International efforts continue with visit to Israel

YSU continued to expand its international initiatives with a trip last month to Israel to explore a variety of partnership opportunities, including student internships, faculty exchanges, joint research and business connections.

President Jim Tressel and Brett Conner, director of Advanced Manufacturing and Workforce Initiatives and associate professor of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, were joined on the trip by representatives from the Youngstown Business Incubator and the Youngstown Area Jewish Federation.

“Israel and the entire Middle East offer tremendous opportunities for YSU and the greater Mahoning Valley to build relationships and establish partnerships to benefit our students and faculty as well as the entire community,” Tressel said.

Conner said the trip was a great opportunity to introduce Israeli 3D printing companies to the advanced manufacturing ecosystem in the Mahoning Valley and North East Ohio.

“We hope that we provided these companies with the motivation to come to the United States and to launch their products in Northeast Ohio,” he said.

The visit is part of a larger effort by YSU to expand its international footprint and educational initiatives. YSU currently has 315 international students from more than 50 countries. Last fall, representatives from YSU visited China, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan, meeting with officials from 23 universities to discuss future academic collaborations.

The Israel trip included meetings with officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the director general of the Office of the Prime Minister. The delegation also had meetings at five universities and met with representatives from six companies.