Umbrella Partnership
Israel Institute of Technology, RWTH Aachen University, and Forschungszentrum Jülich
The Umbrella Cooperation between RWTH Aachen University, Forschungszentrum Jülich, and the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology – was established in 1983. The partners signed a cooperation agreement with the aim “to strengthen collaboration in science and technology.”
This strategic partnership is considered a major driver of high-impact cross-border research. The Technion in Haifa is Israel’s oldest university. Among its 610 faculty members, there are three Nobel laureates.
All three partners are considered to be excellent research institutions and therefore the exchange under the Umbrella collaboration has been highly fruitful on an academic and personal level. In order to promote the aims of the Umbrella partnership, different initiatives have been put in place, such as symposia and the Umbrella Award.
Symposia
The Umbrella Symposia with central topics from research have been an important element of cooperation between the institutions from the very beginning. Each year, a different partner holds the symposium and scientific coordinators are appointed for it depending on the topic area at hand.
Umbrella Symposium 2023
Technion – Israel Institute of Technology will host the next Umbrella Symposium. It will take place from May 30, to June 1, 2023, in Haifa, and focuses on the topic of Life Science and Engineering: Data Analytics, Neuroscience and Multiscale Biomedical Engineering once again.
The conference offers an excellent opportunity to bring researchers from all three institutions back together to deepen the exchange of expertise, ideas, and future issues, with the aim of stimulating and initiating cross-border collaborations.
Nearly 30 scientists from Forschungszentrum Jülich and RWTH will travel to Israel and also join in on a very special occasion this year: The Umbrella Cooperation will celebrate the 40th anniversary of this trilateral network!
Umbrella Award
The Umbrella Award is worth 5,000 euros and it was presented for the first time in 2018. The prize is now presented at each Umbrella Symposium to outstanding researchers in the field of the respective symposium topic. One award winner will be selected for each of the three institutions.
"The Umbrella Award is unique on a national level and it also gains international significance through its sponsorship by the German Technion Society. The financial support associated with the award is intended to lay the foundation for further cooperation and personal exchange between Germany and Israel. This is also intended to strengthen the young scientists concerned in the field of international competition and promote their mobility," says Professor Joachim Mayer, holder of the Chair of Microstructure Analysis at RWTH Aachen University. He is the administrative and scientific coordinator of the Umbrella Cooperation for RWTH.
The award is announced annually in preparation for the next symposium. The three winners for the 2023 round have already been selected and their awards will be presented as part of the symposium program on May 30, 2023.
Overview of Past Topics
| Year | Location | Topic |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Aachen | Life Science and Engineering: Data Analytics, Neurosciences and Multiscale Biomedical Engineering |
| 2021 |
Aachen |
Life Science and Engineering: Data Analytics, Neuroscience and Multiscale Biomedical Engineering (online conference) |
| 2019 | Jülich |
Energy Conversion and Energy Storage |
| 2018 |
Haifa |
Energy Conversion and Energy Storage |
| 2017 | Aachen |
Quantum Information and Technology |
| 2016 | Jülich | When Life Sciences and Engineering Converge |
| 2015 | Haifa | Biomaterials and Biohybrids from Basic Research to Medical Applications |
Research Exchange – Summer and Winter Schools
Since 2018 the symposia are accompanied by Summer or Winter Schools. Experts of the three partner institutions cover a wide range of methods in current research for master students, doctoral candidates and early-stage postdocs. The Schools take up the key topics of the annual symposia, and therefore participating researchers have the chance to stay in touch with their colleagues. One of the key objectives of the Umbrella Consortium is to foster international mobility of early career researchers. Both, the Umbrella Award as well as the Winter School will further enhance these objectives.
In addition to that, Umbrella supports scientific exchange travels between Israel and Germany. Through Umbrella research stays have been established and continue on an annual basis.
| Technion Haifa | Prof. J. Rubinstein, Executive Vice President for Research |
|---|---|
| Forschungszentrum Jülich | Prof. F. Melchior, Member of the Board of Directors |
| RWTH Aachen University | Prof. J. Mayer, Rector’s Delegate for Cooperation with the Technion |