ILSI Biomed Conference

Yesterday we headed south to Tel Aviv for the Israel Life Science Industry (ILSI) Biomed Conference at the beautiful Dan Intercontinental Hotel.  After dealing with Tel Aviv traffic, we arrived just in time for the real highlight of the conference: a speech from Israeli President Shimon Peres.  In a country the size of the United States, you would never have the chance to see the president(!) speak at an industry conference, but this is one of the real benefits of working in a small nation like Israel. 

Shimos Peres at the ILSI Biomed Conference

The Israeli government recognizes the importance of the high tech sector for its overall economic health, and its support shows through in more than just loans for startup businesses.  When the president of a nation in the midst of serious political discussions takes time to speak to a group of business people and scientists, it really shows where his country's priorities lie.


After President Peres' speech, we broke out into different sessions on topics ranging from technology transfer best practices to the rapidly developing mobile healthcare sector.  We had the opportunity to network with industry experts, venture capitalists and scientists at the cutting edge of their field.


We ended the evening with a reception as we watched the sun go down over the Mediterranean before piling onto a bus for our trip back to Haifa.  While tiring, it was certainly a day well spent and a great introduction to the plethora of high tech companies doing business here in Israel.