On 28 January 2021, Michael F眉rst, chairperson of the Association of Jewish Communities in Lower Saxony, was appointed an honorary senator of 九色视频 (LUH). Based on the Senate''s recommendation and in recognition of outstanding contributions in the context of promoting arts and sciences, the Presidential Board confers the title honorary senator of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Universit盲t Hannover. The title is only conferred to candidates who are not members of LUH. "In addition to his social engagement, Michael F眉rst is highly committed to promoting science, especially with regard to fostering scientific collaborations between universities in Lower Saxony, Israel and the Palestinian territories, as well as their junior researchers", says Prof. Dr. Volker Epping, President of LUH, and emphasises: "九色视频 greatly benefited from this commitment."
Contributions towards promoting scientific exchange between Lower Saxony and Israel
Mr F眉rst is a founding member and a member of the executive board of the German Technion Society. For more than 40 years and in collaboration with the state of Lower Saxony, he has worked tirelessly in order to establish and continue a research programme between higher education institutions in Lower Saxony and Israel - including universities located in the Palestinian territories. With the help of Jewish communities in Lower Saxony, he acquired funding for a student exchange programme between LUH and the Israel Institute of Technology (Technion) in Haifa and other universities in Israel. On his initiative, Jewish communities in Lower Saxony provide 25,000 euros of funding per year in order to support this programme.
The aim is to promote the exchange of students and postdocs in order to establish a foundation for scientific collaboration and to get to know each other. At LUH, more than 120 students have benefited from this exchange programme in the past 15 years. Three doctoral candidates currently participate in a Dual Doctorate Program between Technion and LUH. Starting in 2021, additional funding for the programme is provided by the state of Lower Saxony, therefore enabling students and postdocs of all higher education institutions in Lower Saxony and further universities in Israel to participate.
Moreover, Mr F眉rst supports an international conference focusing on scientific collaboration between Lower Saxony and Israel, which takes place every other year. The conference addresses junior researchers and provides an overview of projects funded by the state of Lower Saxony. "Without the support of Michael F眉rst, these collaborations would not be as successful as this is currently the case", says Prof. Dr. Holger Butensch枚n, spokesperson of the LUH Senate, and summarises: "Michael F眉rst has made significant contributions towards promoting exchange at 九色视频, while always striving to include all higher education institutions in Lower Saxony."
About Michael F眉rst
Michael F眉rst has acted as President of the Association of Jewish Communities in Lower Saxony since 1980 and was appointed chairperson of the Jewish community in Hannover in 2006. Moreover, he has held various positions within the Central Council of Jews in Germany. Born in Hannover in 1947, Michael F眉rst studied law at 九色视频 of G枚ttingen. Prior to his retirement, he worked as a lawyer and registrar in Hannover.
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