and also: the appointment of the chairman of the Association of Friends in Israel to Uni' Haifa; Students at the Technion will supervise theses for outstanding high school students; Appointments at space-il
Shalom Academic: The president of the Hebrew University met with the president of Kabul University in Afghanistan
Israel and Afghanistan do not maintain diplomatic relations and may even be considered by many as enemy countries. However, the road to dialogue sometimes begins not through diplomatic channels but rather through the world of science: the president of the Hebrew University, Prof. Menachem Ben-Shashon, met this week with the president of Kabul University in Afghanistan, Prof. Habibullah Habib. The meeting between the two was held in Beijing as part of a conference of the Confucius Institute, which promotes Chinese culture in higher education institutions around the world under the auspices of the Chinese government.
During their hour-long conversation, the two talked about the political and geopolitical problems that Afghanistan and Israel suffer from and the similarity in the border problem that the two countries have with their neighbors. In addition, the two talked about the importance of science to Afghanistan and Israel against the background of the lack of natural resources in both countries.
According to Prof. Ben-Shashon, "a meeting between representatives from Israel and representatives from Afghanistan is not a matter of course. That is why I was happy for the rare opportunity to sit down with the president of Kabul University and discuss the relations between the two countries and possible collaborations between the Hebrew University and Kabul University. Israel and Afghanistan may be seen as enemy countries, but science is an international language that can form a bridge between peoples and countries. It is our duty as researchers to encourage this type of scientific collaboration."
The conference in Beijing was attended by hundreds of university presidents from around the world. Prof. Ben-Shashon presented at the conference a variety of original documents written by Albert Einstein regarding the theory of relativity, the establishment of the Hebrew University and the proposal addressed to him to serve as president of the State of Israel. Einstein was one of the founding fathers of the Hebrew University and bequeathed his personal archive and writings to the university and is a revered figure in China.
A first-of-its-kind scholarship program at the Hebrew University will encourage young female researchers to pursue post-doctoral studies abroad
Postdoctoral training abroad allows young researchers to establish working relationships with fellow scientists from all over the world, to gain experience in the world's leading research laboratories and to expand their professional horizons. However, despite the importance of a post-doctorate abroad, many women avoid this stage due to the difficulty of moving the family abroad for several years, and as a result, their research career stops.
Now, with the aim of encouraging young female researchers to develop an academic career, the Hebrew University is launching a special scholarship program for outstanding doctoral students in order to help them go on to post-doctoral training at leading universities abroad. This is in order to absorb them upon completion of the training as academic faculty members at the Hebrew University or at one of the universities in Israel.
As part of the program, the university will annually award about 5 scholarships to outstanding doctoral students in the amount of about twenty-twenty-five thousand dollars per scholarship. The nominations will be selected by the university president's advisor for the advancement of women in academia and the university's continuing education committee. The recipients of the scholarship will be asked to declare that in preparation for the completion of the training abroad they will contact the Hebrew University and academic institutions in Israel with a request to join as faculty members.
According to the adviser to the president of the Hebrew University for the advancement of women in academia, Prof. Bat Sheva Kerem, "The Hebrew University considers the current reduction in the number of women and men in the senior academic ranks to be of utmost importance, and the new scholarship program is one of our ways to help outstanding young researchers develop their academic careers."
In the past year, for the first time in the history of the Hebrew University, more women received doctorate degrees in experimental sciences than men: 120 women compared to 104 men. Also in the field of theoretical sciences, the number of female degree recipients was higher than the number of male recipients: 85 women compared to 66 men. However, in the higher academic ranks there is still a significant male majority.
Graduate students will guide outstanding students in the electronics major in the execution of their final project
A collaboration between the Faculty of Electrical Engineering at the Technion, the Electronics major at the Ministry of Education and the National Teachers' Center for Scientific Technologists - Mortec and the Department of Science and Technology Education at the Technion gave rise to a joint project. As part of it, graduate students from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering will guide outstanding students of the Electronics Engineering major in completing final projects in the scope of five study units.
The Ministry of Education is looking for ways to encourage the choice of excellence in science and technology and attaches importance to the choice of students in engineering studies. In 2012, the president of the Technion, Prof. Peretz Lavi, announced that the Technion perceives as a national mission the increase in the number of high school students who choose to study scientific-technological subjects. In secondary education in Israel, the electronic engineering major is considered a leading major, which combines contemporary content from the fields of engineering, mathematics, and science, based on learning theories that foster higher-order thinking skills.
With the encouragement of Prof. Adam Shortz, dean of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Yaakov Shinboim, from the Faculty of Electronics, and Aharon Shahar, Director of the National Teachers' Center for Scientific Technologists - Mortech, located in the Department of Science and Technology Education, it was decided to advance the development of the projects with an emphasis on the physical field. At the current stage it is a pilot for two schools: Ort Rogozin Migdal Ha'emek and Ort Motzkin. Two students were chosen from each school. The supervisors of the thesis and the major centers in the schools will be accompanied by the staff of the national teacher center for the scientific technologist professions. Prof. Orit Hazan, Head of the Department of Science and Technology Education, sympathetically promotes the integration of graduate students as dissertation supervisors of five study units in the technological majors. The success of the project will open the door to further collaborations with the majors in biotechnology, engineering science, and machinery, which belong to the More-Tech teacher center.
Yunel Cohen, the CEO of Migdal HaVoit, has been appointed president of the Association of Friends of the University of Haifa in Israel
The CEO of Migdal, Yunel Cohen, is the new president of the Association of Friends of the University of Haifa in Israel.
Haifa University President Amos Shapira congratulated Cohen and said: "Yonel is a significant strengthening player who will help connect the academic excellence of the University of Haifa with the business community in Israel."
Cohen, together with Meir Shamir, led the Mefat Shamir company and the establishment of the Etudot pension fund, and later led the merger between Mefat Shamir and Simon Wiesel, and served as chairman of the board of directors of the combined company, when he was appointed chairman of the insurance agencies in the Migdal group and chairman of Migdal-Mekpet Funds Pension and provident funds. Cohen recently announced that he will retire at the end of the year.
In addition to his diverse business roles, Cohen is involved in public activities, and he serves as the chairman of the board of trustees of the Juvenile Diabetes Association.
The CEO of the Association of Friends of the University of Haifa in Israel, Shira Ben-Or, joined in the congratulations and added: "Yonel is the right person in the right place. His joining as president of the Friends Association will allow us to expand our activities and promote the university's academic achievements."
The Association of Friends of the University of Haifa in Israel founded and operates the Forum of Business Executives - an exclusive business club where the heads of the business community are members.
New appointments in the SpaceIL association that lands the first Israeli spacecraft on the moon
At the end of three years of establishing, planning and designing the spaceship, creating unique collaborations with leading companies and organizations in the space industry, extensive educational activities including lectures to children and teenagers, and mobilizing broad support across sectors, industries and countries, the association is undergoing a process of reorganization. This process is a step up in the association's assessments for the unique and challenging task of landing the first Israeli spacecraft on the moon. In this framework, the following changes will be made: Dr. Eran Pribman will serve as CEO; Ronan Zilberstein will serve as the engineering project manager.
Pribman, held his last position as co-chairman of the Afterdox investor group. Before that, he held a series of management positions including CEO of Amdocs Australia and VP in the billing division of Amdocs and managed the technological development division of Partner. Pribman, who holds a doctorate in computer science with a specialization in brain research from Tel Aviv University in collaboration with the Weizmann Institute, served as a fighter pilot in the Air Force and held a variety of systems development roles.
Pribman will replace Yariv Besh, one of the founders of the association, who until today served as director. Bash will continue in his role as VP of Foreign Relations and will be responsible for marketing and resource mobilization. As an electronics and computer engineer, Bash was previously responsible for the development and deployment of advanced GPS-based products in the defense system. Beyond his role in the association, Bash is involved in the organization of the annual event "Mahant", which focuses on advanced technological creativity.
Ronan Zilberstein will now serve as the engineering project manager. In his last position, Zilberstein served as a project manager at a high-tech company that provides security measures outside Israel's borders and before that he was a senior project manager at Alta, a subsidiary of Israel Aerospace Industries. Lazilberstein, electrical and electronics engineer, master's degree in administration from Tel Aviv University. Yonatan Weintraub, the third of the association's founders, who until now served as the technological director of the project, recently announced his application for doctoral studies and he will continue to accompany the association.
Kafir Demari, who is also one of the three founders, continues to lead the educational activities of the association as the vice president of education. Demari, a communications systems engineer, a lecturer in the field of computer communications and a consultant in the field of communications and information security. Demari began his software studies when he was in elementary school, and at the age of 11 he wrote the first virus. Demari completed his thesis in the field of algorithms in social networks and served as an officer in an elite technological unit of the Intelligence Corps.
At the same time, Daniel Sa'at also recently joined the team in the position of business development manager. Sa'at, a new immigrant from the USA, previously served as a senior financial analyst at "Tides", San Francisco. Sa'at also worked at "CreditEase", a microfinance platform located in Beijing, China and at the Reut Institute in Tel Aviv.
