President's Message

policy solutions to corona damage. Hundreds of students volunteered in labs, hospitals, and community projects such as keeping the elderly company or tutoring schoolchildren. In short, despite the crisis’ deepening and lengthening, TAU has succeeded in both maintaining operations and contributing to Israel’s ongoing struggle with the virus – medically, scientifically and socially. We continue to do so, and to stay agile and responsive, with the hope that normalcy will return soon to Israel and the world.

Dear Friends, When I assumed the presidency of Tel Aviv University in May 2019, I could not have imagined in my wildest scenarios that, only 10 months later, TAU would have to deal with a major disease crisis. I had entered my new role with energy and a detailed game plan. I was sure I was ready for the complex tasks ahead. But a global pandemic? Who could have anticipated that? Yet, the measure of an organization and its people is precisely in how they handle a crisis. I wish to stress first off that the entire TAU community worked together to overcome both urgent and longer-term hurdles. Overnight, professors switched to online teaching, aided by our outstanding technical personnel. Libraries continued their services virtually. Students found ways to adapt and, when they needed financial support, they turned to emergency funds set up for them with the assistance of generous donors. The University’s management instigated rigorous campus safety and hygiene measures that enabled our researchers to continue their lab work and maintain the pace of scientific breakthroughs. We even found ways to hold exams virtually that adhered to high standards of reliability and fairness. Equally important, TAU staff and students immediately rallied to the cause of beating COVID-19. We set up a testing lab; fast-tracked research on coronavirus treatments and vaccines; and initiated countrywide studies on identifying, tracing and preventing the spread of infection. We launched the Center for Combating Pandemics and a national online forum for creative Connections: International Reach

Before the pandemic broke, TAU had just finalized a 10-year strategic plan for substantially increasing campus globalization. Obviously, with many countries just then grounding flights and shutting down, the timing was dismal. However, we decided to use this time constructively and prepare for a global reboot when it comes. Key goals for extending TAU’s reach are as follows:

• Recruiting more top post-docs and doctoral students from abroad • Introducing more international undergraduate programs in fields such as Management and the Environment • Cementing additional long-term, strategic relationships with top universities abroad for joint research and teaching, such as existing ones with Columbia, Stanford, UC Berkeley and Northwestern • Hosting more international conferences, workshops and visiting professors • Coordinating all global activities under one roof – TAU

International – and with an expanded professional team TAU is also deep in negotiations with the UAE on a number of potential collaborations and looks forward to the many new opportunities for Middle East regional cooperation that will surely arise.

Along with cross-border collaboration, TAU is promoting cooperation across fields and schools with several new interdisciplinary centers. I believe that enabling researchers from both the hard and soft sciences to question, explore and rethink the world – together – builds the creative foundations for lifechanging inventions. In addition to the Center for Combating Pandemics, the University launched the Center for AI and Data Science, the Center for Quantum Science and Technology, and a teaching unit – the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Center for Humanities in STEM, which will introduce humanity courses into the core sciences curriculum next year. Additional interdisciplinary centers under construction are in Climate Change and Healthy Aging – the latter a hot topic for possible partnership with the UAE.

Clout: Real-World Impact

We have to ensure that R&D conducted on campus will bring practical, concrete benefits to people. To make this a reality, and to bridge the divide between the campus and the real world, TAU is taking a number of steps to strengthen ties with hospitals, business and government. For example, we are signing a groundbreaking agreement with the TAU-affiliated Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center to set up a university research center at the hospital. Aimed to increase synergy between basic biomedical research and clinical applications, the new center could serve as a model for additional ones at other TAUaffiliated hospitals. We also dedicated the Shmunis School of Biomedicine and Cancer Research to advance novel cures and promote fertile interaction among leading researchers in Israel and around the globe. In another example, TAU is recruiting industrial sponsors and student mentors via its Entrepreneurship Center, and is considering various alternatives, such as a high-tech park or innovation floor, to bring industry players in closer physical proximity to the campus. The completion this year of TAU’s Susan and Henry Samueli Engineering Building, which will house giant chip manufacturer Broadcom Inc., is a marvelous first step in this direction. Community: Stronger Society If the pandemic has taught us anything, it is that social cohesiveness is key to overcoming crises. The Tel Aviv University community has remained strong and mutually committed, and this is a good opportunity to thank our remarkable leadership, faculty, staff and donors for their steadfastness during a rocky period. I remain cautiously optimistic that the worst is behind us, but the situation is still challenging – especially economically. Despite budget pressures, TAU is keeping up the normal pace of recruiting young faculty members – who represent the future of our institution. TAU is building more core facilities with shared equipment such as electron microscopes and genome sequencers to support multiple lab teams needing similar services. We have also been making every effort to aid students who are struggling academically, financially and psychologically, to ensure that no talented young person loses their dream of a TAU degree due to the pandemic and its fallout. These top priorities, along with TAU’s continued international and interdisciplinary growth, require major resources. I am confident that the University’s dedicated friends and supporters will be inspired to partner with us as we move into the next stage of development and growth.

Prof. Ariel Porat President, Tel Aviv University