|
Contact: Alan Fogg, Director of Communications
afogg@fceda.org, 703-790-0600 (o) or 571-213-5065 (m)
Fairfax County EDA kicks off IIT2005 conference with Indian-Israeli academic agreement
Fairfax County , Virginia , May 20, 2005 – The Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA) today kicked off the IIT2005 Conference for graduates of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) with the signing of an agreement between IIT Kharagpur and Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. The agreement outlines a collaboration of research and exchange of faculty and students between the two institutions.
More than 200 attendees at the Hilton McLean Tysons Corner witnessed the signing of the “Fairfax County Educational Accords” between IIT Kharagpur (www.iitkgp.ac.in) and Technion (http://pard.technion.ac.il). Also participating in this event was the US-Israel Business Exchange (www.usibex.org), which supports Israeli companies that expand into the U.S. market.
“ Fairfax County is thrilled to bring the IIT and Technion together for research and collaboration,” said Gerald L. Gordon, Ph.D., president and CEO of the FCEDA. “Indian and Israeli businesses are a growing force in the technology community, especially in Fairfax County, and the IIT and Technion are among the world’s most prestigious technical universities. We are excited to forge partnerships between these institutions and to be known as the place where it happened, and we are delighted to show off Fairfax County to so many business people from these two countries.”
Dr. Itzhak Bar-Itzhak, who signed the memorandum of understanding on behalf of Technion, said it would be “fruitful for the scholars, the institutions and our two countries.” He also said the event today is a sign of the growing relationship between Israel and Fairfax County.
Signing for IIT Kharagpur was Dr. Partha P. Chakrabarti, dean of sponsored research at the institute. Dr. M.G.K. Menon, former Indian minister for science and technology, told the audience that he believed more Indian companies will come to Fairfax County because of the broad-based economy and opportunities for growth. “This is a destination of opportunity, certainly,” he said.
IIT2005 runs from May 20-22 in Bethesda, Md., and the FCEDA is a sponsor of the event. Also today, Dr. Gordon spoke to IIT delegates about Fairfax County’s rise as a top business location. Also, the Fairfax County EDA participated in a reception for IIT2005 participants hosted by Congressmen Tom Davis and Jim Moran, whose districts include Fairfax County.
Business growth helps Fairfax County fund public services such as the nation’s top-rated public school system that contribute to the quality of life. Fairfax County offers businesses a state-of-the-art telecommunications infrastructure, access to domestic and international markets through Washington Dulles International Airport and a well-educated workforce.
The Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (www.FairfaxCountyEDA.org) promotes Fairfax County as a business and technology center. The FCEDA assists businesses by identifying possible sites and facilities, and provides demographic and economic statistics. The FCEDA’s Capital Attraction Program links technology entrepreneurs with potential investors, and another program supports the growth of small and minority-owned companies. The FCEDA maintains overseas offices in Bangalore, Frankfurt, London, Seoul and Tel Aviv.
IIT2005: Beyond iiTechnology (www.iit2005.org) is a biennial conference that will feature participants from across North America, India, and other parts of the world. The conference is set for May 20-22. Attendees include a large number of IIT alumni, luminaries from the industry and academia, and a variety of organizations. They will participate in several exciting and informative discussions on subjects, including rural transformation, US-India business and research collaboration, women in technology, and other important topics. Speakers include author and New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, former GE CEO Jack Welch, and Harvard University President Lawrence Summers.
Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (www.iitkgp.ac.in) is the oldest of seven campuses of the Indian Institutes of Technology. Classes began in 1951 on the site of an old British detention camp in the Indian state of West Bengal. On Sept. 15, 1956, the Parliament of India passed the Indian Institute of Technology (Kharagpur) Act declaring the institute to be of national importance. IIT Kharagpur has been engaged in a steady process of development with about 18 academic departments and five centers of excellence. The 2,100-acre campus has a self-contained township of more than 15,000 inhabitants. The institute has about 2,700 students, 450 faculty members and 2,200 employees on the campus.
Technion-Israel Institute of Technology (http://pard.technion.ac.il) opened in Haifa in 1924. As Israel's oldest and premier institute of science and technology, the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology has been an active and leading participant in Israel's establishment and development.
Technion is located outside Haifa in Technion City, which is 1.3 million square meters in size. The institute has more than 13,000 students and almost 600 faculty members. Technion graduates comprise the majority of Israeli-educated scientists and engineers, constituting over 70 percent of the country's founders and managers of high-tech industries. Israel is home to the greatest concentration of high-tech start-up companies outside of the Silicon Valley.
US-Israel Business Exchange ( www.usibex.org) is an independent non-profit organization. It was created as an initiative of the Embassy of Israel in collaboration with the local Greater Washington, D.C., business community in March 2000 to help Israeli and American companies create opportunities for collaboration and accelerate the entry of Israeli technology companies into the U.S. market .
Read the agreement between the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur and Technion-Israeli Institute of Technology.
See photos from the May 20 breakfast.
# # #
| 
