It is the universities that have brought Israel to its leading position in the field of research
the scientific
By Gideon Dagan
Scientific achievements are signs of progress and enlightenment, and a guarantee of economic resilience
and spiritual of the nations of the developed world. This is largely valid in the case of
Israel, which thanks to scientific research has reached achievements that guarantee its supremacy
the military, its economic development and its cultural level. these achievements
are in danger because of the changes initiated by the Minister of Education.
To understand Israel's position, we will refer to the evaluation of communities' achievements
Different nationalities by the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) from Philadelphia. In the years
2000-1996 Israel took third place in the number of articles published
in scientific journals in relation to the size of the population (it was preceded by Switzerland
and Sweden). In 1998, Israel's scientific "output" was almost doubled
than that of nine Arab countries (from Algeria to Iraq) combined. and no less
It is important, also in the assessment of the degree of influence of the publications on the development of science,
In fields related to technology, Israel occupies a place among the countries
the most advanced.
Who is responsible for this "miracle", which occurred in a small, geographically isolated country
from the centers of science and subjected to many wars?
The answer is that open scientific research is conducted almost entirely at seven
The universities and they are the ones who brought us to these impressive achievements. the thing
It happened because the Israeli academy adopted the West's perception, according to which
A university plays a dual role: creating knowledge (by research) and disseminating it
knowledge (by teaching). These two activities feed each other,
especially in advanced degrees.
The conditions for holding these two activities were met thanks to support
the country's massive. Because a faculty member of the university dedicates
About half the time and even more for research, the most important support is embodied
Covering the lion's share of the faculty salaries by the government through VTA
(Committee for Planning and Budgeting). To this are added more limited sources,
But those with high added value, such as the basic research fund, ministry funds
Science and the like. All these allowances are made according to professional criteria
and detached from political and sectoral considerations.
It is an unfortunate fact that, despite the recognition of the importance of science, the general public,
The media and the political system do not understand the position and role of
Universities as creators of knowledge, but mainly as teaching bodies.
This disconnect did not affect, luckily for us, Israel's governments for generations. they
Continue to support higher education with the help of professional bodies managed by
by scientists (the Council for Higher Education and OT), disconnected from the system
the political For this purpose, the higher education budget was separated from that of a ministry
Education or other ministries. Also, the governments realized that the scientific research
Stability and the ability to plan for the long term are required.
This situation is about to change for the worse. The current Minister of Education, out of use
With her right to propose the composition of the members of the Legislative Council, she intends to change the nature of the body
This while introducing public figures (i.e. politicians) and representatives
the colleges. The common denominator of these two groups is distance from the world
The research and the view of undergraduate teaching as the main function of education
the highest Because things are done under the populist cloak of concern
To the student body and the colleges, it should be made clear that the colleges were founded to provide
the requirement for a bachelor's degree in subjects that do not require laboratories
and for expensive facilities. The colleges are essentially teaching institutions, whose role is
Important, but they are not intended to create knowledge, especially in scientific fields
Nature and technology.
in quite a few areas for which the central government is responsible (such as education,
public health, physical infrastructure, environmental quality), Israel lags behind
the developed world. The desire to "dress up" the research universities marks the
The beginning of the destruction of a magnificent system, which maintained high quality. don't give
That's what happens.
The author is a faculty member of the Faculty of Engineering at Tel Aviv University
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