Tel Aviv University announced its intention to launch the Center for Innovation Laboratories before the 2021-2022 academic year. The center’s mandate is to join forces with Israeli industry to advance groundbreaking research with potential applicability within three to seven years.

Six laboratories, along with additional labs under construction, will try to provide a comprehensive scientific and innovative solution for specific needs conveyed by industrial and public bodies such as hospitals and schools.

For example, if the health industry expresses a need for unique diagnostic photographic technology, the researchers will try to provide an appropriate solution within a relatively short time frame.

The application-focused model is different from traditional basic research, which usually begins with the interests of the researcher.

“Tel Aviv University’s vision includes internationality, multidisciplinary and connections with knowledge-intensive industry and society,” said TAU President Prof. Ariel Porta.

“The Center for Innovation Laboratories will integrate all of the components of this vision. As the largest and most diverse research university in Israel, we strive for the groundbreaking research innovation of the university’s researchers to benefit society in Israel and around the world.”

The new center will bring together experts from a wide range of disciplines, who will enrich various dimensions of research from different perspectives, including design, branding and accessibility to diverse audiences.

The industrial sector will take on a significant part of the funding of the research in a format that involves “club membership” conferring product development rights.

“This unique center redefines the interface between academia and industry,” said its director, Prof. David Mendlovic. “The academic freedom to create and innovate on the one hand, and the desire for research that has practical applicability on the other, has led to a center that brings together innovation labs dealing with a variety of topics and actors such as industry, hospitals, and government agencies.”