2012-2018​

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The Israeli Centers of Research Excellence (I-CORE) program is aimed at fundamentally strengthening the long term positioning of Israel's academic research, promote national and international research collaborations, and to assist in the recruitment of new excellent researchers, by the gradual establishment of "Centers of Excellence" - leading research centers specializing in innovative and groundbreaking research in a range of fields.

The program was endorsed by the Government of Israel in March 2010.

A “Center of excellence” is an association of outstanding researchers in a specific research field, who are current faculty members of different higher education institutions, for the purpose of promoting groundbreaking and innovative research.

In addition to the members of the I-CORE, new outstanding researchers also join the center, get a regular tenure-track academic appointment, and receive annual research grants for a period of five years and equipment grants.

The center serves as an anchor for shared research infrastructure and research groups in this field, and allows optimal utilization of the scientific potential of Israel.

The members of the center also benefit from a significant budget for the center's activities, including international activities, scholarships for research students and postdoctoral fellows, usage of equipment and materials, technical HR etc.

In order to encourage research collaborations between the various researchers in the center which come from various institutions, the program encourages joint mentoring of graduate students by researchers who are members of the center, regardless of their institutional affiliation. In addition, the program assists the I-CORE members in organizing workshops and unique programs of advanced teaching, including International Graduate programs, in developing partnerships with industry, and in contributing to the community by holding public lectures or programs for high school students.

The first four I-COREs began operating in October 2011 (first wave), and another twelve I-COREs began operating in May 2013 (second wave).

Additional information about the program and the centers can be found at: www.i-core.org.il

Supported by the I-CORE Program of the Planning and Budgeting Committee and the Israel Science Foundation