(Office of the Chief Scientist at Israeli Ministry of Economy)

Europe's largest nanotechnology conference, Imaginenano 2015, opened in Bilbao, Spain (March 10, 2015) and will continue until Friday, March 13. Some 1,000 senior officials in the nanotechnology industry will be attending. Many of the key speakers hail from the Israeli nanotechnology sector. Israel's national booth, hosted by the Office of the Chief Scientist in the Israel Ministry of Economy and its executive branch, MATIMOP, will showcase ten Israeli companies and their products.
 
The Israeli companies at the expo include Fulcrum, Melodea, Valentis, Yissum, Nanonics, NanoAF, QLight, Selyno, Immune Pharmaceuticals and TorTech (Plasan).
 
Israeli researchers and scientists from different fields will moderate panels at the conference and participate as speakers, including Prof. Uri Banin, Dr. Roni Porat, Prof. Yossi Paltiel, Prof. Yehezkel Bernholz, Prof. Shimon Benita, Dr. Ofra Benny, Prof. Asaf Friedler and Dr. Roi Yerushalmi, Prof. Gabi Seroussi from the Ben Gurion University in the Negev, Dr. Avi Schroeder from the Technion, Prof. Shachar Richter from Tel Aviv University and Dr. Rafael Klein from the Weizmann Institute. Many of the products of Israeli companies exhibiting at the conference are based on technologies developed by these scientists representing Israel.
 
Israeli-Spanish Workshop

A joint Israeli-Spanish workshop will take place to promote international cooperation on R&D. A new call for joint industrial R&D projects between the two countries will also be launched. Centro para el Desarrollo Tecnológico Industrial (CDTI) (the Office of the Spanish Chief Scientist in the Spanish Ministry of Economy) will be representing Spain, while Israel will be represented by ISERD (The Israel-Europe R&D Directorate), a department in the Office of the Chief Scientist. Mr. Marcel Chaton, Director-General of ISERD, will present the bi-national Spanish/Israel call for action and present opportunities for cooperation through the Horizon 2020 nano program.
 
In addition, a gala reception will be held at the Israeli Embassy in Spain in cooperation with the Israel-Spanish Trade Bureau, with opening remarks by Ambassador Alon Bar. Bar will also speak at the opening session of the conference.
 
Mr. Ami Levin, Israel’s Trade and Economic Affairs Representative in Spain, said, "Israel’s invitation to Bilbao is part of Spain’s ongoing efforts to create working relations with the Israeli industrial and research sectors. This comes from a recognition of Israel's groundbreaking innovation. Just last month, Israel was a guest state at a conference in Malaga on transferring technology from academia and commercializing intellectual property.
 
"The trade mission to Spain from the Israeli Ministry of Economy is constantly working to leverage ties forged during conferences like Imaginenano, with an eye to creating business opportunities for Israeli companies and entrepreneurs. During the Bilbao event, the mission will organize meetings between Israeli representatives and officials from the Spanish scientific and industrial community."
 
Levin also expressed hope that the conference and other similar gatherings will increase the number of joint Israeli-Spanish research and development projects which gain the support of various EU frameworks.