One Year On: PTC Delegation Visits Technion – Israel Institute of Technology and R&D Center

On May 9 – one year after PTC signed a long-term strategic collaboration to invest 15 million New Israeli Shekel ($5 Million U.S.) in the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology – an international team from various PTC offices worldwide came to the Technion to discuss progress, share hopes and excitement, and visit the newly dedicated Research and Development center on campus, which is in the final stages of being built.

Left to right: Ziv Belfer, Technion President Prof. Uri Sivan and Kevin Wrenn

A team of 9 people from PTC international and 8 from PTC Israel including Kevin Wrenn (U.S.) – EVP, Products and Ziv Belfer (Israel), Executive VP, PTC R&D arrived to meet Professor Uri Sivan, the President of the Technion, Professor Boaz Golany, Executive Vice President & Director General and Professor Koby Rubinstein, Executive Vice President for Research, to discuss their unique cooperation. This pioneering model for industry-academia collaboration is the fruit of Technion’s long history with PTC and a model the Technion hopes will serve as the first of many between itself and industry.

PTC delegation with representatives of the Technion management

Technion President Prof. Uri Sivan opened the meeting by welcoming the PTC delegation to the Technion and to Israel. He outlined the importance of the Technion in the history of Israel’s development from civil infrastructure through micro and optoelectronics to aerospace. He said that “We do the best research we can and train our students as best we can, but we also consider Israel’s economy and security as part of our mission. Indeed, our impact is unparalleled”. He further updated that the Technion is building a new eco-system with industry by strengthening ties with a selected group of industrial partners and that he is proud to have PTC as such a close partner.

Kevin Wrenn, EVP, Products, PTC spoke on behalf of PTC with an “incredibly optimistic outlook on this very important partnership.” He went on to talk about the “three goals being basic research, working with the Technion to train the best engineers possible and joining forces between Technion, PTC, and their subset of customers” (some 30,000 industrial customers around the world). He talked about the incredibly sophisticated engineering techniques that PTC is developing and the digital transformation that is taking place.

“We are very excited about this partnership,” said Ziv Belfer, Executive Vice President of Global Research and Development and General Manager, PTC Israel. “Technion will become the first place in the world to teach this technology [generative engineering] in a university. Industrial research can make sure that education is at the forefront of what’s happening in the world.” He went on to say that the new R&D center at the Technion will be a front arm for PTC and that together they will influence research and collaborate on education. He also said that the digital engineering center will evolve to be strategically important.

PTC delegation in front of their new R&D building in the Gutwirth Industrial Park in the Technion

Executive Vice President & Director General Professor Boaz Golany talked about how PTC is aligned with the three frontiers of Technion’s strategic plan: human health, sustainability, and digital industries, each of which was open to input and fertilization from all faculties. He likened PTC’s involvement in the partnership to being the “future captain of an industrial club,” which would then serve as a model for others.

The PTC delegation continued their visit to their R&D center on campus, which is due to open in November and which will be home to around 100 people.

PTC delegates on a visit to the Microfluidic Technologies Laboratory of Prof. Moran Bercovici in the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering