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Our Chamber organized and hosted 2 important delegations from Brazil. On May, top representatives from the Pontificial Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), headed by the University President (Rector) Dr. Joaquim Clotet conducted a week long Technical Mission to become acquainted with the different concepts and formats of technology transfer from Academy to Industry.
This University is the largest private one in Brazil, with 30,000 students, a Technology Park and an Hospital in the campus.
The delegation members were: Dr. Elizabeth Ritter, Coordinator of Technology Transfer Office, Dr. Paulo Franco, V.P. Administration and Finances and Dr. Dario de Azevedo, V.P. International and Inter-institutional Affairs.
At the Tel Aviv University the visitors were hosted by ISBRACAM Director Mr. Herman Richter, Director of Latin America and Spain, Public Affairs Division, Dr. Zeev Weinfeld, CEO of RAMOT (Technology Transfer Office) and Prof. Ehud Gazit, VP for Research and Development.
From left: Herman Richter, Dr. Joaquim Clotet, Dr. Shmuel Yerushalmi, Dr. Elizabeth Ritter, Dr. Paulo Franco
At the Tel Aviv Medical Center the delegation met with Dr. Michal Roll, Director of the Division of Research and Development.
The visitors paid a visit to the Brazilian Embassy in Tel Aviv, where they were greeted by the Brazilian Ambassador H.E. Maria Elisa Berenguer.
Another visit took place at the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, where ISBRACAM Member Mr. Shaul Shashoua, a Technion Graduate, accompanied the delegation for meetings with Prof. Paul David Feigin, Senior Executive VP and Mr. Benjamin Sofer, Manager of the Technion Research & Development Foundation.
A further meeting was with Prof. Haim Garty, Vice President, Weizmann Institute of Science, preceded by a tour at Kiryat Weizmann Science Park, where the group attended a lecture of Dr. Shmuel Yerushalmi, Chamber Chairman, on the development of Technological Incubators in Israel.
At the Hebrew University in Jerusalem several meetings took place: Prof. Sara Stroumsa, Rector, Ms. Patricia Peres, Public Relations Dept., Prof. Eilon Vaadia, Director of Lily and Edmond J. Safra Center for Brain Research, a subject of great interest to the visitors.
At Yissum (University TTO), the visitors exchanged views with Company’s President and CEO, Yaacov Michlin, Chief Information Officer Gustavo Fuchs and with VP – Intellectual Property Ms. Renee Ben-Israel, who also lectured on Yissum and the University/Tech transfer relationship.
VISIT FROM ARAXÁ
On June, our Chamber hosted a large delegation from the City of Araxá, Minas Gerais, headed by the Mayor, Dr. Jeová Moreira da Costa and First Lady Dr. Elba Barbosa Moreira.
The purpose of this Mission was to present to Israeli businesspeople the different opportunities in investment in the development of the city, including the creation of a 300,000 square meters technology park for, among others, aeronautic and water technologies.
Members of the Mission: Ms. Alda Barbosa Marques, Dept. of Economic Development, Carlos Alberto Pereira, Supervisor, Institute of Planning and Sustainable Development, Antonio Lucio Marques, Pres. Agricultural Society, Marcio Antonio Farid, Pres. Commercial and Industrial Association, Flyer Logistica Directors, Marcus Dinelli and Alex Ribeiro, Dr. André Sampaio Borges, Dept. of Legal Affairs, and Sergio Gomes Alves, City Hall Press.
The visit was only 2 days long, but the achievements were outstanding.
In the first day a Seminar – “Partnering with Araxá “ was conducted at the Auditorium of Bank Leumi in Tel Aviv, attended by tens of participants. Brazilian Ambassador, H.E. Maria Elisa Berenguer greeted the delegation and the participants; welcome words were also from Ambassador Yosef Livne (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Ms. Roni Reiber (Federation of Chambers of Commerce), Mr. Shauli Katzenelson (Israel Export Institute and International Cooperation) and Mr. Dan Catarivas (Manufacturers Association).
From left: Ms. Alda Marques, Ambassador Berenguer, Mayor Jeová and Mr. Alex Ribeiro
The seminar was followed by a marathonic round of pre-scheduled face-to-face meetings with Israeli business people and industrialists.
On the second day, the delegation visited the plant of ODIS Filtering, an enterprise dealing with water treatment. The company recently registered in Brazil and is planning to start production and marketing in the country. Ms. Sari Eli, Director of Marketing, gave a full explanation of the product line, followed by an impressive visit to the production floor.
Araxá delegation at ODIS plant
In the afternoon there was a second round of face-to-face meetings and a wrap-up session.
The visit culminated with a get together with a delicious “churrasco” offered by ISBRACAM Member Leo Gleser, CEO of ISDS (International Security and Defence Systems) at his grounds, attended by many Chamber colleagues and friends.
Summarizing the Mission, Mayor Jeová stressed that he is very happy to see that Brazil-Israel bi-lateral economic relations are already reaching the stage of municipalities and people, following early stages at Federal and State Government levels.
We acknowledge the kind support extended by the Israel Institute of Export and International Cooperation in the preparations for this visit and the hosting of the Seminar by Bank Leumi LeIsrael.
