Innovation Through
Collaboration

Israel Living Lab embraces MIT’s Open Innovation methodology, fostering a culture of collaboration. Our accelerated innovation propels industries forward, bringing forth cutting-edge solutions.

Who Are We?

Israel Living Lab is a non-profit NGO that provides a cutting-edge, secure collaboration platform for both the private and the public sectors. With recognition by the Israel Innovation Authority as a tech consortium, we are at the forefront of driving innovation and fostering impactful global partnerships.

Our​ Mission

The consortium promotes an infrastructure which enables technology companies to solve large & complex problems at the national and global level in the field of smart mobility and other connected fields (AI, environment, cyber, safety, etc.). The solution will always be based on collaboration, shared information and advanced technological tools. In doing so, Israel Living Lab promotes lucrative global business opportunities for its consortium members.

Advisory Board

Dr. Smadar Itskovich

FOUNDER & CEO

Dr. Smader Itskovich is the Founder and CEO of Israel’s first and only Smart Mobility Living Lab.

Prof. Alex Pentland

MIT MEDIA LAB

Director of the MIT Connection
Science in the Media Lab.

Itshak Turgeman

NGO CO-FOUNDER

Itshak Turgeman has led various
educational initiatives over the last 15 years.

Shay Rotman

Business Representative

Shay has 20 years of experience business experience in corporate and early stages companies.

Eran Shir

CONSORTIUM CHAIRMAN

Eran Shir is currently Nexar’s CEO. Shir was the entrepreneur in residence at Aleph, VC firm.

Dr. Johnathan Abir

Startup Representative

Entrepreneur, innovator, researcher, and engineer with proven success in the industry. 

Team Members

Daniel Zvi

Project Manager

Eddi Yurkovski

Data Lead

Gal Druker

Data Engineer

Rona Valinsky

Project Management Lead

Dr. Smadar Itskovich

FOUNDER & CEO

Dr. Smader Itskovich is the Founder and CEO of Israel’s first and only Smart Mobility Living Lab. Based upon MIT’s Living Lab concept and with the support of the IIA – Dr. Itskovich created an Innovation Marketplace for Smart Mobility – based on collaboration, Data Trust and real-life challenges.

Prior to this position, Dr. Itskovich established several award-winning programs in Education and created the Division for Industrial Development in Ashdod Municipality. In addition, she developed the Ashdod Smart Mobility Living Lab, which she later expanded into the Israel Smart Mobility Living Lab.

Dr. Itskovich joined the public sector following a senior management position in the high-tech field. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Management, PhD in Economics and Business Management and a LL.M degree.

Prof. Alex Pentland​

MIT MEDIA LAB​​

Prof. Pentland is the Director of the MIT Connection Science in the Media Lab. Recently declared as one of the “7 most powerful data scientists in the world“ by Forbes. Member of US National Academies, World Economic Forum councils.

Itshak Turgeman​

NGO CO-FOUNDER​

Itshak Turgeman has led various educational initiatives over the last 15 years. Most recently he acted as the General Director of the Rashi Foundation, one of the largest and most dynamic private foundations in Israel. Prior to his education-related roles, Itshak had a long and acclaimed career in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). He served in a wide range of positions in the R&D Unit of the Intelligence Corps, as Head of the Department of Production Technology and later as Head of the Security-Society Branch. Itshak has a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering, an M.A. in Quality Assurance and Reliability, and an MBA.

Shay Rotman

Business Representative

VP, Business Development and Marketing @ Cognata

With 20 Years of experience in corporate and early stages companies, Shay combined the disciplines of product management with business development, leveraging both to achieve partnerships,
grow business and build marketing strategies

Shay hold a BA in economics and MBA in finance

Eran Shir​

CONSORTIUM CHAIRMAN​

Eran is currently Nexar’s CEO. He was the entrepreneur in residence at Aleph, VC firm focusing on big-data, crypto-currencies and market disruption. Eran was the senior director and head of the creative innovation center at Yahoo!

Dr. Johnathan Abir

Startup Representative

CEO @ AD Knight – Understanding where people are for traffic safety

Entrepreneur, innovator, researcher, and engineer with proven success in the industry of multi-disciplinary system development from proof of concept to product delivery. Recognized for innovative and creative R&D work, and management. Passionate about the pursuit of knowledge, technical expertise, and emerging technologies.