Campus Development
How Bar-Ilan optimized its services for faculty and students, and maximized its capacity for impact in the physical, digital, and financial spheres.
“Whether through new spaces that facilitate discovery and innovation or new systems that increase access and enhance efficiency, strengthening Bar-Ilan’s research and education foundations equips us to meet known and unexpected challenges, and enables us to focus our resources on activities that will lead to impact.”
—Zohar Yinon, CEO and senior deputy president
Investment
Accelerating Deep-Tech Research
In January, Mivtach Shamir Holdings, which boasts a market cap of NIS 1 billion on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, announced a $6 million joint venture with Bar-Ilan to accelerate the launch of tech companies based on University research. With the help of Bar-Ilan’s venture builder UnBox, these startups will aim to solve problems and make key advances in the fields of biotechnology, micro-electronics, photonics, materials science, and AI.
Capital Projects
Strategic Expansions and Upgrades
- The new Alexander Grass Computer Science Building opened for operations this academic year.
- Construction on a new teaching building at the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine in Safed began in January.
- Construction of the new Picciotto Family Gate was completed last October and inaugurated as the main entrance to the University this academic year. The gate will also be the site of a new Purple Line light rail station.
- Construction began on the new campus server room, whose increased space will provide three times the University’s current computing capacity.
- The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences received several key upgrades, including construction of a new teaching laboratory, a new student study space, and new offices. The faculty’s School of Optometry and Vision Science also now enjoys a new optometry laboratory and renovated laboratories for new researchers.
The new Alexander Grass Computer Science Building
- Renovations began on the Library of Social Sciences, part of a master plan to streamline the University’s library system for increased efficiency. The Library of Social Sciences will now house the Library of English Literature, which will itself become a state-of-the-art study space, several geography laboratories, and offices for researchers.
- Renovations began on the Mintz Hall and its adjacent lobby, which serves as a main campus space for conferences and events.
- Renovations began on the Faculties of Law and Jewish Studies buildings, including to the Jesselson Institute for Advanced Torah Studies, and on the University Administration Building. The renovations were undertaken jointly by the CEO, Rector Amnon Albek, and Deputy Director General of Operations and Logistics Ofer Shragay.
- Approval was secured for the construction of a new building as part of the Alexander Kofkin Faculty of Engineering. The building will double the space available for engineering education and research.
A New Home for Healthcare Breakthroughs
Energy-Efficient Light unto the Nations
Sustainable Development
Meeting Critical Benchmarks for Global Change
A global framework for all universities to use in achieving a better future, the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) offer quantitative strategies in areas such as building economic growth, tackling climate change, and ensuring gender equality.
In 2023, Bar-Ilan received top scores from the Times Higher Education’s Impact Rankings in five SDG categories: “Gender Equality,” “Sustainable Cities and Communities,” “Reduced Inequalities,” “No Poverty,” and “Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions.”
Digital Transformation
A User-Friendly University
- The Bar-Ilan website streamlined its online course catalogue and catalogue of scholarships and stipends, and also launched “Academa,” a new, dedicated website for continuing education courses. The project was undertaken jointly by the CEO and the University’s Marketing Department, under the leadership of Chief Marketing and Business Development Officer Naama Gat.
- The Division of Teaching and Learning upgraded its learning management platform, Moodle, and migrated it to the cloud, bringing Bar-Ilan one step closer to becoming a hybrid university.
- As part of its ongoing plan to migrate the University’s organizational management software to the cloud, Bar-Ilan successfully transferred its Purchasing and Finance Departments’ systems this year.
Academic Foundations
Bridging Knowledge and Real-World Skills
Through a grant from the Edmond de Rothschild Foundation, Bar-Ilan’s Center for Employability will work to engage a greater number of students from underrepresented minorities. The center, which works to incorporate practical skills into academic courses, prepares students to adapt to a fast-changing workplace and embrace new technologies.