Prime Minister Ariel Sharon last week announced the establishment of a National Biotechnology Institute to be created adjacent to Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. Sharon stated, "The establishment of a National Biotechnology Institute alongside the University is key in the transformation of the Negev. I call upon Israeli society and the international community to come here and establish research and development centers in the Research and Development park. The Institute, together with the Hi-Tech Park, will ensure the continuance and the extension of social involvement on the part of the University in the community life of the Negev for all its residents."
Prof. Shoshana Arad, Director of the Institute for Applied Biosciences, said that the announcement of the project has great significance. She said that the move will increase the percentage of the national budget invested in research - and that this will in turn encourage and accelerate the establishment of a biotech industry in the Negev, as well as create hundreds of jobs in the years ahead. The establishment of the National Biotechnology Institute also serves a need in the advancement of research and development in biotechnology while helping to develop the Negev. The Institute's establishment alongside Ben-Gurion University is based on the scientific, research-based infrastructure at the University's existing Institute for Applied Biosciences. Science Minister Matan Vilnai said recently that his ministry (Science, Culture and Sport) sees the Negev and the Institute in their broadest context, as that of a future hub for development of the Negev.
Prof. Shoshana Arad, Director of the Institute for Applied Biosciences, said that the announcement of the project has great significance. She said that the move will increase the percentage of the national budget invested in research - and that this will in turn encourage and accelerate the establishment of a biotech industry in the Negev, as well as create hundreds of jobs in the years ahead. The establishment of the National Biotechnology Institute also serves a need in the advancement of research and development in biotechnology while helping to develop the Negev. The Institute's establishment alongside Ben-Gurion University is based on the scientific, research-based infrastructure at the University's existing Institute for Applied Biosciences. Science Minister Matan Vilnai said recently that his ministry (Science, Culture and Sport) sees the Negev and the Institute in their broadest context, as that of a future hub for development of the Negev.