Academic Partnerships
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Unfortunately, many programs and sources of funding at IU either normalize Israel’s occupation or contribute to militarization. These partnerships violate calls to boycott Israeli institutions that facilitate occupation. Some examples of problematic partnerships include:
Partnerships with Crane
- The Fibers & Additive Manufacturing Enabled Systems Laboratory (FAMES) partners with NSWC Crane. Dr. Alexander Gumennik, the lab’s director, has led efforts to get millions in funding from the Department of War (DoW) for nanofabrication equipment and to research the development of smart fibers to be used in textiles and marine contexts.
- Dr. Mehmet Dalkilic develops AI-piloted drones.
- AI Goes Rural: School of Education researchers, including Drs. Kyungbin Kwon and Anne Ottenbreit-Leftwitch, have partnered with NSWC Crane to conduct the $1.7 million partnership to pilot a program aimed at “developing the AI talent pipeline.”
IUDC works to research and document militarized academic partnerships, and publishes a tracker here
Partnerships with Israeli institutions
- Olamot Center: The “only center of its kind in the US”, the Olamot center is a division of the IU Jewish studies program that facilitates exchanges with Israeli scholars and artists. It is a direct partnership with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
- Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism: The Institute has commissioned many articles to be written in defense of the Israeli genocide on Palestinians. Additionally, it houses the “Social Media & Hate” research lab, which uses machine learning techniques to identify antisemitic social media posts. This definition includes criticism of Israel.
- Study abroad: Although IU has suspended its main study abroad program in Israel, the partnerships between IU and universities and programs in Israel remain ongoing. Some of the main partnerships include:
- O’Neill International gives a 3 credit “Arts Management in Israel” course through its summer abroad program. The course is not centered in any university, but revolves around touring different sites in occupied Palestine.
- The IU Contemporary Dance program partners with the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, an independent institution that facilitates the study abroad program DanceJerusalem, and is located on the Hebrew University of Jerusalem campus.