SDSU and Israeli university partner to promote tech transfer

SDSU’s Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER) and Israel’s Ben Gurion University (BGU) of the Negev have received a $150,000 grant to help San Diego and Negev region high-tech companies expand global markets.

The project is sponsored by the US-Israel Science & Technology Foundation, an organization jointly funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Government of Israel. CIBER’s partner in the project is the Bengis Center for Entrepreneurship & High-Tech Management at BGU.

“Although Israel is well known for the achievements of its high-tech sector and large percentage of technology start-ups, many Israeli firms lack a strong familiarity with particular aspects of the complex U.S. market,” said David Earwicker, managing director of SDSU’s CIBER. “This is especially true in the Negev region, where high-tech has enormous potential and is growing rapidly.”

Earwicker said the project will promote bi-national business and technological cooperation and create a model for use by other universities in Israel and the U.S.

This spring both universities will identify and match at least five interested firms in each region. Teams of MBA students will conduct feasibility studies on specific opportunities for joint ventures between the firms. The students will tackle complex issues of international cooperation and differences in business culture between the high-tech sectors in their respective cities.

Priority will be given to companies that engage in information, communications and technology for dual use by both the military and commercial sectors.

SDSU students will work with business professors to provide training and guidance to the local companies on how to prepare themselves for the Israeli market, including learning about the Israeli business culture, and preparing for joint ventures and collaborations.

“I have talked to several leaders in the business community and they are very excited about the opportunity to work with Israeli companies,” said SDSU Management Professor Jeffrey Glazer. “This partnership will also benefit our MBA students as they develop business and marketing plans for the selected companies.”

In May Earwicker, Glazer and SDSU Marketing Professor Lois Olson traveled to Tel Aviv and the Negev to hold a workshop in cooperation with the Omer High-Tech Industrial Park and the Regional Small and Medium Business Development Authority in Beer-Sheva, the capital of the Negev.
More information about the project is available at: www.sdsu.edu/ciber/sdnegev/