How does a nation, whose history is full of adversities and challenges, become the nation best known globally for its startup creation model? This was the question that permeated the “Brazil-Israel Innovation Journey”, an event promoted by the State University of Campinas (Unicamp) last Monday (11/02) and which brought to the debate, mediated by the rector of Unicamp, Prof. Marcelo Knobel, the consul general of Israel in São Paulo, Dori Goren and Prof. Peretz Lavie, president of the Israel Institute of Technology (Technion) in Haifa.
On his first visit to Brazil in 30 years, Lavie is heading one of the most important universities on the global technology scene. The university has nine Nobel Prizes and stands out for its results in technology transfer and the creation of startup companies. There are more than 1600 companies founded by alumni.
Lavie credits the Israeli level of economic and technological development to five factors. The first, highlighted by the professor, is the Israeli DNA, which he describes as a questioning profile and of people who believe in taking risks in the pursuit of success. “The second factor is necessity,” he said, describing the country as a region of extreme environmental adversity, permeated by large deserts and armed conflicts. The quality of human resources was the third highlighted factor. Lavie talked about the mandatory military training for all Israelis and how this period helps young people mature, without taking away their questioning profile. The professor also spoke about immigration flows in Israel, marked by waves of immigration of highly qualified people, which help to promote a diverse profile of human resources, important for the development of science and technology.
According to the president of Technion, the fourth factor, of great importance, is support from the Government, creating public policies to facilitate scientific practice and entrepreneurship. Israel invests 4,5% of its GDP in research and development. The last factor, he called the Technion factor: the differentiated role that the university maintains in promoting education for innovation and entrepreneurship.
About Brazil-Israel rapprochement
The event began with the opening of the recently appointed Secretary of Research and Development Policies of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Communication (MCTIC), Marcelo Marcos Morales, who presented the federal government's proposal to encourage the study of science in schools and to bring universities closer to basic education. The secretary was very emphatic in saying that he believes that there is no innovation without basic science and that, therefore, both would be stimulated in this government. Morales was part of Minister Marcos Pontes' mission to Israel and welcomes the rapprochement of Brazilian universities and research institutes with their Israeli counterparts.
In his talk, the consul general of Israel in São Paulo, Dori Goren, also bets on strengthening relations. “Brazil and Israel are not countries that compete, but countries that complement each other. There are already cooperation projects between the two countries, but it is possible to expand this scenario”, stated the Israeli consul.
At Unicamp, Israeli culture is already one of the cultures present and whose joint exchange and research relationships are stimulated. Rector Marcelo Knobel recalled that the university offers Hebrew courses. Knobel believes in the possibility of strengthening these relationships, especially for science, innovation and entrepreneurship. “Unicamp also has excellent results in promoting entrepreneurial culture. We have more than 600 daughter companies, created by our alumni. A partnership in this area with Technion will certainly bring benefits to both,” he assessed.
