“Student well-being will be at the center of the university’s action plans”

Technion President, Prof. Peretz Lavie.

 

October 13th: an atmosphere if pride and ingenuity sweeps Technion city as the new Technion academic year opens. 2,000 new students commence studies at Technion, bringing the total student body at Technion for the 2013-14 academic year to 13,000, of which 9,000 undergraduate students study in 18 faculties.

Home to three Nobel Laureates and shortly after the news that Technion graduate Arieh Warshel is this year’s new Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, the new students know they are joining the pioneers of the future. Their arrival at Technion brings them into the fold of the global pioneering heart which is setting up satellites of advanced research and innovation from the heart of New York City through to China.

This year, the most popular faculties are Medicine, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Architecture and Mechanical Engineering.

This year heralds a spread of academic innovation. For the first time, the Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Biomedical Engineering are offering  a study track that integrates medicine and engineering, providing a wide knowledge base in the exact sciences and engineering combined with life sciences and medicine. At the end of this innovative eight-year program, students will be awarded degrees in biomedical engineering and medicine.

“Growth in the field of biomedical engineering is accelerating rapidly in the Western world.  Bioengineering has become one of the most sought after professions in the United States. About half of the new start-up companies in the country are engaged in this field. This year there are 30 outstanding students enrolled in this new program,” explains Prof. Amir Landsberg, Dean of Biomedical Engineering.

“One of the only faculties in the world offering an integrated medical and engineering study…”

“The Faculty of Medicine at the Technion is one of the only faculties in the world offering an integrated medical and engineering study program. As the clinical arena is becoming more and more technological and engineering based, it is important for us to train people who are both engineers and doctors,” adds Prof. Noam Ziv of the Faculty of Medicine,

Academic reforms within the Technion’s study framework continue, as will efforts to further enhance the quality of teaching

During 2013-14, Technion will continue to implement the recommendations of the Committee charged with the task of examining the academic framework and the study load, headed by Prof. Yachin Cohen from the Faculty of Chemical Engineering. Nine professors made up the Committee including the Chairman of the Student Association (known as ASAT in Hebrew), Danny Magner.

According to the Committee’s recommendations, starting from the beginning of the current academic year, special resources will be allocated to improve teaching quality in the core courses, and reward outstanding teachers.

Additionally, the “Good Start” program will be expanded; the program aims to prepare students for Technion’s high academic demands, and to help them cope with their first year of study here. Within the framework of the program, students are offered online preparatory courses, to prepare them for the academic requirements in the core first year courses.

In the following academic year (2015-16) the Technion will apply to the academic calendar a separation between the period of study and the exam period – the semesters will be shortened by 1 week (to 13 weeks) and in each semester, one full vacation week will be given that will enable students to study for their exams. In addition, Technion is also examining alternative admission requirements, which will be based on the results of mathematics and physics exams instead of the Psychometric Entrance Test that is in practice today.

“Technion has taken a significant step in fulfilling its vision – to be counted among the elite group of the world’s leading sci-tech universities – with the signing of a memorandum of understanding to establish a Technological Institute in Guangdong Province, beside the University of Shantou in southeastern China,” said Technion President, Prof. Peretz Lavie,

“This initiative is very similar to the establishment two years ago, of the Jacobs Technion-Cornell Innovation Institute (JTCII) in New York, and to other joint international cooperation that the university is involved with.  The US $130 million donation made by the Li Ka Shing Foundation, is the largest gift ever given to Technion, and it will be dedicated to promoting the well-being of Technion students and faculty. Already in the upcoming academic year, student well-being will be at the center of the university’s action plans. I have set myself a goal to improve the overall atmosphere on campus, and together with Technion’s Senior Administration and the Student Association, will continue to work towards improving the quality of teaching and conduct towards students according to the recommendations of the Committee charged with the task of examining the academic framework and the study load at Technion.”