The Technion is undergoing significant organizational and conceptual changes to widen the scope of its educational agenda and achieve the goal of educating the future industrial, scientific, academic, and civic leaders. The spectrum of innovative steps the Technion is taking will improve instruction and mentoring campus-wide, and provide our graduates with richer, broader education through teaching, learning, research, and leadership. We aim to maintain and constantly improve the Technion’s comprehensive STEM education, as well as the social, environmental, and ethical awareness of our graduates. These changes will continue to be realized through an array of initiatives, some of which are highlighted below.
The role of our Department of Humanities
and Arts
The department is transforming from a service unit offering courses in sports, English, and humanities to an academic center that supports in-depth study and research in humanities and the intersection of history and philosophy with science, technology, engineering, and medicine. The department’s new mission emphasizes the importance of the field of humanities as an integral part of the STEM education of engineers and scientists through research, mentoring, and teaching with a focus on history and philosophy of science and engineering, ethics, and social and environmental awareness.
The department is being developed along two strongly coupled directions. First, recruiting senior faculty members and converting the department from service unit to research. Three senior faculty members have been hired, one Full Professor and two Assistant Professors, and two more will be hired next year. In addition, the first Ph.D. students are enrolled in the department, and the research component is constantly growing stronger. Second is the development of the Technion curriculum and introduction of fundamental science courses in history and philosophy taught by the newly recruited faculty, research and teaching fellows associated with the department and faculty from the University of Haifa.
International campus
Another effort that aims to increase the research capabilities of the campus and contribute to the education of all Technion students is turning the Technion campuses into international ones. The ongoing conceptual and organizational changes regarding the decentralization of the Technion International School aim to strengthen the international culture campus-wide and achieve our goals.
This activity, which is critical at a time when international relations are blooming again, digitally and in person, will drive cultural change on campus, taking a significant step towards reinforcing the Technion as a major player in the global arena. We will achieve this by enriching the educational experience of the Israeli students by nurturing an international environment.
To this end, we recently launched an initiative to increase the number of international graduate students on campus. To meet this challenge, we gathered a team of representatives from all relevant units, academic and administrative, led by the head of the international school, who will lay the foundations for recruiting many more international graduate students.
Center for Promotion of Learning and Teaching
One of the main engines for the advancement of education on campus, the Center’s mission has been redefined as the primary facilitator for the transformation of learning and teaching. In addition to its current role, one of the innovative moves made by the Center is the collaborative work with the faculties and undergraduate programs.
The strategy is to motivate individual faculty members and the entire department to broaden teaching capabilities, utilize the latest digital techniques, and integrate advanced methodologies into the Technion’s curriculum. With that in mind, the Center has recruited teaching and learning experts within each faculty, who use their disciplinary strengths and familiarity with the profession to leverage their contribution to shape teaching and learning.
Undergraduate admission tracks
Diversity and pluralism are essential for any university that wishes to be a major player in the global academic arena. For that purpose, the Technion is investigating new methodologies for screening potential undergraduate candidates and making the Technion accessible to candidates that would not be admitted through the traditional Matriculation + Psychometric exams scheme (the “sechem”).
These new methodologies include the replacement of the psychometric exam with a math test taken at the Technion; the combination of the “sechem” and a personal interview; or the results of the first semester taken at the Technion through the Division of External Studies. The goal of these pilot models is to recruit outstanding students who otherwise would not be accepted, to make the Technion more accessible to candidates who can become excellent students but do not meet the traditional requirements. Finally, it aims to diversify the student population.
The Entrepreneurship Center
t-Hub, the Technion Entrepreneurship Center, continues to develop and integrate formal and extracurricular entrepreneurship courses and activities at all levels throughout the campus and enrich the educational experience of all students with entrepreneurship skills. We believe that the development of such skills is essential for Technion graduates, and t-Hub has taken this mission a significant step forward with its undergraduate program in entrepreneurial leadership and the integration of entrepreneurial training for graduate students. This includes the Startup MBA program, the t-start programs and the t-doc entrepreneurship programs for Ph.D. students.
We also plan to open the Startup MBA program to international collaborations, to host an Entrepreneurship Day on campus, collaborate the Technion Technology Transfer Unit (T3) and the TRDF, and more.
These initiatives are accompanied by the implementation of a comprehensive in-depth process led by Prof. Hossam Haick, Dean of Undergraduate Studies, and Prof. Arnon Bentur, which focuses on developing a strategic plan for undergraduate studies at the Technion. The goal is to redefine the objectives of undergraduate studies with an emphasis on education, rather than just teaching and learning, within the framework of the Technion’s overarching strategic plan. Our goal is to augment the added value of the Technion graduate, creating the leaders of tomorrow.
On another note, it is impossible to talk about the past year without relating to the pandemic.
After intense planning and preparations, I am happy to report that this year, we welcomed students en masse to campus, for face-to-face teaching and learning accompanied by distance learning using an array of online means; vital, constructive interaction ensued.
While we’re no longer restricted, faculty is encouraged to use digital components wherever they serve teaching and learning goals. We believe this process will keep the positive and conducive aspects of the digital features, and contribute to better learning and education at the Technion.