Cluster: Ben-Gurion researcher editor-in-chief of a scientific journal; Motorola will award scholarships; The novelists will open the Negev-Novel project

Ten Technion lecturers received the Yanai Award for excellence in academic education *Intel invites Israeli application developers: come and participate in a million dollar competition *Business administration students at the Carmel Academic Center volunteer to help students "do business"

Dr. Iris Tabak - co-editor-in-chief of the international Journal of the Learning Sciences

Dr. Iris Tabak from the Department of Education at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev was recently appointed co-editor-in-chief (together with Josh Radinsky from the University of Illinois at Chicago) of the international Journal of the Learning Sciences. She will assume her position in January 2013.

This is a journal included in the database of the ISI INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE INFORMATION) in Philadelphia, USA and in the ranking of scientific journalism - JCR (Journal Citation Records - one of the common tools for ranking journals based on impact factor and other indicators. This journal It is considered one of the leading journals in the fields of educational research and educational psychology and in some years it was even ranked first in educational research. It is also one of the two official journals of the International Association of Learning Sciences - an organization that Dr. Tabak served as president about three years ago.

It should be noted that learning science is a relatively new interdisciplinary field, which mainly combines computer science and cognition, but draws from many disciplines, including sociology and anthropology, in examining the implications of these fields for understanding learning and teaching processes in different contexts, and in developing tools, environments and other means to promote learning and teaching processes. The field of learning sciences has recently gained a lot of momentum, and schools of education, and sometimes also computer science departments around the world are establishing departments, research centers and study programs in learning sciences.

Motorola will give out scholarships
Motorola Solutions Israel and the Motorola Global Foundation, the company's philanthropic arm, announced that they will invest approximately NIS 3 million in student scholarships and social projects in Israel in the coming year. The Motorola Solutions Foundation invests millions of dollars every year around the world in technological education programs and social projects. A central component of the foundation's activity is the scholarship program that was launched over 10 years ago in Israel as well and helps hundreds of male and female students every year in obtaining an academic education.

Motorola Solutions' many years of social activity in Israel focuses on community empowerment and strengthening programs in Israel. About 80% of the annual budget of the Motorola Solutions Foundation will be dedicated to education programs in the technological field in schools and about 250 scholarships per year for students, with an emphasis on empowering women in the technological professions.

"We see it as our duty to act and promote social goals in Israel in the areas that touch us" Shimon Dick, president and CEO of Motorola Solutions Israel. "Promoting the training and technological excellence of the next generation is an integral part of our activity in Israel. One of our goals is to increase the percentage of women in the hi-tech industry, and therefore we will make sure to reserve at least half of the scholarships we will award for them this year."

The Negev-Nobel project is launched under the auspices of the four Nobel laureates in chemistry

The four Israeli winners of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Professors Avraham Hershko, Aharon Chachanover, Ada Yonat and Dan Shechtman will jointly launch the Negev-Nobel educational program, in a celebratory ceremony to be held in Ramat Hovav on Tuesday, January 1, 2013.

Prof. Ehud Keinan from the Technion Faculty of Chemistry, President of the Israel Chemical Society, Chairman of the Chemistry Professions Committee at the Ministry of Education and the initiator of the project, says that "this is a prestigious project, which is carried out in a welcome collaboration between the Ministry of Education and Culture, the Ramat Hovav Industrial Council and the Israel Chemical Society. As part of it, about 100 high school students began studying this year in 6 new classes for chemistry studies, in Dimona, Yeruhem, Eilat and in the Sdot Negev Regional Council. The teachers of these classes come from the center of the country and Be'er Sheva."

"Cultivating chemistry studies in the Negev settlements and training a high-quality workforce of chemists and chemical engineers are national interests of the State of Israel," explains Prof. Kinan, "especially in light of the fact that most of the industrial chemical activity is concentrated in the south of the country. The magnificent complex of chemical industries in Ramat Hovav is a tremendous economic anchor, which exports 3.5 billion dollars a year and provides a livelihood for more than 10,000 families in the Negev region."

The Director General of the Ministry of Education, Ms. Dalit Stauber, states that "Chemistry is a major and highly sought-after subject, and therefore the Ministry of Education considers it very important to help establish high-quality study programs and science studies even in small settlements in peripheral areas, with the desire to allow these students to integrate into the world of research in the future and the industry.”

"The study of chemistry is the key in the pharmaceutical and high-tech industry and we must allow equal opportunity for all students, even if they live in small settlements far from the center of the country," emphasizes Dr. Dorit Teitelbaum, the professor of chemistry at the Ministry of Education and a member of the executive committee of the Israel Chemical Society. "The children of Yeruham and Dimona can benefit from our close cooperation with the modern chemical industry of Ramat Hovav, and the program does include student tours of factories, lectures by industry personnel in the schools and the implementation of student research projects under the guidance of chemists from the industry."

All the partners in the Negev-Novel project hope that the program will lead to a leap forward in the field of chemistry in particular and science education in general in the southern region, and will be a catalyst for science studies throughout the country.
We asked the four Nobel laureates what they thought about the Negev-Nobel project and science education in general:
Professor Avraham Hershko: "I want to congratulate this important enterprise of science studies in the south. Science studies are of great importance, both for the youth and for the country. To the youth it contributes skills and broadens horizons, and to the country the reserve for the next generation of leading people in science and technology."

Professor Aharon Chahanover: "The language of science and technology is not only the language that brought about the greatest progress of humanity and the benefit of human life than any other language, in which humans communicate with each other. For this reason, it should also be the simple language of peace and understanding, because its purpose is to improve human life wherever it is. When training in the philosophy of science, history and social sciences and the humanities are added to the teaching of science, we will get a product that is not only a scientist, but understands science in the context of the society in which he lives, and peace will come to the world. I wish the politicians would understand this simple principle."

Professor Ada Yonat: "The importance of science cannot be overstated. Furthermore, I would like to tell the students that there is nothing like the satisfaction and pleasure of a scientific discovery or getting an answer to a vexing scientific question. Please, teach from my experience - it's fun to do science."

Professor Dan Shechtman: "The life of a scientist is full of experiences of discoveries and insights, and scientists love their work very much because it is interesting and challenging. A scientist has a broad background in many fields, but he is also an expert in a certain field, and in this field he can make breakthrough discoveries, thereby making an important contribution to humanity. Today we live in a world where life expectancy and quality of life are immeasurably better than before, thanks to developments and discoveries made by scientists in Israel and around the world. For those of you who choose to become scientists, acquire a broad education and specialize in a certain area, I promise a bright future."

Ten lecturers at the Technion received the Yanai Award for excellence in academic education

The Yanai Award for Excellence in Academic Education was awarded to ten lecturers at the Technion. The prestigious Yanai Award is awarded for the second year for a significant contribution to the advancement of academic education, "as a sign of recognition and appreciation for the members of the academic faculty, who set an example in their continuous contribution to teaching and in their efforts to strengthen the involvement and sense of belonging of the Technion students".

The ten members of the faculty who won the award this year are: Eli Elhadef, Yoram Halevi, Yoram Tambor, Oded Rabinovitch, Avigdor Gal, Erez Petrank, Uri Paskin, Giti Frey, Yitzhak Kesselsi and Yoav Araba.

The president of the Technion, Professor Peretz Lavi, said at the celebratory ceremony that recently academic courses provided on the Internet have become very popular. "This is indeed a significant revolution in academic education, but these courses will not be able to replace the courageous bond created between a good lecturer and his student," stressed Professor Lavi. "The good teacher gives of himself, reads the body language of his students, accompanies them personally. The second thread that runs between the winners of the Yanai Prize is the love for the student and the love for the profession."

The Technion's Vice President for Research, Professor Gadi Shuster, revealed at the ceremony that the Technion has decided these days that a lecturer who does not meet the standards of good teaching will no longer be able to teach required courses. The chairman of the student union at the Technion, Assaf Singer, said in response that he was amazed and happy with this decision by the Technion, which is good news for all students.

Moshe Yanai, a world pioneer in the field of information hosting, said that with his donation he wanted to give a little back to the Technion as a thank you and recognition for the tools for life that the institution gave him during his studies forty years ago. Since he remembered the period of his studies as difficult and at times even traumatic, he decided, in agreement with Professor Lavi, to donate 12 million dollars which will be awarded to lecturers who have excelled in the field of teaching, thus also contributing to students at the Technion. The award, in the amount of NIS 100 per lecturer, will be awarded for twenty years. "This is the second year that the prize has been handed out and I see with great satisfaction how the winners, who were excellent in teaching anyway, sweep their colleagues after them," Moshe Yanai said at the ceremony.

Intel invites Israeli application developers: come and participate in a million dollar competition

As part of its perceptual computing boom, Intel announced the Intel Perceptual Computing Challenge - a prize competition in the total amount of one million dollars intended for application developers, including from Israel, who can participate in the competition that will run throughout 2013.

The competition will have two phases, targeting game developers, productivity apps, location-based apps, and creative user interface (UI) apps.
All this using the Intel Perceptual Computing SDK and Creative Interactive motion camera.

Israel is among the countries from which developers are allowed to participate in the competition, along with developers from the USA, Great Britain, Canada, South Korea, Japan, Germany, China, Taiwan and Russia.

In the first phase, cash prizes of $185,000 will be distributed to the winners, with each of the four outstanding prototypes receiving $20,000. The winners will be announced in March 2013. Later the second stage will take place with prizes of 800,000 dollars. Israeli developers are invited to download the SDK from the Intel website and participate in both stages of the competition.

Business administration students at the Carmel Academic Center volunteer to help students "do business"

14 students from the School of Business Administration at the Carmel Academic Center lead groups of teenagers in a complete business process of establishing a company. The youth are young entrepreneurs from classes XNUMX-XNUMX who participate in the "Doing business" program of the organization of young entrepreneurs in Israel founded by Leumi.

The students from the Carmel Academic Center hold a management meeting once a week at one of the schools in the northern region, in the towns of Haifa, Kiryat Ata, Tirat Carmel, Nesher, Nahariya, Migdal Hamek, Nazareth Elite and other places, which allows the students to learn while doing: they appoint officials, recruit Capital, open a bank account at Leumi, choose a product, check the degree of programming, write a business plan, develop, market and sell to private and business customers. Special emphasis is given in the area of ​​decision-making, ethics, integrity, teamwork, environmental and social responsibility. The young entrepreneurs participated during the global entrepreneurship week in entrepreneurship days at the Technion. Further down the road, they will take part in a prototype display, a product fair that will be held in the mall, and regional and national competitions. Representatives of outstanding teams will qualify for European stages.

This activity allows the students to apply the knowledge they learned at the Carmel Academic Center and above all to pass it on to the next generation of entrepreneurs and thus contribute to the community. Their work is complex and is not limited to the weekly meetings. Similar to running a business, the students (and the supervisors) are asked to invest time and thought in finding manufacturers, in meetings with them, on tours, in research and more. There is no doubt that this is an experience for all involved, as explained by Roi Cohen, who hosts the A. Kiryat Ata Rogozine: "In the context of young entrepreneurs, I see myself as a "mentor" of the young minds. They have an amazing imagination and ability that is just waiting for guidance and there is no greater satisfaction than seeing a group of young students after guidance, make their own way and succeed in doing business operations that sometimes adults fail to do. Seeing them succeed - this is my experience from this whole framework."

The students from the Carmel Academic Center guide alongside their colleagues from 17 academic institutions in Israel, teachers from schools and business volunteers from the best companies. Many bodies support the activity and lend - Haifa Municipality, many local authorities, institutions and enterprises.

The collaboration between the Young Entrepreneurs Organization and the Carmel Academic Center was created with the help of Prof. Nachum Bigar, the president of the center, Prof. Uri Pazi, Dean of the School of Business Administration, Dr. Avi Loski, the director of the Carmel Academic Center, Gil Brosh, and Attorney Amir Lahat.

"We want to be part of an extremely important educational enterprise designed to enrich students with theoretical and practical knowledge from the business world. We are working to increase our involvement in this enterprise and recruit a double number of students next year," said the president of the Carmel Academic Center, Prof. Nahum Biger, who also serves as a volunteer member of the executive committee of the "Young Entrepreneurs" project.