based technology that powers drones. Prof. Elbaz discussed a new green-tech startup, Refhuel, which has been developing reversible fuel cell technology.
Archaeology and the Land of Israel
Prof. Aren Maeir, a professor in BIU’s Martin (Szusz) Department of Land of Israel Studies and Archaeology and the head of the Institute of Archaeology, gave the delegation a tour of the Institute and explained its purpose and processes.
The Institute serves as the framework for the archaeological activities that are conducted at the university. The members of the Institute deal with a broad range of research activities relating to the ancient cultures of the Land of Israel and its neighbors, which are conducted in the field, in the laboratories, and in the libraries.
Photo 1: L-R: Prof. Arie Zaban, Prof. Aren Maeir, Amb. Khaled Yousuf Al Jalahmah.
Photo 2: L-R: Prof. Aren Maeir, Amb. Khaled Yousuf Al Jalahmah, Abdulkarim Ebrahim Al Ansar
A central facet of the Institute’s teaching and research activities is the active participation of students in research and field activities, including in several ongoing archaeological field school projects. In addition, the Institute carries out contract (‘salvage’) excavations at various sites in Israel.
Medicine, Public Health, and Research
Prof. Zaban introduced Bar-Ilan’s Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, which was opened 10 years ago in Safed (Tsfat) in the north of Israel in response to a nationwide shortage of physicians and the need to upgrade medical services and infrastructure in the Galilee region.
Many people in the Galilee live in villages without easy access to medical care, so the establishment of the medical school along with its commitment to its residents has made it an integral part of the community.
The faculty promotes and develops healthcare services for the culturally diverse residents in the Galilee – Jews, Arabs, and others – focusing on population health.
Many of Bar-Ilan’s international doctoral and postdoctoral students are doing their research in a variety of disciplines through the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine and are working with some of the top researchers in their fields in Israel and the world.
Prof. Zaban invited the Ambassador to visit the Safed campus and to find out about the new Russell Berrie Galilee Diabetes SPHERE, a comprehensive program designed to transform diabetes care in Israel’s socioeconomically disadvantaged northern Galilee region.
Photos: Shlomi Mizrachi
