US Software Firm PTC To Establish R&D Center At Technion, Invest $5M

Boston-based US computer software firm PTC and the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology have finalized an agreement to form an R&D center at the prestigious university, where PTC will also invest nearly $5 million (NIS 15 million) into the Haifa campus, the parties announced this week. This will include the relocation of PTC’s current development center in Haifa to the Technion, under the leadership of Dr. Michael Reitman, PTC’s VP of engineering and R&D.

Under the terms of the agreement, PTC and the Technion will jointly research learning processes relating to advanced manufacturing technology. PTC has also allocated an annual budget for joint research in industrial IoT, augmented reality, simulation, and generative design that will support Technion faculty by providing software products, awarding scholarships and incentives to students and researchers, and sponsoring educational programs, the Technion said.

PTC and the Technion have collaborated previously. An initial agreement between the two parties first announced in 2014 jumpstarted a robotics and digital content program for the Science and Technology department, including a teaching laboratory for industrial IoT, computer-aided design, manufacturing, and augmented reality, the university indicated. The partnership resulted in Technion alumni joining PTC to lead the company’s Haifa development center, PTC’s second-largest outside the US.

“Today, scientific and technological breakthroughs need both multidisciplinary research and close collaboration between academia and industry,” said Professor Uri Sivan, President, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. “Industry is at the forefront of active implementation and is well-acquainted with market needs, whereas academia brings basic scientific knowledge and research depth. This is why, in the past few years, Technion has placed greater emphasis on working to tighten its connections with industry, and the present agreement is the culmination of a long-standing relationship between Technion and PTC. We believe the agreement enables both parties to gain ground, grow, and reap the benefits of each other’s strengths.”

“The importance of collaboration between academia and industry is recognized worldwide,” said Ziv Belfer, PTC’s divisional VP of Global Research and Development and General Manager. “PTC has enjoyed fifteen years of successful collaboration with Aachen University in Germany, including the construction of a separate campus that also houses R&D laboratories for companies that collaborate with academic staff. Several projects subsequently became success markers for commercial companies, and we look forward to replicating these efforts with Technion in Israel.”