A delegation from Israel headed by Member of Knesset Ofir Akunis, Minister of Science, Technology and Space, along with senior Ministry officials and representatives from the academia, visited R&D centers in the Czech Republic. The aim of the visit was to advance technological and academic collaborations between the two countries. Members of the delegation included Prof. Alex Bligh, Chief Scientist of the Ministry, and Mr. Alon Barnea – Vice President of Development at Afeka College. The latter was invited to join the delegation following the cooperation agreement signed between Afeka College and the Technical University of Liberec in March 2017. The visit of the Israeli delegation laid the foundation for further collaborations with academic research and engineering institutions, as well as, representatives of the Czech automotive industry.

The Israeli delegation was hosted by Pavel Bělobrádek, Deputy Prime Minister of the Czech Republic and Minister for Science, Research and Innovation. The delegation met with senior Czech government officials and parliament members and visited leading research centers: the ELI Beamlines Laser Center which is the most innovative and powerful laser facility in the world, and located on the outskirts of Prague; the Czech Institute of Informatics, Robotics and Cybernetics (CIIRC) at the Czech Technical University in Prague; and the Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry Institute (IOCB)