Fifteen exciting new projects from galaxy clusters to motor neuron degeneration have been selected to receive grants totalling £365,000 for research teams from top universities in the UK and Israel to carry out joint scientific research. These are the first grants awarded under the Britain-Israel Research and Academic Exchange Partnership, which is managed by the British Council, and will provide a real boost to the UK and Israeli scientific communities.

Launched in 2008 by the British and Israeli Prime Ministers, this partnership scheme will increase academic ties between the two countries, strengthening existing links and developing new ones. Building on a tradition of strong scientific cooperation, academics from Israel’s Bar Ilan University, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Tel Aviv University and the Weizmann Institute will be partnering with academics from UK universities including Oxford and Cambridge, Imperial College and University College London, Anglia Ruskin University and the Universities of Cardiff, Swansea, Aston, Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Newcastle and Southampton.  The new joint projects, across the scientific spectrum, are expected to make important advances in neuroscience, genetics, medicine, astronomy, physics, biology, electrical engineering, information technology and anthropology, making a real difference to people’s lives in the UK and Israel.

In response to today’s announcement, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: "I very much welcome today's announcement of the grants for fifteen collaborative research projects involving Israeli and UK universities. The variety and diversity of these successful bids reflect the strong nature of the UK-Israel bilateral relationship. It was an honour for me launch the scheme in July 2008, together with the Israeli Prime Minister, and my government continues to support and actively encourage academic links between the UK and Israel."

Prof. Daniel Hershkovitz, Israel’s Minister of Science and Technology responded by saying "The UK and Israel have demonstrated scientific and technological achievements of the highest level. Thus it is only natural that our two countries should cooperate in these areas and create a situation in which both sides, and even the rest of the world, benefit from this successful cooperation."

In announcing the awards, Director of British Council in Israel, Jim Buttery said, “The successful applicants were chosen for their innovation and scientific excellence. We also favoured those university teams that demonstrated a strong approach to partnership and the potential to produce results for the benefit of the wider academic world or society at large”.

The Britain-Israel Research and Academic Exchange Partnership is funded by a mix of private and public funding from the UK and Israel. The largest supporter of the scheme is the Pears Foundation from the UK. The scheme is also supported by UJIA and has the full backing of the British and Israeli governments which provide financial support through the Department for Business Innovation and Skills and the Foreign & Commonwealth Office in the UK and the Ministry of Science and Technology in Israel. The scheme is managed by the British Council from their offices in Israel.

The British Council is also managing a separate but complementary research programme with Tel Hai Academic College in northern Israel involving research collaborations with two UK universities. This is supported by UJIA.
The next Call for Proposals will be announced at the end of December.  For more information about BIRAX click here.

Notes for Editors

About the Britain-Israel Research and Academic Exchange Partnership
The aim of the scheme is to strengthen academic cooperation between universities in the UK and Israel by awarding grants for joint research in all fields of science, both pure and applied, including social sciences and humanities. Its wider goal is to contribute towards the growth of Britain and Israel’s knowledge economies.

The scheme was developed by the British Council following discussions in 2007-08 with leading members of Universities UK and Israel’s University President’s Association. It was designed in close consultation with the Pears Foundation, the Department for Business, Skills and Innovation (BIS), the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and Israel’s Ministry of Science and Technology.  

The scheme has been made possible by financial contributions from The Pears Foundation, with a commitment of £550,000 over five years, and UJIA, with a commitment of £200,000 over five years. The two governments have contributed £20,000 each as seed money in the first year of the
scheme to meet initial start-up costs.

Awards made under the scheme are based on strict selection criteria and rigorous academic standards. Awards are made following international peer reviewing and on the basis of recommendations from a specialist Academic Selection Board which is made up of distinguished academics from the UK and Israel.  

The scheme, will initially run for five years. It aims to support quality research collaborations and create new institutional links in a flexible and imaginative way. It is hoped that further funding from government and the private sector will ensure a longer-term partnership between Britain and Israel’s universities.

Additional Quotes
University of Glasgow Vice Chancellor Professor Anton Muscatelli commented “This is good news for Britain and good news for our universities. The quality of research in Israel’s universities is very high and this new scheme offers an excellent opportunity for our academics to share expertise with their Israeli counterparts and advance scientific knowledge across a wide range of disciplines”.

About the British Council
• Marking 75 years in 2009, the British Council is the UK's international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities.
• We work in over 100 countries worldwide to build engagement and trust for the UK through our programmes which encourage intercultural dialogue, support the creative and knowledge economies and help to tackle climate change.
• We run international activities in the arts, education, English teaching, science, sport, and governance.
• Our work aims to foster the long-term cooperation needed to address global challenges.
• Last year we engaged face to face with 13.2 million people and reached 221 million.
• We are a non-political organisation which operates at arm's length from government.
• Our turnover in 2008/9 was £645 million, of which our grant from the British government was £209 million. The other £436 million was generated from English language teaching, the administration of exams, and delivery of contracts for third parties.
To find out more about The British Council.

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