Dekel and Cohen begin HUStart job

HUStart, the Hebrew University Entrepreneurship Centre, today appointed Amnon Dekel (pictured) as its managing director to lead national and international programs.

HUStart is a joint venture between Hebrew University’s tech transfer arm, Yissum, the Faculty of Science and the Business School. It was set up in 2015 and manages a range of initiatives, including a biotech-focused accelerator, BioGiv.

Dekel has most recently served as chairman of the Department of Software Engineering in the Shenkar School of Engineering and Design since 2010. He is a serial entrepreneur who has founded three companies to date.

He is also an adjunct professor and has lectured at Hebrew University, Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, New York University and Tel Aviv University since 1995.

HUStart also appointed Ayelet Cohen as deputy director today. Cohen previously worked at Startup Nation Central, a non-profit that facilitates partnerships between different actors in the innovation ecosystem, and co-founded Google Educators Groups in Israel.

She has also worked with economic development agency Jerusalem Development Authority and accelerator Siftech.

The two leaders will be responsible for turning HUStart into a major player within the Jerusalem ecosystem and beyond, helping foster commercialisation opportunities for faculty and students, and driving collaborations with other Jerusalem-based institutions.

Yaron Daniely, chief executive and president of Yissum, said: “Our preparedness for the drastic transformations occurring globally in education and innovation will decide the fate of our university, and its role in the Israeli innovation scene.

“HUStart embodies our commitment to our faculty and students to seek opportunities for value co-creation and enhancement.”