The new Blum Lab for Developing Economies officially opened its doors. The Lab is a new and exciting collaboration between the Milken Innovation Center and the Blum Center for Developing Economies at the University of California, Berkeley. This pioneering initiative will expand programs in training and research at the Institute’s Milken Innovation Center to accelerate economic growth in Africa, Asia and Latin America through sustainable development. This first Blum Lab for Developing Economies outside of the ten established through the University of California system will support the existing Milken Center’s programs in Israel, as well as enable us include graduate students from developing economies as Global Fellows for the first time and accelerate research and development in high-impact technology transfer to meet global challenges in food and agriculture, water, energy, environment, and global health. At the inaugural event on September 12, special guests launching this initiative included Amb. Gil Haskel, Director of the Israel Agency for International Development (MASHAV); Felicia Marcus, Chair of the California Water Resources Board (who has worked with us on the implementation of the California-Israel Global Partnership Program); Prof. Oron Shagrir, Vice-President of International Programs at Hebrew University; Kayanja Vincent DePaul, Mayor of Entebbe, who led a delegation of Mayors from Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania; and Annette Blum of the Blum Family Foundation.
Photo: Chen Leopold