Dean of the International Business School Bruce Magid is part of a delegation accompanying Governor Deval Patrick on the Massachusetts Innovation Economy Partnership Mission 2011 to Israel and the United Kingdom, according to a Feb. 9 press release from the governor's office.According to the press release, the delegation arrived in Israel yesterday and will leave the U.K. March 17. At these meetings, the delegation holds panels and speaks with both government and business leaders about ways to expand the Massachusetts economy through investments, job growth and partnerships.

In a phone interview with the Justice, Magid said that the purpose of the mission is to attract foreign investments to Massachusetts and to create employment and economic growth.

Magid will participate in three panels during the delegation's time in Israel and will speak about partnership opportunities between Massachusetts and Israeli businesses as well as the contribution of higher education. One panel Magid will speak on will discuss life sciences and information, another will be about about information technology, and the third will be on the characteristics of economies and opportunities for collaboration between them.

Brandeis is one of two educational institutions represented in the delegation, joined by the University of Massachusetts, which will be represented by its incoming president, Robert Caret.

"[Patrick] wanted to include higher education as well as public and private officials specifically because he views that education plays a number of roles" in strengthening economies, said Magid.

One of those roles, according to Magid, is providing an academic setting to exchange ideas between innovators. Magid also said that a collaboration with institutes of higher education also encourages research in those schools that can be utilized by industry leaders to apply to business models and make informed decisions. Additionally, he stated that universities such as Brandeis can benefit by creating study abroad opportunities for both Israeli students in Massachusetts and Massachusetts students looking to study in Israel.

Magid said that he will also be available to speak with government officials and reporters in Israel about the "benefits of international trade and investments."

In addition, Magid will also participate in a panel while the delegation is in the U.K., though he does not yet know the details of that discussion.

Magid said that he was informally approached to be a part of the delegation by one of Patrick's top aides on the evening of Patrick's most recent inauguration, Jan. 6, 2011. Magid then received a phone call in early February of this year inviting the University to participate in the delegation.

According to Magid, it was originally planned that both he and University President Frederick Lawrence would serve on the delegation. However, Lawrence was not able to attend the mission due to previously scheduled commitments.

"I'm happy to have [Magid] joining our great coalition of leaders on this trade mission," said Patrick in a statement provided by Matthew Parillo, the director of marketing and communications at IBS. "Bruce is at the forefront of our innovation economy, and we know his expertise will go a long way towards forging lasting economic ties and partnerships between Massachusetts and Israel."

In addition to serving as the Dean of the International Business School, Magid is also a member of the Massachusetts Office of International Trade and Investment, which, according to Magid, is responsible for "promoting international trade and investment" in the state. He will serve on the official business delegation that will accompany an official government delegation to Israel and the U.K.

Magid said that the purpose of having both a government delegation and a business delegation is to create a bond between the public sector, or government officials, and the private sector, or business executives.

"You want the public and private sector to be working jointly and in collaboration to identify opportunities for trade and job creation," said Magid. "It's really when you get collaborative partnership between the public sector and the private sector that you can really both not only come up with policy but create the action steps to promote growth and create employment."

Employment creation and economic growth and expansion, Magid said, is one of the potential benefits for Massachusetts, Israel and the U.K. as a result of this trade mission.

"These types of missions ... are a win-win for all of the economies involved," said Magid. "[The mission] will create more jobs. It will lead to faster economic growth, which results in the ability for the government to fund new initiatives."

Magid said that the mission could serve as an opportunity to promote the capacity of science research at the University as well as students who want to apply for internships for Israeli and U.K. companies.

"We're very excited about this opportunity for Brandeis University and the Brandeis International Business School," said Magid.