On March 20, 2017, the University of Haifa signed an unprecedented $10 million agreement with the Chinese conglomerate, Hangzhou Wahaha Group Co. and the
Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CASIA), to establish three joint Artificial Intelligence Technology Centers in Haifa, Beijing, and Hangzhou.
The AI Centers will house R&D facilities to develop artificial intelligence research with potential for commercial applications in areas such as vision tracking via
mobile devices, 3D imaging, chip technologies, biometric identification, image processing and big data for a variety of medical applications.
Teams from the University of Haifa and the Chinese Academy of Sciences will conduct research at all three institutes.
The agreement was signed in Beijing, in the presence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who was in China on an official state visit, along with China’s
Minister of Science and Technology, Wan Gang, and Israel’s Minister of Economy and Industry, Eli Cohen.
“We are honored to be entering into this agreement with Wahaha and the Institute of Automation at the Chinese Academy of Sciences,” stated President Robin.
“Not only does this partnership emphasize the world-class caliber of research at the University of Haifa, it also endorses our locally-engaged, globally-focused
approach to academia. Such an ongoing collaboration has the potential to produce scientific discoveries that will benefit all of humanity.”
Further reading: Agreement with Rambam Health Care Campus to Establish a Center for Translational Research in Health Sciences & Public Health