NYIT and Holon Institute of Technology Sign Memorandum of Understanding

Pictured: HIT President Eduard Yakubov (left) and NYIT President Hank Foley, Ph.D., sign the MOU on April 24.

NYIT and Holon Institute of Technology (HIT), a university based in Holon, Israel, have partnered via a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on students and faculty initiatives in a variety of areas. On April 24, HIT President Eduard Yakubov and NYIT President Hank Foley, Ph.D., signed the five-year agreement, which calls for the collaboration and exchange of faculty and students.

From left: NYIT School of Engineering and Computer Sciences Director of Strategic Partnerships Marta Panero, Ph.D.; Dean Nada Anid, Ph.D.; HIT President Eduard Yakubov; International Trade Specialist Marisel Trespalacios of the U.S. Commercial Service Long Island; and Huanying (Helen) Gu, Ph.D., associate professor of computer science at NYIT School of Engineering and Computing Sciences.

“One of the hallmarks of an NYIT education is learning to collaborate across different disciplines and places and to promote the free-flowing exchange of ideas,” said President Foley. “We are excited to partner with Holon Institute of Technology to pursue research opportunities for faculty and students at both of our universities.”

Representatives of both universities then discussed potential avenues for collaboration, ranging from joint conferences, publications, and research projects, to faculty and student exchange programs, onsite and online courses, and scholarship programs. To start, the two institutions will organize a faculty research and academic roundtable to discuss research synergies and curricular alignments. “Since over 4,000 student projects are currently underway at Holon, we might organize a design showcase for our students here in New York, and invite your students to exhibit their design projects at HIT,” said Yakubov, who noted that his university shared NYIT’s approach to multidisciplinary education and “preparing our students for high-tech fields.”

NYIT School of Engineering and Computing Sciences Dean Nada Anid, Ph.D., pointed to another potential area of collaboration when discussing the merits of the NYIT-HIT agreement: “We could pursue joint work in cybersecurity, as Israel is No. 2 in this field, after the United States.”

The partners were introduced by the United States Department of Commerce’s Commercial Service in Long Island, located at the Entrepreneurship and Technology Innovation Center (ETIC) on NYIT’s Long Island campus.