The Israel Innovation Project at Northwestern University

Where Northwestern and Israeli discovery meet

Collaborative science, engineering, humanities, and public engagement — broad reach, broad impact.

Northwestern Israel Innovation Project

Northwestern students in hard hats visiting an Israeli water treatment facility — The Global Engineering Trek on site at Israel's water infrastructure

About IIP

The Israel Innovation Project (IIP) was established in 2020 to advance Northwestern's scientific and technological partnerships with Israeli universities through collaborative research, faculty exchanges, global educational initiatives, innovative business ventures, and public engagement.

IIP's mission is to create long-lasting relationships that expand opportunities for Northwestern faculty, researchers, students, and partners to team up with counterparts in Israel.

Global Engineering Trek group at the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem — Global Engineering Trek at Mount of Olives in Jerusalem

IIP Forward

“

Our vision for the next chapter of IIP is to scale our impact. We are moving from seeding individual projects to anchoring long-term, high-impact research clusters in sustainability, biotechnology, and health sciences. By deepening our exchange of minds and expanding student horizons, we are establishing a permanent global model for collaborative scientific and humanistic discovery.

Elie RekhessFounding Director, Israel Innovation Project

Why Israel?

A Natural Partner

Deep academic ties. Northwestern's academic ties with Israeli institutions run deep, and an eagerness for more collaboration is mutual.

World-class STEM research. Israel's universities offer world-class STEM research with a proven track record of translating scientific discovery into real-world impact.

The Start-Up Nation. Israel holds the world's highest density of tech startups per capita and ranks among the top nations in R&D investment.

Aligned priorities. Israel's strengths align directly with Northwestern's research priorities, including health sciences, sustainability, AI, biotech, nanotech, computer science, and cybersecurity.

Signature Initiatives

Annual Water Symposium

Since 2016 — four years before IIP was formally established — Northwestern has convened the Annual Symposium on Water in Israel and the Middle East, bringing together leading scholars from across Israel, the Middle East, Europe, and the U.S., generating lasting scholarly and policy dialogue.

10 Symposia 58 Speakers 500+ Attendees & collaborators

Speakers at the Eighth Annual Water Symposium — Eighth Annual Water Symposium

The Global Engineering Trek: Water in Israel

The program takes Northwestern undergraduate students on an immersive study trip to learn about Israel's water innovation, infrastructure, and research institutions. The trek integrates site visits, expert lectures, and firsthand encounters with some of the most innovative water technology and science in the world.

Trek group at the ruins of the ancient port of Caesarea — Global Engineering Trek at the ruins of the ancient port of Caesarea

Trek group visiting the National Water Carrier — Global Engineering Trek at the National Water Carrier

Events, Lectures & Public Programming

Since 2020, IIP has hosted more than 20 webinars, symposia, colloquia, film screenings, and public lectures on topics ranging from Israeli politics and geopolitics to science, culture, literature, and medicine. The range of speakers reflects IIP's commitment to engaging Israel as a multidimensional society of intellectual and cultural vitality.

Notable Speakers

2023Tzipi Livni — Former Israeli Foreign Minister

2024Ehud Olmert — Former Prime Minister of Israel

2024David Horovitz — Founding Editor, Times of Israel

2025Yair Bar-Haim — PTSD Researcher, Tel Aviv University

2025Eshkol Nevo — Bestselling Israeli Novelist

2026Manuel Trajtenberg — Leading Israeli Economist

IIP Monthly Newsletter

A curated compilation of articles and videos showcasing recent Israeli innovations, sourced from diverse global outlets — reaching hundreds of subscribers.

Subscribe via IIP

Research & Academic Partnerships

At its core, IIP is a research and academic partnership initiative — one that has seeded, supported, and helped sustain collaborative projects across five of Israel's leading institutions:

Tel Aviv University Ben-Gurion University of the Negev The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Technion — Israel Institute of Technology Weizmann Institute of Science

Research Grants & Awards

2020Two Crown Seed Grants for COVID-19 research

2025Gallup Study on Water Security in Israel

2025Crown/IIP Seed Awards supporting five collaborative projects involving Northwestern and leading Israeli faculty

2026Support for an Israeli postdoctoral researcher in the John Rogers Lab

Collaborative Conferences

2020The Promise of Biomed

2020In the Aftermath of COVID-19: The Impact on Science and Research

2021Gene Therapy: A New Pathway to Deafness Treatment

Academic Courses

•Water in Israel and the Middle East

•Israel's Economy

•Trauma and Recovery: Diagnostics, Treatment, and Research

Initiatives in Progress

•Synthetic Biology collaboration

•Computer Science and AI collaboration

•Environmental and decarbonization collaboration

Connect with IIP

Elie Rekhess

Founding Director

e-rekhess@northwestern.edu

Krystle Felcaro Heaps

Strategic Operations Manager

krystle.felcaroheaps@northwestern.edu

iip.northwestern.edu | israel-innovation@northwestern.edu | 847-491-2329
Israel Innovation Project · Crowe Hall 5-179 · 1860 Campus Drive · Evanston, IL 60208