Thousands of strong ties connect Ukraine and Ukrainians with Israel and its citizens. Some of us have old friends living there, others have relatives, some have collaborated with scientists or businesspeople from that country, and some have traveled there for vacation or medical treatment. Therefore, meetings with representatives of Israel are always warm and interesting for their participants. The meeting with Michael Brodsky, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the State of Israel to Ukraine, which took place on June 5, was no exception.
This is not the first visit of the plenipotentiary representative of Israel to KPI: he first visited the university in January 2022, two months before the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. At that time, the conversation with the leaders of Kyiv Polytechnic Institute focused primarily on expanding cooperation between Kyiv residents and their colleagues working at Israeli universities, as well as research that could be of potential interest to their participants. Unfortunately, due to the circumstances of the war in Ukraine and the war in Israel, the projects discussed were not implemented, although contacts were not completely severed. Therefore, on June 5 this year, the focus was not on establishing ties and launching joint programs, but rather on renewing the traditionally good relations that linked KPI with universities and scientific institutions in the State of Israel. This was stated by Anatoliy Melnychenko, Rector of Igor Sikorsky KPI, when presenting the opportunities and outlining the potential for cooperation.
And there is much to talk about, because the beginning of scientific and technical cooperation between KPI and Israeli scientists and industrialists was laid back in 1994 with the signing of an agreement on scientific and technical cooperation in mathematical modeling and sponsorship of scientific research between NTUU “KPI” and Constellation Project, Ltd (this joint work continued until 2003). Then there was the 2000 memorandum of understanding with the world-renowned Israeli Institute of Technology “Technion” and fruitful meetings with its scientists; a 2005 agreement on education, cooperation, and scientific exchanges with the equally renowned Weizmann Institute, which is both a university and a multidisciplinary research institution; interesting contacts with Ariel University, etc. A public lecture by 2011 Nobel Prize winner Professor Daniel Shechtman of Technion, entitled “Quasi-Periodic Materials: A New Definition for Crystal,” was held at KPI with great success on Israel Day 2016. Joint cultural events were also held, for example, the exhibition of paintings by the famous Jewish artist Herman Gold, who lives and works in Ukraine, “Two Nations – One Hope” at the Center for Culture and Arts and others, aroused great interest among art lovers. And, of course, Igor Sikorsky KPI has been visited many times by Israeli government officials, and representatives of the country's innovative businesses have participated in the traditional Sikorsky Challenge Festival of Innovative Projects. Moreover, the co-founder of the Sikorsky Challenge Innovation Holding is Israeli citizen, IT specialist, entrepreneur, and experienced business coach Igor Peier.
Anatoliy Melnichenko also gave the guests a very detailed presentation about the university today as the largest educational and scientific center in Ukraine, the potential of its scientific teams, and educational programs that could be of interest to partners. He also mentioned some research projects currently being implemented at the university and, of course, the main areas that are most relevant to our country today and on which KPI scientists are working particularly actively.
This presentation was supplemented by Vice-Rector for Scientific Work Serhii Stirenko, who spoke about the current specific contacts between Kyiv Polytechnic Institute and Israeli colleagues, as well as the areas of research and topics of potential joint developments that may be of interest to both sides in today's conditions, especially in the field of defense technologies. He drew on his own experience of visiting and collaborating with Technion University, so this work does not have to start from scratch. In his opinion, the first stage of renewing and expanding cooperation could be the creation of consortia of Israeli and Ukrainian scientists to work on international grant program projects. Thus, during the conversation, an agreement was reached on the exchange of relevant information so that the points of contact and the final choice could be made by specialists who would subsequently have to work together.
During the conversation, the Israeli ambassador invited the rector of KPI to visit Israel and promised to provide his support in organizing and preparing such a trip. In turn, Anatoliy Melnychenko invited Michael Brodsky to meet with KPI students and give a lecture for them. The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the State of Israel to Ukraine gladly accepted this proposal—it was preliminarily agreed to plan such a lecture for mid-autumn.
“I am very happy to return to your university. Quite a lot of time has passed since my first visit to KPI, and I know that some changes have taken place here. It is always pleasant to communicate with friends and discuss opportunities and directions for possible cooperation,” Michael Brodsky shared his impressions of the conversation. "Especially since we now have even more common interests than before, and certain new potential areas of partnership have emerged, which we are currently considering. I hope that this meeting will give us the opportunity to deepen our contacts, especially in the military and industrial spheres. Unfortunately, our countries are currently at war, but this has created many new opportunities."
Finally, it is worth noting that during the meeting, the distinguished guest communicated with the participants in excellent Ukrainian.
🇮🇱 Our university was visited by Michael Brodsky, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the State of Israel to Ukraine, together with Lilia Lyakhovich, coordinator of the Embassy's public diplomacy department.
📌 Introductory tour of the university
📌 Presentation of the university's key achievements and possible areas of academic and scientific cooperation
📌 Discussion of prospects for cooperation with Technion – Israel Institute of Technology (one of Israel's leading universities), as well as open lectures and exchange of experience in various fields, including defense capabilities.