Overview of Israeli collaborations

There are many questions about Dutch universities' collaborations with Israeli organizations. We understand the request to know with which partners academic institutions collaborate. This page compiles information about research collaborations of Utrecht University and UMC Utrecht with Israeli organizations.

Utrecht University and UMC Utrecht have decided to make research collaborations better findable on our own website. This follows the University Council's request to reassess existing collaborations with Israeli organizations (login required), recent occupations and interviews with students and staff. In doing so, we hope to answer the call for greater transparency.

Given the polarization surrounding this issue, we do not share project names and names of individual researchers. We do, however, provide a brief account of the research topic and which Israeli organization is being collaborated with.

Education and research of the Faculty of Medicine/UMC Utrecht are partly the responsibility of Utrecht University, and both institutions collaborate closely in the fields of medicine and health sciences. Therefore, the research collaborations of UMC Utrecht were added to the overview on May 24. These agreements are signed and reviewed by UMC Utrecht. Furthermore, the overview was updated on 18 July and 18 October 2024 after an evaluation of the existing collaborations (18 July) and the completion of this evaluation (18 October).

Existing collaborations

Utrecht University has a student exchange agreement with one Israeli university: the University of Haifa. This exchanges is currently not available for outbound exchange because the institution is location in an area with a negative travel advisory. However, it can be found on the Utrecht University website as a student exchange destination.

Utrecht University and UMC Utrecht are currently involved in 25 research collaborations with Israeli universities and non-academic Israeli organizations. 

Most of these projects are European-funded research consortia involving multiple European partners as well as researchers from Israeli universities and non-academic Israeli organizations. The total number of partners is sometimes more than one hundred. These are emphatically not defense-related projects or where there is a risk of dual-use by defense. All the European collaborations can be found through the EU's CORDIS website.

This currently involves eleven collaborations for Utrecht University in the following research studies:

  • Research looking at science teaching experiences outside of lecture halls. With: Beit Berl College and the Israeli Ministry of Education.
  • Research looking at how to prevent irreversible change to ecosystems. With: Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.
  • European project aimed at training young scientists in the field of neurobiology. With: Weizmann Institute of Science.
  • Research aimed at imaging the impact and regulation of corruption. With: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
  • Research on ways to combat accelerated aging. With: University of Haifa.
  • Consortium identifying climate change risks to make Europe more resilient to climate change. With: Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.
  • Research to better assess risks around chemicals to better protect people and the environment. With: Israeli Ministry of Health.
  • Research into the production of lignin, an organic compound that could potentially be used as a green feedstock in the future. With: Daren Labs.
  • Added on 18 July: Research on how CO2 can be sequestered in building materials. With: Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.
  • Added on 18 July: Research on the ecological impact of floating structures at sea, especially focused on solar and wind energy. With: Cameri.
  • Added on 18 July: Research on osteoarthritis. With: Liposhere.

This currently involves twelve collaborations for UMC Utrecht in the following research studies:

  • Research on allogeneic cell therapy for the heart. With: Biological industries Israel Beit Haemek ltd and The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
  • European joint program for rare diseases, coordinated by UMC Utrecht. With: Israeli Ministry of Health.
  • European platform for test accelerator against corona vaccines. With: Israeli Ministry of Health. 
  • Study of SARS-CoV2 variants in pregnancy and pediatric cohorts. With: Mor research applications ltd.
  • Research on workflow optimization in interventional oncology. With: Philips medical systems technologies ltd.
  • Research on next-generation implant manufacturing. With: Stratasys ltd.
  • Research on urban environments and health. With: Tel Aviv University and The Hebrew University.
  • Research on effective mRNA therapies, coordinated by UMC Utrecht. With: Tel Aviv University.
  • Research on improved monitoring and communication of medication safety during pregnancy and lactation, coordinated by UMC Utrecht. With: Teva Pharmaceutical Industries limited.
  • Research on autism. With: Teva Pharmaceutical Industries limited.
  • Research on reducing antibiotic resistance. With: The Foundation for Medical Research Infrastructural Development and Health Services and medical center Tel Aviv.
  • Research on optimal use of antibiotics. With: The Health Corporation – Rambam.

UMC Utrecht and Utrecht University are jointly involved in two research studies:

  • A collaboration of institutes researching infectious diseases. With: Weizmann Institute of Science.
  • Research on how medical research can be done at home, coordinated by UMC Utrecht. With: Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited.

In addition to these formal collaborations, there are individual researchers who maintain contact and collaborate with Israeli colleagues. Such collaborations are not recorded.

Conditions for collaboration with external partners

Utrecht University and UMC Utrecht collaborate with various knowledge institutes and organizations to find answers to questions raised in society. All new collaborations of Utrecht University and UMC Utrecht are reviewed, for example in terms of research integrity and knowledge security risks. In addition, existing collaborations with Israeli partners have been re-evaluated given the current context. We do not want certain scientific ties and exchange collaborations to contribute to the (continuation of the) cycle of violence. This involves an evaluation per collaboration, and not a decision about all collaborations with Israeli institutions.

Utrecht University and UMC Utrecht consider transparency about external collaborations important. Therefore, we previously shared which collaborations there are with the fossil industry; which chairs are not funded from the first flow of funds; and the ancillary positions of all professors.