Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, this evening (Tuesday, 13 November 2012), for the third year, at a ceremony at Ben-Gurion University in Be'er Sheva, awarded the "Prime Minister's Prize for Initiatives and Innovation."
The goal of the prize is to encourage initiatives, innovational thinking, imagination and creativity among various population groups, including young people, and thereby lead to significant changes in society, the environment, science, technology, etc.
The Prizes, which are worth NIS 170,000, were awarded this year to entrepreneurs in two categories: The Prime Minister's Prize for Initiative and Innovation for Financial Profit and the Prime Minister's Prize for Initiative and Innovation Not for Financial Profit (NIS 70,000 each). Two honorable mentions will also be awarded, one in each category (NIS 15,000 each).
Prime Minister Netanyahu said: "These two great forces – initiatives and innovation – push society and life to new heights. We are facing a very promising and, in a certain sense, a very challenging period. The development of the world of the Internet has reached the cyber world very quickly; the cyber world reaches the world of cyber-attacks. There must also be defenses; new things come from this defense – new industries and new understandings. We must advance these from within both the Government and the Prime Minister's Office. I believe that this is not only within us, it is also our future. Therefore, we established this Prize. Initiatives and innovation advance humanity, the State of Israel and society. The pace of change, applications and initiatives is increasing. This attests to the creativity of the Jewish People, the State of Israel and Israeli citizens."
The Prime Minister's Prize for Initiative and Innovation for Financial Profit will be awarded to Yoni Bloch, CEO and Co-Founder of Interlude -- Interactive Video Technology<http://interlude.fm/>.
The Prime Minister's Prize for Initiative and Innovation not for Financial Profit will be awarded to Prof. Rivka Yahav<http://hw2.haifa.ac.il/index.php/supporting-the-icc/leadership> for her work in developing an innovative system to the early discovery and treatment of environmental and developmental difficulties in youth at risk (such as sensory-motor, language, emotional and behavioral difficulties). The system, which has been in use since 2004, has worked successfully in kindergartens throughout Israel, among all population groups, and serves as a model for increasing awareness regarding the early treatment of at risk youth.
The Honorable Mention for Initiative and Innovation for Financial Profit will be awarded to Prof. Oded Shoseyov<http://departments.agri.huji.ac.il/plantscience/people/Oded_Shoseyov/>, Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of CollPlant<http://www.collplant.com/>, which focus on regenerative medicine and tissue repair based on its proprietary processing technologies for human collagen and other recombinant proteins.
The Honorable Mention for Initiative and Innovation Not for Financial Profit will be awarded to Dr. Dovi Weiss, Chief Scientist of Time to Know<http://www.timetoknow.com/>, which has developed an interactive core curriculum and a digital teaching platform, designed specifically for one-to-one computing classrooms, and which is currently available for fourth and fifth grade math and reading/language arts. It has been in successful use around the country for the past five years.
The committee that selected this year's winners is chaired by National Economic Council head Prof. Eugene Kandel<http://www.pmo.gov.il/English/PrimeMinistersOffice/DivisionsAndAuthorities/TheNationalEconomicCouncil/Pages/TheNationalEconomicCouncil.aspx>. Its other members are: Tami Hauspeter, Adviser to the Prime Minister and initiator of Prime Minister's Prize for Initiatives and Innovation; Intel Israel General Manager Maxine Fassberg<http://newsroom.intel.com/community/intel_newsroom/bios?n=Maxine%20Fassberg&f=searchAll&wapkw=fassberg>; Ben-Gurion University Dept. of Business Administration Prof. Dafna Schwartz<http://in.bgu.ac.il/en/fom/BusinessDep/Pages/staff/DafnaSchwartz.aspx>, Dr. Harry Yuklea<http://www.yuklea.info/> from the Technion (inter alia); Itamar Medical Co-Chairman of the Board Dr. Giora Yaron<http://www.itamar-medical.com/About_Us/Board_Of_Directors.html>; and "Start-Up Nation" co-author Saul Singer<http://startupnationbook.com/about>.
