Successful collaboration: academia & industry

Jim Heppleman, president of the global software company PTC, made a special visit to the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology this week to launch the company’s new offices on the Technion campus in Haifa. He met with Technion President Professor Uri Sivan and with the University’s senior management team, toured the laboratories, and met with faculty members. A formal cooperation between the company and the Technion includes an investment of 15 million NIS to establish a unique research and development center within the Technion, that will employ approximately 100 employees and that is expected to expand in the future. In addition, PTC will participate together with the Technion in joint research in strategic areas, including 3D printing, the Internet of Things, augmented reality, simulations, and more, and will assist in the development of curricula that match industry requirements.

R-L: Ziv Belfer, CEO of PTC Israel and Global Vice President for Research and Development, PTC President Jim Heppelman, and Technion President Prof. Uri Sivan. Photo credit: Rami Shlush, Technion

“Today we made history in terms of cooperation and tightening of ties between academia and industry,” said Technion President Prof. Uri Sivan. “We thank you very much for fulfilling this vision with us. Scientific and technological breakthroughs today require close cooperation between academia and industry. In the past three years, Technion has worked to build a new ecosystem with industry and promoted examining commonalities on campus. The technological world around us is advancing and changing rapidly. Cooperation with PTC anchors a long-standing relationship between the Technion and the company and is important to us in all aspects, both in terms of the contribution to the education and training of our students and to the creation of joint research on campus.”

“All over the world, the importance of cooperation between academia and industry is recognized. As a company whose clients include giant companies such as Toyota, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Audi, Caterpillar, General Electric, Samsung, Dell, Toshiba, Motorola, and more, we see how they are constantly looking for ways to improve their production and development,” said PTC President Jim Heppelman. “I have no doubt that research conducted at the Technion will help us improve our products, which help companies improve processes. At the same time, the Technion will benefit from helping us train the engineers of the future.”

PTC is an American company headquartered in Boston and traded on Nasdaq. Its technology helps companies all over the world manage their product life cycle including planning, manufacturing, operation, and maintenance by experts in a connected world. In Israel, the company employs hundreds of people in two branches in Herzliya and Haifa. The Israeli center is PTC’s second largest R&D center  outside the U.S. and is responsible for the development of the company’s leading products.