The conference JCRME 4 (4th edition of the Jerusalem Conference on Research in Mathematics Education) held the second week of February on the campus of the Lev Academic Center (formerly Machon Lev). It was attended by an audience of 200 people, researchers and teachers. Since its creation by Prof. Avi Berman (Technion), Dr. Tali Na’halieli (Levinski College) and Prof. Noah Dana-Picard (Lev), this annual meeting has become Israel’s largest forum on mathematics. Israeli prestigious institutions as the University of Tel Aviv, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Bar-Ilan University, Haifa University and the Weizmann Institute of Sciences participate each year.
The Jerusalem College of Technology’s commitment to provide excellent academic education that meets both Israel’s needs and the needs of the population it serve, has resulted in JCT’s expansion into new areas, reaching out to students who would not otherwise have had the opportunity to enter these academic fields.
The Jerusalem College of Technology comprises four Campuses:
Lev-Naveh Campus – A full academic program combined with Jewish studies for men
Tal Campus– Women’s Institute for Nursing, Technology & Management
Lustig Campus – Women’s Institute for Technology & Management in Ramat Gan
Today, the Jerusalem College of Technology has an enrollment of some 4000 students and a faculty of over 500 professors, instructors and research scientists. JCT students come from all sectors of Israel society with a large segment coming from Israel’s development towns and peripheral areas around the country.
As an institution deeply committed to Israel and world Jewry, the College has been in the forefront of absorbing immigrant students who make up some 20% of the student population at JCT. The College has throughout the years successfully established unique academic programs for the benefit of its immigrant students, allowing them to be totally integrated into the college and Israeli life.
At JCT we consider it is our responsibility and challenge to enable diverse segments of Israeli society to become productive members of Israel’s work force especially those whose families have had no previous exposure to higher education and who otherwise would not have the opportunity to pursue academic studies.
Fifteen years ago, the Jerusalem College of Technology was the first of Israel’s leading institutions of higher education to take up the challenge of helping students from the Ethiopian community by establishing the Ethiopians for Engineers Program. To date, some 250 students have entered the program and of these, 80 students have graduated from the program and most are now serving in the Israel Defense Forces as professional officers working in the fields in which they received their academic degrees.
A similar program for Haredi (ultra-orthodox) men and women was begun some ten years ago. The Jewish environment firmly incorporated at the College is consistent with the special requirements of the Haredi community. In addition, JCT focuses its academic curriculum on those subjects that lead to professional career development. For these reasons, JCT is the ideal academic institution for the Haredi community and this is seen in the growing numbers of Haredi students attending the College.
The JCT is undertaking the challenge to train the next generation of outstanding women, offering training programs in a wide range of technological and managerial subjects. The Tal Campus opened a nursing school five years ago, which has become the largest in Israel, combining the ideal blend of caring and skill to produce the finest nurses.
Research and Development, a critical component of JCT involving scientists, faculty and students, has resulted in major advances in many fields, including medical technology and driving safety. Researchers and developers work both independently and with students on innovative technological ideas, encouraging the aspiring scientists to bring their high-tech projects to fruition. Courses in entrepreneurship aim to give our students the practical knowledge and tools to turn their innovations into commercial success.
The Jerusalem College of Technology – Lev Academic Center is looking forward to continued growth and expansion, helping to provide solutions to Israel’s academic and economic needs.