The University of Haifa is one of three founding partners in Medisat, a new European Union research project for setting up a science and technology network for developing Mediterranean countries. Dr. Itzhak Harpaz, Associate Professor in the Graduate School of Business who is coordinating the project on the Israeli end, participated in Medisat’s initial meeting, which was held in Berlin in mid-February. Other project partners in Medisat, which stands for Mediterranean Science and Technology Information Network, are the Middle East Technical University of Ankara (Turkey) and the University of Ulster (Northern Ireland, UK). The project is being coordinated by the Technical Advanced College FHTW Berlin and its associated institute, IIEF GmbH Berlin, which coordinate similar projects in Central and Eastern Europe. The European Union awarded Medisat partners a start-up grant of 405,000 Ecu (approx $440,000).
Another aim of Medisat is to improve information transfer from the EU to the region and promote R&D cooperation and cultural exchange. The hope is for better mutual understanding between the two regions. The EU wants to include other universities in the eastern Mediterranean as partners in this cooperative information network project.