To mark 25 years of India-Israel partnership, the Israeli Consulate in Bengaluru launched the Israel Centre at Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB).
Ambassador of Israel to India Daniel Carmon said on the occasion, “It is natural for Bengaluru, India’s innovation hub, to partner with Tel Aviv, a leading innovation hub.”
The ambassador went on to say that like Bengaluru, Israeli economy is based on innovation and the start-up industry. “Indian technology will support the Israeli system. So this is a merger of our ecosystems.”
Pointing out that a crucial part of successful academia is sharing of knowledge, the Ambassador said academic partners should be like-minded in the pursuit of knowledge, but different enough to bring in diverse perspectives.
The envoy said Israeli universities, such as IIMB’s partner Tel Aviv University, are one of the forces behind Israeli innovation and its startup industry. “Not only are they centers of learning and research, but each university has a technology transfer company, meant to translate the academic knowledge to applicable technology in the real world.”
G Raghuram, Director, IIMB, said, “Now with the new emphasis of the Indian government on promotion of entrepreneurial activity, the business and academic contacts between the countries assumed heightened significance. The change in Indian attitude and official stance coincided with Israel’s search for revised geopolitical configuration.”