Today, 1900 new students began studying at the Technion, of which 40% are women. An increase was recorded in registration for the faculties of medicine, mechanical engineering and biotechnology and food; A study program for a master's degree in energy and oil was opened
1,900 new students will start studying at the Technion today. The opening ceremony of the year was hosted by the winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 2011, research professor Danny Shechtman, and at the end the students participated in the orientation day designed to facilitate their entry into studies.
In his greeting to the students, Professor Shechtman told the new students that the day before he was present at the closing ceremony of the film festival in Haifa. "But today you are no longer in the movie. Today you are at the Technion," he said. "It is a great institution. They were proud of him."
The president of the Technion, Professor Peretz Lavi, said that this is a historic school year in which the Technion marks 100 years since the laying of its cornerstone. "You are the first cohort to open, we all hope, for the next decades of good education in the State of Israel, of proper higher education and a renewed momentum for a magnificent system," he told the students. "At the end of the lost decade of Israeli universities, I wish you and us, who are committed to providing you with the highest level scientific-engineering academic education - a successful and fruitful school year, which will be the first year in a decade of renewal and flourishing."
The dean of certification studies, Professor Yaakov Meman, said that he hopes to meet all the students starting their studies tomorrow - also at the graduation ceremony.
The Dean of Students, Professor Michal Green, detailed all the many services her office provides to students and supports them throughout their studies.
Professor Shlomo Mittal from the Faculty of Industrial Engineering and Management and a loyal institution at the Technion, said that a study he did with Professor Amnon Frankel from the Faculty of Architecture at the Technion revealed that training a batch of students at the Technion in 2010 cost the State of Israel approximately one billion dollars and they would "generate" during their work period 1.76 billion dollars per year. That is - an annual return of 76%, in a risk-free public investment.
The chairperson of the student union, Yael Avital, told the students: "A fascinating period awaits you, sometimes difficult, but at the end of the day, great satisfaction awaits you."
The most requested faculties this year are medicine, mechanical engineering, biotechnology and food engineering, electrical engineering and computer science. An increase was registered in the demand for faculties of medicine, mechanical engineering and biotechnology and food.
This year, the Technion is opening a new study program in energy engineering for the master's degree, in cooperation with the Department of Geo-Marine Sciences at the University of Haifa, and with the support of the Ministry of National Infrastructures. The program was born following the discovery of gas reserves off the coast of Israel and in light of the fact that there are still not enough experts in this field in Israel. The efficient and safe utilization of this new resource will be one of the country's important engineering challenges in the coming decades.
2629 students will study this year for a master's degree in the various fields and 966 for a doctorate.
The Technion offers 4446 beds in the student dormitories, for singles, couples and families. Every new student, who is not a resident of Haifa and the surrounding area, is entitled to a dormitory.
