Making China’s Desert Bloom
November 20, 2013
Desert & Water Research, Press Releases
BGU recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Elion Resources Group of China to assist them in creating a desert institute in China’s Mongolia province.
For over 40 years, BGU has been on the forefront of the world’s efforts to combat desertification, and has been recognized for its research and development in the fields of desert agriculture, alternative energy and water technologies.
BGU’s Rector Prof. Zvi HaCohen greets Wang Wenbiao, chairman and president of the Elion Resources Group, with Prof. Amos Drory, BGU’s vice president for external affairs.
The goal of the new Kubuqi Desert Research Institute is to develop China’s desert economy. The Elion Resources Group has vast construction and development projects in Mongolia and is dedicated to combating desertification.
Wang Wenbiao, chairman and president of the multi-billion dollar construction and development company, recently visited BGU with 10 of the company’s senior executives. They were so impressed with the University’s quality of desert research that they initiated the signing of an immediate agreement with BGU.
A delegation from the Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research will travel to China in the near future to help establish the new institute.
“Our faculty and researchers are looking forward with excitement to collaborate in the establishment of the research institute in the Kubuqi desert. It is a great challenge for our staff members to be a part of such an important endeavor,” says Prof. Pedro Berliner, director of the Blaustein Institutes.
BGU and Elion will cooperate on water-saving irrigation, waste water treatment, microalgae selection and production, solar energy, and other related fields.
Elion’s partners in establishing the new institute include the Chinese Academy of Science, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Inner Mongolia University, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, and the Agriculture Research Organization of Israel.
“BGU welcomes the opportunity to collaborate with Elion. The scientific and technological knowledge and expertise we have developed at the Blaustein Institutes could be of great value to China in its efforts to combat desertification in Mongolia’s desert,” says Prof. Amos Drory, BGU’s vice president for external affairs.
ABOUT AMERICANS FOR BEN-GURION UNIVERSITY
By supporting a world-class academic institution that not only nurtures the Negev, but also shares its expertise locally and globally, Americans for Ben-Gurion University engages a community of Americans who are committed to improving the world. David Ben-Gurion envisioned that Israel’s future would be forged in the Negev. The cutting-edge research carried out at Ben-Gurion University drives that vision by sustaining a desert Silicon Valley, with the “Stanford of the Negev” at its center. The Americans for Ben-Gurion University movement supports a 21st century unifying vision for Israel by rallying around BGU’s remarkable work and role as an apolitical beacon of light in the Negev desert.
About Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev embraces the endless potential we have as individuals and as a commonality to adapt and to thrive in changing environments. Inspired by our location in the desert, we aim to discover, to create, and to develop solutions to dynamic challenges, to pose questions that have yet to be asked, and to push beyond the boundaries of the commonly accepted and possible.
We are proud to be a central force for inclusion, diversity and innovation in Israel, and we strive to extend the Negev’s potential and our entrepreneurial spirit throughout the world. For example, the multi-disciplinary School for Sustainability and Climate Change at BGU leverages over 50 years of expertise on living and thriving in the desert into scalable solutions for people everywhere.
BGU at a glance:
20,000 students | 800 senior faculty | 3 campuses | 6 faculties: humanities & social sciences, health sciences, engineering sciences, natural sciences, business & management, and desert research.
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