The Technion: Israel’s Hard Drive
In Haifa, Israel, Technion first and second year students are
encouraged not to take outside jobs. However, sometimes exceptions are made because
its an idea to get out and get ahead of the workforce. “I used to dream that I
would finish university and get a job in high tech,” he says, “until I realized
the dream was already in reach” a student quotes in the article. But if the
Technion refuses to coddle its charges — about 9,000 undergraduates and 3,800
graduate students — Intel, I.B.M., Microsoft and Yahoo make up for it. They
have all set up offices along direct bus routes and recruit heavily from the
student body. The Technion has transformed the sleepy northern city of Haifa
into a buzzy high-tech center. In a country known as a startup nation, this is
considered the best university around. Started by the Zionist Congress in 1905,
it was built as a response to the exclusion of Jews from engineering studies in
Europe, the Technion finally opened in 1923. Almost all of the jobs held are
those who graduated from the Technion. A fourth of the university’s 60,000
alumni who are of working age have, at one time or another, initiated a
business, and a fourth are C.E.O.’s or vice presidents. Embedded in the Haifa curriculum,
is learning by doing and many interdisciplinary courses are combined with
business and innovation for example. The institute is a major component of the new Cornell Tech
campus scheduled to open on Roosevelt Island in 2017 and currently being rolled
out in temporary headquarters in Chelsea. The hope is to build an ecosystem like Haifa’s, where
industry and academics feed off each other. When asked with explaining where the innovative fervor comes
from, Israelis often refer to DNA — a belief that there is something genetic in
the determination of its students. These people aren’t afraid of risks and will
take them even though the odds are against them. When asked what is responsible
for the bubbling innovation on campus Mr. Malshy, a current student states “They
take students who are already talented and at the top of the class, and then
hammer excellence into them, and not just excellence, but the expectation of
innovative thinking. That’s what happens to us.”
Wow I was just amazed when I read
what is taking place here in Israel. As a current education major, I LOVE that
their philosophy of education is learning by doing. This concept is very different
from the US in my opinion. Our country can sometimes be more about trying to
shove and squeeze knowledge into our heads but don’t give us the chance to
apply it by actually practicing and go out and do what we’re learning. This
university has clearly made an impression on Israel since many of the graduates
have been a big part of the society in some way. I also find it interesting
that big companies such as IBM and Yahoo want to partner with this university
and recruit their students. From reading this article, at one point it talked
about how this college tries to combine the knowledge and practical skills to
top off US degrees, leading me to think that this university would be in
competition with colleges in the US if more people knew about it. It is amazing
how big of an impact this one place has had on Israel. With all the new ideas
for this new university being developed in Chelsea, I can only imagine what
they will come up with next. It makes me smile reading current events like this
one, because universities like these are helping to encourage more and more
people to get an education. I believe that when people get a chance to see what
all they can do with their degree and get the practice for it, that only helps
them benefit in their future.
Leslie Belk
4/19/13
2:56 pm
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