Sapir Continues to Lead Regional Development of the Western Negev

This past Tuesday, the College hosted the heads of the local authorities and officials of the Western Negev Cluster for a meeting about Sapir’s central role as growth engine for regional development.

The College presented its new “Academia to Employment Unit” established in partnership with the Edmond de Rotschild Foundation, that is developing college-employer relationships and promoting regional development. Sapir is an academic, technological, cultural and economic regional resource; it provides an excellent, diverse and relevant education. The majority of its students live in Israel’s southern periphery. Sapir is committed as a public college to all the diverse local residents and is dedicated to create ongoing partnerships with regional communities.

The meeting addressed the opportunities, needs and challenges of the region in the coming years and the specific challenges that different authorities and groups have in our region. At the conclusion, it was decided to establish a joint steering committee that will drive the cooperation between Sapir and the region from a strategic view of the growth of the Western Negev.

Present at the meeting were:
Nir Kedar, President, Sapir College
Orna Gigi, CEO, Sapir College
Ofir Libstein, Head of the Shaar HaNegev Local Authority
Attn Tal Korman, Director of the Academia to Employment Unit, Sapir College
Ata'a Abu Mudayam, Mayor of Rahat
Haim Oron (Jumes), member of the Board of Trustees, Sapir College
Nir Zamir, Head of the Sde Shimon Local Authority
Uri Pinto, CEO, Western Negev Cluster
Alon Davidi, Mayor of Sderot
Eitan Pond, Director of Strategy Division, Netivot
Alona Shafer, Manager of Heskem Gag, Netivot
Tikva Tanenbaum, Member Executive Board, Sapir College
Edi Ezran, Manager of the Western Negev Cluster’s Innovation Team
Nurit Cohen Hadad, Secretary of the Sde Negev Regional Authority
Yossi Engler, CEO, Noam Industrial Park
Hadas Bohbot, Employment Coordinator, Noam Industrial Park